I strongly recommend this book as well as any other Tom and Scott mystery. Mark Richard Zubro always weaves a web of mystery that will keep you guessing right up until the end. And you would be hard pressed to find a more perfect example of gay heros.

Well, you always knew that when high school teacher, Tom Mason and baseball ace pitcher, Scott Carpenter ever decided to officially tie the knot, you should get ready for the media event of the century. And that's what happens in this the ninth book in the ever-popular Tom and Scott mystery series.

The grandest ballroom in Chicago has been rented for the ceremony with a multi-denominational band of clergymen and women set to officiate and all the family, friends, political and sports elite and a multitude of irate and uninvited protesters in attendance. Unfortunately, one of the unexpected guests is Tom's first gay lover, Ethan Gahain, who says he has to talk with Tom. Their affair had taken place when they were both seventeen, and before Ethan dumped him two years later.

The ceremony itself went without a hitch other than the intended one. But before Tom can talk to Ethan and the planned indoor fireworks can take place, fireworks of another sort go off in the men's room when Ethan is found brutally murdered. As you night expect, Tom is the one to discover the body and in the process he get properly bloodied. Everyone knows Tom couldn't be the murderer, and Ethan's parents ask Tom and Scott to investigate the murder.

Along way Scott's teenaged delinquent nephew gets involved, as well as hidden camera pornography and blackmail. Tangled webs have been woven and Tom and Scott have to unravel them.

Though the series is growing a little old and the book is lacking in the surprises of the earlier episodes, Zubro still has a great way with words and his wit and realistic style get you through the book in a totally interesting manner. But it might be time to put more emphasis on his Paul Turner series, or to explore possibilities of a new series.

One of the features of this book is a trip Tom and Scott make to Saint Louis. I always enjoy rating authors on their ability to plot their action through the local streets and landmarks. Zubro scored a 9.8 with only two minor errors. Hey, that's better than what a local mystery writer scored on his last book.

This book is a story of two brave gay men uniting in love and life. Unfortunately, many people are still intolerant of the rights of others who do not behave as they think people should and will cause trouble for them any way they can.

I love the books that I have read by Mark R. Zubro. Anything he writes is entertaining, interesting, and a GREAT READ!

I consumed this mystery in very short time. Like all good mysteries, the murder is revealed in the first chapter (in this book on page 4!). The past is fast and furious, leading the reader through a maze of character relationships held together with drug dealing, jealousies and suspicions, and of course murder. This was the third Zubro book I've read (Political Poison, and Another Dead Teenager being the other two) and it has renewed my faith in the author as a competent crafter of murder mysteries. Characterization remains a weakness for Zubro, however. His characters at times are difficult to differentiate: primarily they speak the same. He shrewdly and effectively uses how they dress and what their home environments look like to establish their character, as well as creates interesting set pieces for them to move and act within, but as soon as they open their mouths, they sound like everyone else.

But his strength remains crafting plausible plot lines that hold you and tease you enough to wonder if you really know who did it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will continue to acquire and read his others.

Like potato chips, the Tom and Scott mysteries are easy to consume and (as brain food goes) nutritionally valueless. I WANT to like these books. I keep hoping...

The problem with Tom and Scott is that I can't tell Tom from Scott. Oh, I know one of them (narrator Tom) is a Viet Nam vet who now teaches highschool, and one of them (guess who) is a highly paid professional athlete. Scott is Southern-born, starts out a little closeted (a potentially interesting conflict never explored), and Tom is...not. Unlike in Joseph Hansen's Brandstetter series, or Richard Stevenson's Strachey novels, I'm never lured into believing Tom and Scott are real people. They are a gay fantasy--not even an interesting gay fantasy. They are too perfect, too plastic. Barbie's Ken without Barbie.

Another thing. No sense of humor. Scott and Tom have the most painful repartee I've heard outside of a kung fu movie.

But as serious a handicap as having cartoons for lead characters is, Zubro does have his strengths. He concocts a crafty, clever mystery here about murder and drug rings in highschool, and he paints a realistic picture of highschool (minus the drugs and murder), as well as unflattering portraits of administrators, fellow teachers and students.

It wouldn't take a lot to turn this series into something delicious and satisfying. Until then I'll keep munching away, knowing I should be doing something better with my brain.

This book was exhilarating, however, it wasn't really a cliff-hanger. It captured my interest in Samuel Clemens--Mark Twain. I had no clue that there was a town called Florida, Missouri (I'm from the state of Florida).

This is a good book for a book report for school (5th grade).

