Sorry Now?

Paul Turner #1

by Mark Richard Zubro

While in Chicago, right-wing televangelist Bruce Mucklewrath is attacked and his daughter killed. Sensing a potential time bomb, and with Mucklewrath creating great pressure, the police brass assign the case to Detective Paul Turner whom they trust with sensitive matters. During their investigation, Turner and his partner discover that other right-wing bigots have been suffering odd attacks, and they begin to suspect a conspiracy of vengeance, perhaps even from the gay community. This is an uncomfortable thought for Turner, who is himself gay, but when Turner is attacked and his two sons threatened, he has to enlist the help of people in his close-knit neighborhood, as well as his contacts in the gay world, to find the solution in time.

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

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

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

[Neet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Paul Turner mysteries and what a good start. Paul Turner is widower with two boys Brian, 16 years old and Jeff 10 years old who suffers from spina bifida.Paul also happens to be a detective in homicide at the Chicago PD, he's partnered with big burly Buck Fenwick. The Fenwick/ Turner partnership is wonderful to read because Buck knows and accepts that Paul is gay and each man respects each other. The two men are called to investigate the brutal murder of right wing hate mongrel Reverand Mucklewrath's young daughter's death.In investigating Paul and Buck discover that a series of pranks against prominent right-wing individuals with the catch phrase "bet you're sorry now".The detectives are being led to believe that the killing might be related to gay persons who are taking there stand against those who are feverently anti-gay. The body count rises and Paul and his sons are threaten. I won't say more, but this is a good read and short to boot. Sit back and enjoy!

[Klaus Mattes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ziemlich lange sah es ganz gut aus. Ein Mordkrimi aus Chicago mit einem schwulen Polizisten (und Vater), der den Mörder der Tochter eines rechten Politikers finden soll, der in seinem ersten Beruf als Prediger seit Jahren gegen Homosexuelle gepredigt hat. Na ja, es war immer wieder etwas trocken und der Polizist Paul Turner wächst einem nicht so ans Herz wie der schwule Versicherungsdetektiv Dave Brandstetter bei Joseph Hansen, für den doch auch spricht, dass er ein gutes Jahrzehnt vorher sich aus der Deckung gewagt hat. Aber dann scheinen sämtliche Sicherungen bei dem - aus einem Chicagoer Vorort und dem Lehrerberuf kommenden - Zubro durchzubrennen. Auf einmal müssen mörderische Showdowns, Wirbelsturm, erschlagene Obdachlose, brennende Häuser, Sprünge von Dach zu Dach her und überhaupt alles scheint möglich im zuvor eher „realistischen Polizeikrimi“. Das hatte mich schon am im Jahr davor herausgekommenen „Mord in der Highschool“ („A Simple Suburban Murder“) erschreckt, in dem ein Vorstadtlehrer mehr oder weniger im Alleingang eine Mafia-Organisation von Kinderschändern auf die Matte kantet.

Mit „Suburban“ startete Zubro seine Serie ums Freundespaar Tom und Scott, so gegen 15 Fälle bis ins Jahr 2014, mit „Sorry“ die Paul-Turner-Reihe, elf Abenteuer bis 2013. Seither schreibt er eher Jugendkrimis, vielleicht auch besser so. Die Goodreads-Leser haben den ersten „Tom & Scott“ für meine Begriffe viel zu positiv aufgenommen – und das hier auch. Das lag vermutlich daran, dass die 1990-er Jahre damals gerade erst angefangen hatten, eine Million schwuler Krimis nicht gedruckt waren. Und das dieses Buch aus einem verdienstvollen (auch schwulen) Verlag kam: St. Martin's Press in New York. (Stichwort: Michael Denneny; die Zeiten sind allerdings vorbei, diese Verlagssparte wurde eingestellt.) Zubro arbeitet schon auch solide, jedoch offensichtlich und in jeglicher Beziehung schwächer als zumindest Joseph Hansen, Michael Nava, auch Richard Stevenson. Ich fange erst auf dem Niveau von Nathan Aldyne und Larry Townsend an zu diskutieren, ob er die sogar toppen kann. Und, ach so, er hatte halt auch die bei schwulen Lesern zu jener Zeit angesagten Themen: Pornos mit Jugendlichen bei „Suburban“, „Born-Again“-Schwulenfeinde bei „Sorry“.

