File Under Dead

Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter #10

by Mark Richard Zubro

After years of avoiding volunteer organizations, Chicago high school teacher Tom Mason is finally guilted into volunteering a few hours a week at a local gay services clinic. Since he finds the bitter in-fighting at the organization to be intolerable, and the head of the clinic to be downright poisonous, Tom does his hours on early Saturday morning before anyone else arrives and avoids most of the office politics. But his quiet Saturday goes quickly awry when two gay teens, in a particularly difficult situation, seek him out for counseling early to avoid being seen by anyone else. After they leave, Tom decides to tidy up the cramped, disordered office and file some of the tettering piles that are practically everywhere. Filing turns out to be a surprisingly gruesome task, however, when in one of the filing cabinet drawers Tom finds the severed head of the director of the clinic. The director, called Snarly Bitch behind his back because of his unpleasant demeanor, had a particularly long enemies' list and Tom himself is not particularly choked up about his untimely demise. But with a long suspect list, a fairly indifferent police force, and the welfare of some of the clinic's youthful charges on the line, Tom himself must sort out the murder before an innocent takes the fall for this very unusual crime.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Romance, LGBT, Gay Fiction, Gay

271 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

Author also writes as: Mark Zubro.

Mark Richard Zubro is an American mystery novelist. He lives in Mokena, Illinois and taught 8th grade English at Summit Hill Jr. High in nearby Frankfort Square, Illinois.

Zubro writes bestselling mysteries set in Chicago and the surrounding Cook County area, which are widely praised as fast-paced, with interesting plots and well-rounded, likeable characters. His novels feature gay themes, and Zubro is himself gay.

His longest running series features high school teacher Tom Mason, and Tom's boyfriend, professional baseball player Scott Carpenter. The other series Zubro is known for is the Paul Turner mysteries, which are about a Chicago police detective. The books are a part of the Stonewall Inn Mystery series, published by St. Martin's Press. Zubro won a Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Men's Mystery for his book A Simple Suburban Murder.

Series:
* Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter
* Paul Turner

I am the author of twenty-four mystery novels and five short stories. My book A Simple Suburban Murder won the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Men's mystery. I also wrote a thriller, Foolproof, with two other mystery writers, Jeanne Dams and Barb D'Amato. I taught eighth graders English and reading for thirty-four years and was president of the teachers' union in my district from 1985 until 2006. I retired from teaching in 2006 and now spend my time reading, writing, napping, and eating chocolate. My newest book, Another Dead Republican, is my thirteenth book in the Tom and Scott series which features as main characters, a gay school teacher and his lover, a professional baseball player. One of the keys in my mysteries is you do not want to be a person who is racist, sexist, homophobic, or a school administrator. If you are any of those, it is likely you are the corpse, or, at the least, it can be fairly well guaranteed that bad things will happen to you by the end. And if in my books you happen to be a Republican and/or against workers' rights, it would be far better if you did not make a habit of broadcasting this. If you did, you're quite likely to be a suspect, or worse.

Reviews

[David J. McRae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book.

While I appreciated the Tom Mason's demeanor and sarcastic sense of humor, there were times where he just came across as a bit too judgy or overdramatic and rather unlikeable (his reaction towards Lee's lie came across as being a bit over the top, in my opinion).

Sometimes characters felt more like caricatures than they did actual characters (Charley Fitch, in particular).

I give credit to the author -- I did not see the reveal of the killer coming. However, I did not like it. I was hoping for a more satisfying, heartwarming ending with the character in question. The struggles he conveyed as a gay teen struggling to come out, struggling for acceptance amongst his father, his teammates and having his first real gay experience touched my heart. To have that used as the motive and that the whole thing was really just a farce just didn't sit well with me. Kudos to the author for treating the killer like any other killer that you would see in a heterosexual murder mystery but in my opinion, there were several other people that could have been revealed as the killer which would have been a more satisfying ending.

One of the things I did appreciate about this book was the author highlighting real issues in the gay community (teen suicide, coming out, religion vs homosexuality, distrust of police).

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the tenth book I've read in the Tom and Scott series. None of the books have been really great but a few have been passable. This book in the series, though, was awful. The character of Tom had begun to grate on my nerves in the past books I'd read which explains why there is a long period of time between reading this book and the last one I read. In File Under Dead Tom becomes insufferable. Since Zubro was a teacher for decades, I hope the character of Tom is not indicative of the way Zubro the author thinks.

In File Under Dead there is a teenager who identifies as a drag queen. The kid is referred to by Tom in horrendous terms. I honestly don't think this book could be published today because of all the negative stereotypes the main character holds about those he does not agree with. I found it mind blowing that Tom works for a support organization for gay teens yet feels no unconditional support for them. If he has to be supportive of a teen who he does not agree with, that support is begrudgingly given almost as if the child does not deserve his support. What on earth was Zubro thinking when he wrote this nasty book?

I definitely do not recommend File Under Dear to anyone. I doubt Zubro's books get read much anymore but if someone is thinking of giving him a go, pass over this particular novel. It's disgusting.

[Suze · Rating 4 out of 5]

We've been on a long journey with Tom and Scott.
This time there is trouble and murder at the gay youth centre.
We get to see that even within communities, there is the good, the bad and the ugly. Lots of infighting, lots of folks not speaking to the police.
Scott is on tour so we don't see him much at all.
Tom is in the thick of things, finding bodies and getting mixed up in all the intrigue.

[Lily Heron · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first instalment I've actively disliked. Needlessly cruel about femme gay men/teen boys. Obsession with 'mammary glands' (these are boobs, right? just say boobs, say breasts, it's fine jeez). I don't feel like the community politics has aged well in the last ten years. no lgb without the t.

[Cecil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a tragic ending.

[Barry Rocklin]

A real page turner! This one was better than a few of the recent Tom & Scott mysteries, in that all the characters were different enough and distinctive enough that I could remember ALL of them, right to the end when the murderer was revealed. I had no idea whom the murderer was, which is always a plus in a murder mystery

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok gay mystery in which Tom finds a severed head in a file drawer at the clinic for gay teens where he volunteers. This one was kind of dull, and Scott was nearly absent from the story.