I bought this book soon after its release in preparation for the Support 2.0 exam. While I expect editing errors in any technical book, this one seemed to have many more than the average. I enjoy a few errors as they tend to keep me on my toes, but this book just had too many as they became a nuisance.

As for the technical content, the book did a decent job. There are a few areas, such as ISDN (a large portion of the Support 2.0 exam), which were not covered in-depth enough. Being such an important study area, I expected better coverage here. As a result, I needed to bolster my studies from my BCRAN materials.

My last gripe is the CD. While I love to get a CD with my book, this one was entirely too frustrating to use. The book had numerous errors but the CD had a substantially higher percentage. The questions on the CD are the same as those included at the end of each chapter, so I preferred to use the paper form rather than the CD.

Overall, the book was decent. I felt reasonably well prepared with the exception of a couple of areas. I would have given this book 4 stars had it not been for the high number of errors and the very poor quality of the CD.

Rik

I got this when it first came out on amazon, around the first of June, 2000. I started studying it & finally took the Support exam today. This book is all you need for the exam. Foreget Lammle's book - it is about 100 pages with 600 pages of filler. The longest router dump I saw in this was 6 pages - Lammle's had a lot of 15 page dumps. The book is filled with facts & examples that directly relate to the exam. It was obvious that the writers knew what they were talking about, had taken the exam, and knew exactly what was needed to pass the exam. In the middle of the test (very hard) I started to get [angry] because I swore that subjects werew not covered. When I went back & looked at the book after the test, I saw that they were covered. I also saw that if I had paid closer attention, the answer to the questions would have been obvious. It also has lots of tips for troubleshooting in my daily routine. Another benefit of the book is that it covers switching better than the Cisco switching book.

Okay so you passed the CCNA exam and you're very excited, now what? You want to pursue the CCNP certification but are unsure of what to study. You want to make sure you get the best possible book for the greatest chance of passing first time around. Well CIT published by McGraw-Hill may be the choice.

The book is detailed in every topic. The authors have taken their expertise and put in a book that will have you troubleshooting Cisco networks in no time flat. Over 650 pages of examples to learn from along with questions, case studies and helpful hints are roiled neatly into one book.

The topics of methodology, tools and commands, diagnostic commands, LAN troubleshooting, Cisco Switches, WAN and WAN protocols, extensive coverage of TCP/IP, IPX, SPX and routing protocols along with ISDN and advanced trouble techniques makes this a great exam companion as well as a great desk reference.

Also there is a 30-page appendix covering the OSI model, which is great for other exams as well. The book has a cd-rom with over 200 practice questions as a companion for test taking. Overall the book exceeded my every expectation and is surely one for the technical library.

This is without a doubt, the biggest waste of time of any Cisco Press book I ever purchased. I was VERY excited about the coverage this book promised for poorly documented topics such as Cisco Secure Policy Manager.

What a bitter disappointment. This book is as wide as the horizon and as deep as a backyard puddle.

I wish I could give this title a negative number, but I'm forced to be polite and post a "1".

I can't believe any self-respecting CCIE would attach his/her name to such a fluffy, insubstantial work of garbage.

Save your money and buy one of the specific security titles:...

I can hardly believe that this book was written by CCIEs as it contains a lot of errors. What do you think about "service ROUTER-encryption" command, phrases like "unless you are purposely using SNMP version 1, the "snmp-server community" command must be avoided at all costs (because it enables SNMP ver 1 instead of ver 2)" and so on. A lot of the text was directly borrowed from cisco IOS configuration guides without any modification. And believe me, extended numbered access lists can be edited as well as named ACLs!

This book goes hand-in-hand with the MCNS coursebook. Where the MCNS book is Wordy, this book gets right to the point and tells you how to use Cisco Secure Policy Manager and Cisco Firewalls. However, This isn't the book for you if you need to have everything explained to you in great detail. MCNS is the book for that.

This book is well written and keeps your interest. (Something that is hard to come by in the networking field of books.)

Kudo's to Andrew Mason, and Mark Newcomb for an excellent book.

My father told me that most of the old Sam Spade-type of books were of the same ilk as this one. They're certainly not bad, but they leave something to be desired. "Death" seems to be written with great care and attention as the murder happens and the mystery begins, but then it just ends. It seems to me that the author was given a page limit and once he reached it, he simply "solved" the crime. The criminal isn't necessarily someone we've ever met before, it isn't someone integral to the plot, it doesn't make sense - it just is.

Zubro made me feel cheated. I was teased with an engaging read, only to be left unfulfilled by the outcome. When you read a mystery there should at least be enough clues for the reader to make some viable guesses at who the murderer is: that just isn't the case here.

