Book Review: Sex and Murder.Com

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Sex and Murder.Com     Amazon US TPB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada TPB Amazon Canada HC
Mark Richard Zubro
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Noir   Police Procedural
Series: Paul Turner # 6
St. Martin’s, Aug 2001, $23.95, 304 pp.

Craig Lenzati and Brooks Werberg were two nerdy individuals who worked in their garage trying to develop a dot.com company. They succeeded beyond their wildest dreams and sold their company for billions of dollars. They opened up another company that worked on cutting edge technology, especially artificial intelligence.

Chicago detectives Paul Turner and his partner Buck Fenwick are called out to Craig’s home. Someone murdered Craig using a large sharp knife with blood splattered everywhere. The killer struck him many times with the weapon before Craig died. The detectives also think the perpetrator urinated on the victim before he left. A few days later, the exact same thing happened to Brooks. The police believe they are dealing with an angry serial killer. As they dig into the victims’ lives, the genteel veneer crumbles to reveal two oversexed powerful males playing games that made a lot of people angry. Paul and Buck have more suspects than a duck has feathers.

SEX AND MURDER.COM is an exciting very dark police procedural that shows the reader the mindset of a police officer during a heinous investigation. The plot is fast moving and action packed, but turns quite graphic concerning the crime scenes. It is fascinating to read about a police investigation that demonstrates the usually slow pace of the puzzle pieces coming together. Mark Richard Zubro will surely receive a Lambda nomination if not the award for this engaging work.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner