Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter books in order

Q: "How many books are in the Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter series?"

"There are fourteen books in the Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter series, published between 1988 and 2014."

Q: "What is the first book in the Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter series?"

"The first book in the Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter series is A Simple Suburban Murder, published in 1988."

Q: "What is the Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter series about?"

"The series follows Tom Mason, a high school teacher, and Scott Carpenter, a professional baseball player, as they investigate murders in and around suburban Chicago. As an openly gay couple, they were among the first such protagonists in mainstream mystery fiction."

Reading order

#	Title	Published	Author	Buy on Amazon
1	A Simple Suburban Murder	1988	Mark Richard Zubro	Buy
2	Why Isn’t Becky Twitchell Dead?	1990	Mark Richard Zubro	Buy
3	The Only Good Priest	1991	Mark Richard Zubro	Buy
4	The Principal Cause of Death	1992	Mark Richard Zubro	Buy
5	An Echo of Death	1994	Mark Richard Zubro	Buy
6	Rust on the Razor	1996	Mark Richard Zubro	Buy
7	Are You Nuts?	1998	Mark Richard Zubro	Buy
8	One Dead Drag Queen	2000	Mark Richard Zubro	Buy
9	Here Comes the Corpse	2002	Mark Richard Zubro	Buy
10	File Under Dead	2004	Mark Richard Zubro	Buy
11	Everyone’s Dead But Us	2006	Mark Richard Zubro	Buy
12	Schooled in Murder	2008	Mark Richard Zubro	Buy
13	Another Dead Republican	2012	Mark Richard Zubro	Buy
14	A Conspiracy of Fear	2014	Mark Richard Zubro	Buy

The Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter series is Mark Richard Zubro’s longest-running work, with 14 books published between 1988 and 2014. Tom is a high school teacher and Scott is a professional baseball player, and together they stumble into murder investigations in the suburbs of Chicago. A Simple Suburban Murder (1988) launched the series, and titles like Why Isn’t Becky Twitchell Dead?, The Principal Cause of Death, and Schooled in Murder show the series’ frequent connection to school settings.

The books are traditional mysteries with an amateur-sleuth approach, meaning Tom and Scott investigate through their personal connections rather than official police channels. The series gained attention for its openly gay protagonists at a time when such representation was rare in the mystery genre. The final entry, A Conspiracy of Fear (2014), brought the series to a close after more than 25 years.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter series?

There are fourteen books in the Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter series, published between 1988 and 2014.

What is the first book in the Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter series?

The first book in the Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter series is A Simple Suburban Murder, published in 1988.

What is the Tom Mason and Scott Carpenter series about?

The series follows Tom Mason, a high school teacher, and Scott Carpenter, a professional baseball player, as they investigate murders in and around suburban Chicago. As an openly gay couple, they were among the first such protagonists in mainstream mystery fiction.

Reading order#

Frequently Asked Questions

Reading order