This is my favorite in the Tom and Scott series. For one thing the picture perfect (think Monette not Monet) couple actually QUARREL. Not just once, but intermittently. There are hints of jealousy, problems with communication--they almost seem human.

For another thing, the action never stops, the pace never flags. True, the gun battle with Mexican drug lords is a bit much, but it's entertaining. Imagination is not Zubro's weak point. He shows plenty of invention in the fifth excursion of his very own Hardy Boys.

But familiar problems weigh down this novel. Tom and Scott still do not have strong, distinct personalities (Adam Niklewicz's cover says it all), and their relationship continues to seem shallow and unreal. Although they frequently have sex they rarely exchange meaningful dialogue or simple gestures of tenderness. In his effort to stress the manly-man aspects of Tom and Scott, Zubro robs them of personality. They have no interesting flaws or weaknesses. They have no distinguishing marks or characteristics. But to be fair, in ECHO OF DEATH Tom and Scott are their most real. They cry, they bleed, they argue--and I don't remember them working out once. I could get to like these guys

There's a bombing downtown and Tom is one of the victims. His lover Scott is frantic and begins his own investigation into the catastrophe. Was it random, or aimed at the clinic where Tom was volunteering, or was it aimed at Tom himself? After Tom wakes from a coma, the duo find even more clues pointing in many directions. And when a drag queen friend of Tom's is killed, they know they're targets themselves. The plot is action-packed and hardly gives the reader time to breathe, and yet I never felt involved in the story. Of course, this is the first Zubro I've read, so that's part of it, but each book in a series ought to bring the reader into the series and entice. The solving of the bombings and murder was well crafted and believable, and Zubro certainly is a great writer. This just may not be his best overall, so.

I liked the idea that Zubro shifted the focus of this novel from Tom, ex-marine superman, to Scott, the "sidekick". Unfortunately the plot in which Zubro involves Scott on his first outing (no pun intended) is rather weak when compared to previous novels ("Why Isn't Becky Twitchell Dead?" is one of my favorites). A good read for fans of the series, but it needed more meat. I am not sure if the subject (the bombing) was thought to be too sensitive for a real murder mystery; if that was the advice given to Zubro, he shouldn't have heeded it, because it provides a sub-par novel.

They have been a happily married, faithful couple for years. Scott Carpenter is a well-known professional baseball pitcher while his spouse Tom Mason is an English teacher. They hid their sexual preference and their relationship out of fear for their careers, especially the athletic Scott. However, unable to hide any longer, they reveal their relationship to the world and to their sock and joy, most everyone supports them.

Tom and Scott begin to openly support gay rights, but soon become symbols and targets of the opponents. Things begin to turn ugly forcing Scott to hire bodyguards. Scott assumed that he, being the more public figure, would be the target if tragedy struck. Instead, while Tom is at the Human Services Clinic, a series of bombs go off destroying a whole block, killing many people. Tom is lucky to survive, but is badly injured. Scott wonders if Tom ultimately was the target. He begins his own investigation that will lead to a dangerous person with a deadly goal who will do anything to attain it.

ONE DEAD DRAG QUEEN is as much a relationship drama as it is an amateur sleuth mystery. The tale stars two heroic, realistic males trying to make the world a better place. Mark Richard Zubro has written a mystery inside the mystery. The technique can slow down a story line, but works extremely well in this plot because the author never loses sight of the main theme and ties the subplot back to it. By providing color and insight, the secondary characters are vital to the beat of the tale and lead to a special treat for readers.

Harriet Klausner

One morning in 1989 gay school teacher Tom Mason unlocked his Chicago classroom and opened the door to one of the most successful mystery franchises in gay fiction--the real mystery being the apparent popularity of this implacably mediocre series.

And yet there is much to be said for Zubro's work. His plotting, though predictable, is crisp and clean, a balance of action and analysis, with all loose ends tidily knotted. Through the (currently) eight books of the series--not even counting the Paul Turner series--Zubro worked out a formula which has served him well, although his characters, ex-Viet Nam vet and high school teacher Tom Mason, and southern baseball star Scott Carpenter, never evolve. When we first meet them they have already been a couple for eight years. Scott, we are given to understand, is initially closeted, but it never puts much strain on their relationship. The differences in their personalities are never explored--possibly because there aren't any. The books are written in a passionless, simplistic style ideal for teaching English in ESL courses.

