Truth Can Get You Killed

This eighth outing for Chicago baseball pitcher Scott Carpenter and his lover, English teacher Tom Mason, reads like a made-for-TV crime movie of the week--long on dialogue, short on exposition. As the first openly gay major-league ball player, Scott is used to receiving death threats. But when two bombs destroy the abortion clinic where Tom volunteers, while a third blows up Tom's truck, Scott begins to wonder to what insane lengths someone is willing to go to hurt him. At the scene of the disaster, where Scott heroically helps rescue victims, he hears a voice whisper, ""You're next, faggot."" Then, at the hospital where Tom lies in a coma, Scott finds an envelope by Tom's bedside containing the same sinister message. Since Scott doesn't trust his personal head of security (who's rumored to have done some nasty things in Bosnia), he hires a private detective agency, Borini and Faslo, to investigate the threats. Only later does he learn that Borini and Faslo are notoriously homophobic. Once Tom recovers, the pair spend a lot of time interviewing people with possible leads, including Tom's drag queen friend, Myrtle Mae--who gets shot before she can pass on an important clue. Right to the end, Zubro keeps the reader guessing about who is responsible for the bombs and the death threats. And there's a certain fitting justice, even if Myrtle Mae's killer--who conveniently explains everything while he holds Tom at gun point--comes straight out of left field. (July)