Everyone's Dead But Us

I've read many books in this series. It's been just plain enjoyable. They're an easy read so you can just relax in the Tom and Scott world for several hours. It reminds me of the same kind of feeling, when I was young, as The Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and others...more intense but really pleasurable!

I guess that Zubro had to write this. Chicago had just about run out of probable scenarios for an couple in trouble. The characters weren't terribly interesting, but I think Zubro doesn't particularly like the A+ list and their "wealthier-than-thou" attitudes. (That's worth 3 stars.) The perfect timings were hokey, but not hokey enough that you just can't stomach the story. I have to admit that one more gotta-save-my-man scene would have ruined it. Although I like some of the other Tom and Scott mysteries better, this one was a good bed-time read. What a shame that Zubro doesn't teach creative writing, because his pacing and stories are good enough to make a reader care about the protagonist and try to solve the mystery. His writing is better than the other death and sex gay mysteries. The think that I really would love to have read was a better denouement. I always liked Tom better than Scott. He's the kind of man that I'd love to find at home. I've a feeling that Tom's alter-ego is just as brainy and good-hearted.

Scott Carpenter, the openly-gay former baseball star, along with his longtime high school teacher spouse Tom Mason, are vacationing the week after Christmas on the remote Aegean island of Korkasi, site of a little known resort catering to rich gay men. Their "r & r" is broken permanently when, shortly after finding the resort manager shot dead in their room, an explosion in the resort's main building results in several other deaths, at a time when all communication is cut off from the main world due to a massive lightning storm. Tom and Scott try to organize the survivors they find to search the outlying villas, to inform others what happened and perhaps get some clues as to the cause of the explosion, but are soon frustrated by the selfishness and lackadasical attitude of their fellow guests. And, as other shooting victims are found, it becomes apparent that a dangerous killer is at large, perhaps one of their own, putting them all in danger, in a complex tale of greed, stolen art treasures and false identities. This 11th installment in the "Tom and Scott Mysteries" series by Zubro is a bit different than most, primarily by having taken duo out of their familar suburban Chicago locale, but also in its somewhat activist tone, including numerous digs on the political apathy of many gay men. Although, like all of Zubro's works I have read, it is excellently written with vivid characters and flawless timing, the departure from its usual tone made the book resonate with me a bit less than previous books in the series. Escapist fantasies aside, I also don't think many readers will identify with the uber-rich characters in the story. The exposition chapter at the end also seemed more than a bit forced and disjoined to me. But, otherwise, the book is recommended, especially for fans of the series, and gay mystery lovers of all kinds. Four stars out of five.

After a very public marriage ceremony in which baseball great Scott Carpenter outed himself, he and his spouse Chicago high school teacher Tom Mason go on vacation to the exclusive Aegean island of Korkasi. This island caters to old world rich gays. Current guests include a football star and the son of the pretender to the French throne. After enjoying a sexual episode together, the newlyweds return to their room to be greeted by the murdered corpse of the island's owner. When the lovers go to report it to security at Port Atrium, an explosion occurs at the castle destroying the edifice and knocking out all communication to the outside. A major tropical storm prevents anyone from sailing off the island at the same time that other vacationers are being killed one at a time. Scott and Tom try to uncover the identity of the killer when they are not hiding from the culprit. This is a delightful variation on the classic Christie thriller And Then There Was None. Told in the first person from Tom's somewhat frightened yet ironic perspective, the gallows humor eases the tension when events seem overwhelming. There is plenty of action in this exotically atmospheric amateur sleuth story as the honeymooners receive a lot more than they bargained for in Mark Richard Zubro's fine tale. Harriet Klausner