One Dead Drag Queen
Gay Chicago superstar pitcher Scott Carpenter, who recently revealed to fans that he loved schoolteacher Tom Mason (Rust On The Razor, 1996, etc.), finishes a bout of serious housecleaning and turns on the television just in time to catch a news bulletin announcing the bombing of the Human Services Clinic, where Tom volunteers. Plucked from the rubble, Tom is hospitalized in a coma while his family stands vigil. His visitors include Myrtle Mae, an aging drag queen; Cubs catcher Morty Hamilton; and a hate letter that appears at Tom's bedside, scaring Scott into beefing up his personal security with a high-powered, albeit homophobic, investigative firm. Scott's other assignment is dodging newshound Brandon Kearn, who wants a tragedy exclusive from him to go along with the emerging conspiracy theories. A late-term abortion doctor may have been the bombing target; a nurse practitioner may have set the bomb; or the terrorists in the building across the street may have had a hand in it.  The rendering of the catastrophe's aftermath is poignant but packaged with as many improbable villains as All-Star relievers, and a plot as porous as the Cubs infield. --Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.