Der Titel mit dem Fragezeichen (ins Deutsche wurde es nie übersetzt, dort wären Fragezeichen-Titel praktisch unmöglich) stammt daher, dass ein Trio aus drei schwarz gekleideten Männern, deren Gesichter nie jemand sehen kann, am Tatort jeweils die Frage zurücklassen: „Tut es dir jetzt leid?“ Und gegen Ende auch mal: „Es tut dir wohl nicht leid genug.“ Dass das doch aber Quatsch wäre und dass Leute, die Sexfotos von Bischöfen mit Nutten an die Presse durchstechen, mit genau dieser Frage, wohl keine Mörder sein können, finden zwar nur Paul Turner und sein dicker Hetero-Partner (mir leuchtete das nicht gleich ein), aber wo sie den Autoren auf ihrer Seite haben, behalten sie am Schluss schon ziemlich Recht. Zuvor allerdings wird es lebensgefährlich für Turners Söhne. Denn der Autor, der, ja nicht ganz unrealistisch, seine Polizisten tagelang auf der Stelle treten, wichtige Informanten nicht erreichen, aus anderen Zeugen nur herausholen lässt, was wir seit drei Kapiteln auch schon wissen, will, wie gesagt, irgendwann die große Show halt doch noch. (Die leider direkt aus der Märchenkiste des kleinen Moritz kommt.)

Ach ja, noch mal ein schwuler Krimiserienschreiber, der jedes Jahr ein neues Buch schafft und auch schon mal Schwule Mörder sein lässt. (Oder doch nicht?) Wieder einer, der uns das Gefühl gibt, Krimihandlungen könnte wirklich jeder von uns genau so gut konstruieren, wenn wir bloß das Durchhaltevermögen für 180 eng bedruckt Seiten ohne Verschreiber, Stilschwächen, grammatisch unangemessenen Satzbau hätten.

[PaperMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Believe it nor not, I started reading this book way back in 2010 but cannot remember why I put it down! However, I had to 'begin from the beguine' so to speak, as my memory came up blank as to what happened in the first three chapters.

MC Paul Turner (late-thirties/early forties) and his partner get assigned a random assassin-type killing of a young woman, but their investigative scope soon broadens (with a rising body count) into a wider series of public nuisance attacks – with an ever-growing list of suspects and witnesses. I'm aware this book was released when public awareness of LGBT activism and groups such as Act Out! was high in the early nineties, although I cannot envisage Act Out! including murder in their modus operandi. Still, I had (guilty) delicious thrills imagining our (then) beaten-down and reviled minority standing up for ourselves against campaign-style vitriolic/hate, and by doing so in such ‘creative’ ways!

To the author’s credit – I managed to not be overwhelmed by the sheer number of secondary and minor characters/names! I was sucked into a fairly fast-paced plot, and made some ‘calculated guesses’ as to the killer(s) before being proved wrong – hah! I did find the final denouement a little sudden and rushed … wrapping up the threads without giving enough time to digest the outcomes and impact on our MC and his significant others.

Mark Richard Zubro details investigative procedural elements and professional policing office dynamics well – without the minutiae. He also balances this nicely against our MC's family life (looking after two sons, one of whom with special needs) and his love life (mainly consisting of fending off various well-meaning attempts from friends and colleagues to match him up with some nice guy they know). It's been a nice change of pace to have a gay investigating MC who is not overloaded with internal baggage, nor struggling with psychological demons (as far as I can tell anyways), and I'm looking forward to getting to know Paul Turner and his world in the upcoming eleven books in this series.

[Lily Heron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Paul Turner from his brief appearances in one of the early Tom Mason & Scott Carpenter books; even as a minor character, he stole the spotlight and came across as such an intriguing, engaging person. I was so happy when I discovered he has his own series! Widowed with two sons, Paul is an immensely decent human being and a detective in the Chicago Police Department. In this instalment, he and his partner on the force are tasked with solving the murder of a televangelist's daughter. While the novel is well-paced and engaging, for me it was definitely Paul as a main character and especially his wonderful relationship with his sons Brian and Jeff that stole my heart. This is a family I'll be rooting for all the way, and I loved all the little details that showed their closeness and how Paul is such a good father to them both. Other reviewers have made the point that Paul's sexuality is incidental, but not irrelevant. That this book was published in the 90s makes it feel amazingly ahead of its time. My only complaint is that the reveal and denouement were wrapped up at breakneck speed, so the ending felt somewhat rushed and unpolished. I'm so looking forward to reading more.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book, with an excellent plot, and great characters. Paul Turner is interesting, and his partnership with Fenwick is fantastic. They have a great dynamic going on, true partners. Fenwick knows that Paul is gay, and has no issue with it. He even encourages him to date more :P And Mrs Talucciis a complete delight.

I liked that the fact that the protagonist is a gay man isn't the main focus of the story, only another fact.

And I enjoyed that we get to see him interact with his two children. His family life is complicated: widower, with two teen boys, one of them with spina bifida... not easy. But he does his best, and his best is really good.

The end was a bit abrupt, but I'm wanting to read the next book in this series. It's really promising.

[Brad Shreve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read, but not a great one. One of its charms is that the protagonist, Paul Turner, is an openly gay man, but it's not a focal point. It's a simple matter of fact.

Kudos also for a good balance of Turner's personal life with his professional life, that of a Chicago police detective.

Only three stars due to the novel's ending. I don't want to write a spoiler, so I'll simply say that it's as if Zubro ran out of time and had to quickly wrap it up. I've heard good things about his writing, so I'll cut some slack and try a more recent novel and hope for the best.

[Blackrei · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like the writing style.
And the worst : it's the 1st time police work lead the detectives absolutely nowhere
Fortunately for them the murderer went directly to the MC's home and revealed everything
And the end was really really too abrupt

[Cris · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot seems fairly realistic but the clues are lacking--leaving readers unable to solve the mystery on their own. I found the end abrupt and unsatisfying.

[Emilienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars !

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Turner is a Chicago detective with two sons, who happens to be gay. When Bruce Mucklewrath, a televangelist with a message that leans towards gay-bashing, ends up the victim of a crime, his daughter dead, Paul and his partner are called in to lead the investigation.

What they discover are a number of crime scenes against those who are homophobic, all with the cryptic message of "Sorry now, aren't you?" Paul struggles to tie the cases together with a possible conspiracy against the gay community, while dealing with his kids and a possible relationship with handsome doctor George Manfred.

The book had a great premise, and the storyline was well-thought out, but the lack of real characterization and an abundance of typos in the book kept me from truly enjoying it. I'll still probably look for the second book in this series, but it wasn't one of my favorite reads.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A widowed cop with 2 sons finds himself investigating the murder of a major evangelical figure's daughter. The list of those wanting to send this man a message is complicated by his family and those paid to protect him. Of course the detective being gay adds a different kind of complication.

Liked it, especially for the first in a series. The main protagonist was interesting and I appreciated the fact he was so totally normal and not out to do anything in his life but be a good father and an effective detective. Love, if he can find it, will just be icing on the cake.

I'll give the next one a try.

[Kay Sachse · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is about gays and religious extremists. This combination is found rather often when reading gay detectives. And this story from 1991 is another one. The openly homosexual police detective and father of 2 kids has to investigate the murder of a religious zealot who is on campaign tour in Chicago. Could it be true that a gay group has started out to fight back against any gay bashers? Probably not. And probably the whole crowd of religious crackpots are to blame themselves. Or aren’t they.
A nice read with an over-political correct policeman who is also a great dad and perhaps even a nice lover… Too good to be true?! Probably, but still a nice read.

[Dolphe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Richard Zubro's "Sorry Now?" isn't going to blow you out of the water, but it is a well written, tight mystery which holds a bright promise for the subsequent novels. The main character is gay, but that is not a driving force in the story. The author treats sexuality as just another part of someone's life which has little impact on their overall humanity. Isn't it interesting that sometimes the simplest stories can somehow answer the most complex questions?

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been reading Mark Zubro's other gay mysteries and thought I'd give the Paul Turner a try. glad I did. Turner is a widowed detective with two sons; one a tennager, and the other a boy born with a birth defect. He also happens to be gay.
I love the family dinamic here and enjoy the murder mystery that has to be solved. Worth a look.

[Lori S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in the series and despite the slightly too pat ending, I really liked it and the characters as I have with the rest of the Paul Turner mysteries. I would love to meet Buck Fenwick someday. He's a hoot.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good gay mystery about a Chicago police detective trying to figure out who killed the daughter of a homophobic minister and politician.

[Jeffery Nunes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. A surprisingly fast, easy read. Started one afternoon and finished it by the next evening. I look forward to more of his books. Enjoy-

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mystery where the detectives make NO progress on solving the crime throughout the book only to have the perpetrator confess as the last two pages.

BOO!

[LOL_BOOKS]

THEY'RE A BIT DRY AND LOL MEN, BUT THEY'RE ABOUT A DETECTIVE WHO SOLVES CRIMES AND HAPPENS TO BE GAY, RATHER THAN A GAY DETECTIVE.