In ARE YOU NUTS?, the seventh book of the series, Tom echoes his 1989 entrance by finding a body in the school library. (No wonder the PTA is in an uproar; it probably has less to do with Tom's orientation than the fact the man is a walking health hazard, an academic Jessica Fletcher trailing death and disgrace in his wake). As usual one of Tom's closest friends and allies (there's still some alive?) is arrested for the murder, and Tom and Scott (Scott, suffering mild depression--and who could blame the guy) set off in flat-footed pursuit, following the blueprint so successfully laid down eleven years earlier.

That, eleven years after Tom Mason stumbles on his first body, there are still very few gay mystery series' probably explains the relative popularity of Zubro's books. It's interesting that this series is published by the Stonewall Inn imprint and Keith Kahla, who recently asked in "Having Our Say" why so many gays seem to have abandoned the written word? Just a clue, Keith, but possibly if publishers offered something a little more substantial in the way of genre fiction, readers might be more interested.

The value of the book as a mystery is pretty average. However, I found, as usual, the portrayal of gay characters very affirming and supportive. Especially good for gay teens or people just coming out.

They have been a happily married, faithful couple for years. Scott Carpenter is a well-known professional baseball pitcher while his spouse Tom Mason is an English teacher. They hid their sexual preference and their relationship out of fear for their careers, especially the athletic Scott. However, unable to hide any longer, they reveal their relationship to the world and to their sock and joy, most everyone supports them.

Tom and Scott begin to openly support gay rights, but soon become symbols and targets of the opponents. Things begin to turn ugly forcing Scott to hire bodyguards. Scott assumed that he, being the more public figure, would be the target if tragedy struck. Instead, while Tom is at the Human Services Clinic, a series of bombs go off destroying a whole block, killing many people. Tom is lucky to survive, but is badly injured. Scott wonders if Tom ultimately was the target. He begins his own investigation that will lead to a dangerous person with a deadly goal who will do anything to attain it.

ONE DEAD DRAG QUEEN is as much a relationship drama as it is an amateur sleuth mystery. The tale stars two heroic, realistic males trying to make the world a better place. Mark Richard Zubro has written a mystery inside the mystery. The technique can slow down a story line, but works extremely well in this plot because the author never loses sight of the main theme and ties the subplot back to it. By providing color and insight, the secondary characters are vital to the beat of the tale and lead to a special treat for readers.

This book is hampered by stilted dialogue, one dimensional characterization, lack of humor, and a cloying adherence to political correctness. One longs for Donald Strachey's wit or Henry Rios's empathetic angst, something that would these characters more believable and identifiable. As it is, they're deadly dull. On top of that, the writing reminds one of a creative writing class reject in need of proofreading (early on, for instance, "homicide" is spelled "homocide" - an unintentional glitch or some copy editor's idea of a joke?) Stick with Nava, Hansen, and Stevenson.

I found this book to be a bit better than a lot of the books which pigeon-hole themselves into the "gay fiction" genre. One of the other reviewers for this book noted the weakness of the main characters. I totally agree. I was not inspired or engaged in any way by the main character or his lover. That was rather odd considering that I did quite like some of the more minor characters (especially Daphne). One of my main complaints about mysteries is that so very often the plot unfolds by clues and leads simply jumping into the characters' laps. A Simple Suburban Murder is no exception, although I've read books which have been much more unrealistic. I found the plot interesting enough to pull me through the book but the over-the-top political correctness put me off. I liked the ending ok but at this point it's a total toss-up as to whether I will ever read another book by this author or in this series.

I've read each and every one of Mark Richard Zubro's Tom and Scott novels, but that says more about the shortage of gay mysteries than it does the talents of the unnervingly prolific Zubro.

In the first of the series we meet highschool teacher Tom Mason and his celebrity ball player lover Scott Carpenter. When these two gorgeous hunks are not working out or having sex, they are solving mysteries--call them The Thin Men. Now I give Zubro this, he can construct a decent, fast-paced mystery. In fact, he is better at plotting a mystery than, for example, the much-revered Michael Nava (whose Henry Rios mysteries wouldn't challenge an eleven-year old Nancy Drew fan). But the writing is awkward, often stiff, and Tom and Scott are as lifeless as the mannequins they so resemble. And that's odd, seeing that Zubro is reasonably deft at sketching minor characters.

A SIMPLE SUBURBAN MURDER is for me one of the strongest entries in the Tom and Scott franchise. The mystery is tightly written, the Chicago local realistically drawn, and it's an appealing premise: gay lovers and partners in crime-solving. A sort of Nick and Nick Charles. If we are grading on the Pass/Fail system, than Zubro easily passes

This is better than your average gay murder mystery. Parts are funny, and nothing sticks out as being particularly bad. Not the best Zubro, but one to read after you've finished all the others. Good beach reading material.