THIS is a truly wonderful mystery !
The kind many mystery lovers could easily get themselves into, honestly.
And this "Sorry Now ?" is the first novel in the Paul Turner mystery series.
The story is about a gay Chicago Police Detective Paul Turner and his non-gay partner, Buck Fenwick, solving murder cases and other mysteries mostly on their home ground Chicago.
In this volume, Paul and Buck investigate the death of a young woman shot to death in the local park in Chicago, whose father is Bruce Mucklewrath, an extreme conservative senator who used to be a preacher in California.
Some of the things I greatly enjoyed while reading this story was, of course, I got to see how police detectives live their own lives, enjoying all sorts of things both at work and in their private lives. Oh....some may think that many slice of life stories are uninteresting and irredeemably boring. But NOT THIS.
With our Paul Turner and Buck Fenwick in it and with lots of interesting clues thrown in here in there, the story gets more and more exciting as you keep reading, and....at times, it gets SO hilarious ! *laughs*
Well, I believe and have always believed that the best way to enjoy a novel is....to love the characters. So, instead of telling some more about the story while narrowly avoiding giving away spoilers, I would like to tell you some more details about the characters of this story without revealing major part of it:
Paul Turner
A gay Chicago police detective. A widowed father of two teenaged boys.
As mentioned in the book more than just several times, it seems that he is a dark-haired attractive man of about 30-something(?) and 5' 11". ( A young male hustler has called him once "a man with a sexy ass". )
Most of the time, it is his bantering with his partner Buck that makes readers fall over laughing ! He is a master of witty banter, and so is his partner. *laughs*
Well, he is SO kind, open-hearted, broad-minded, and generous. He may not be perfect but he is always nice to ( almost ) everyone, literally - especially to those who are weak, poor and sick. : )
Brian Turner
A 16 year old son of Paul. Although he still does whine at times to get his way, he sometimes surprises even his own father, acting like a truly brave grown-up.
Jeff Turner
An 11 year old son of Paul, confined to a wheelchair because of spina bifida he has been having since he was little. He is a charming little kid who can attract anyone around him. Plus, he is such a deep sleeper, he can sleep through anything !
Buck Fenwick
An incredibly tall, blond-haired police detective who has been partnered with Paul for years. A father of two little girls.
Once he refers to himself as "fat" when he has to get out of a burning building with Paul, but.... *squirms* I think he is just....well "big". A little chubby, maybe....but not fat, I think.
He uses profane language and does not mind where and when to use it though....deep down inside, he is kind, caring and warm-hearted, believe me.
Madge Fenwick
Buck's wife.
She is very kind, loving, honest, plus very understanding.
Fenwick Girls
It seems Buck and Madge have three daughters in all.
- 10 year old twin daughters.
- The eldest daughter of theirs possibly in her late teens.
Rose Talucci
A kind elderly Italian lady, a very close neighbour of Paul, who is....well, very strong. If she wants to do something, she does it. She does not take any notice of others as long as it does not hurt the innocent people.
It seems that she has been some kind of grandparent figure for Brian and Jeff.
Ian Hume
A 6' 6" blond gay man with a beard who used to be dating Paul. A star journalist, working for the city's major gay newspaper.
Ben Vargas
A young Italian man who runs Vargas's Auto Parts Store in Paul's neighbourhood.
Both Brian and Mrs Talucci think Paul should marry him.
Sergeant Felix Specter
He gets kind of annoying whenever the case gets too hard to solve.
His full name is Felix Specter Poindexter, it seems... ( Nicknamed "Block" ? )
Later, in the volume 3, he has been promoted to Commander, it seems.
Randy Carruthers
A chubby young man who is a new member of the police squad.
His relentless cheerfulness often gets on the nerves of other squad members - especially on Buck's. He hopes that he will become a lawyer someday.
Harold Rodriguez
A very experienced police officer partnered with Randy. He is a man with a good heart who has been very patient despite being annoyed by Randy.
Joe Roosevelt & Judy Wilson
A grey-haired detective and his attractive, African-American female partner. These two are very experienced and have been good friends though they are often seen arguing over something that is so very trivial which is kind of funny.
Charlie Grimwald
An elderly police officer who cares for Paul and his family.
Commander
A Commander of Local Police District.
A tall, black man from the Police Department who is so pleasant and easy to like.
Lieutenant
A reasonable man from the Police Department.
Mike Sanchez
A young, lovable beat cop.
Gerald Miller
A young man in his 20s who is working for the medical examiner's office.
For some reason, Paul who has never met this guy but just talks to him on the phone, used to think Gerald was a fat, old guy in his late fifties.
Sam Franklin
The head of the Chicago Crime Lab Unit.
Fred Nokosinski
Short, bearded guy who takes crime-scene photographs.
* * * * * * *
So, these people are who I think should be the central characters of the Paul Turner series....although there may be more as the series goes on and on. *winks*
Well, I really DID enjoy reading this first volume of the Paul Turner series, and....the whole time, I was kind of thinking that this could be the best TV detective series ever made IF it were ever made into a TV mini-series.
I do thank you from the bottom of my heart, Mr Mark Richard Zubro, for creating such loveable characters and the wonderful storylines which I am sure will get stuck in my head for good !
Now, I am moving on to the 2nd Volume of the series which is entitled "Political Poison", hoping to see more of our Paul and Buck, plus their families, friends, and enemies. : )
Yukako Muller
PS. For some reason, every time I read the Paul Turner Mystery series, I have this theme tune to "The Amazing Spider-Man (1977)" playing right in my head which I think would be the perfect music for the Paul Turner Mystery series IF they were ever made into TV mini-series.
References:
- "The Amazing Spider-Man (1977) B1 - Spiderman's Theme" uploaded by NeuroWhoa on YouTube.
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