Books
Available wherever books are sold.
Hart Island
Finalist for Ferro-Grumley and Joseph Hansen awards
“Beautiful, atmospheric, cunningly plotted. From the opening pages, I was transported into Sal Cusumano’s world as he makes his way back and forth to Hart Island, between the living and the dead. I couldn’t wait to discover what would happen next in this world full of violence and unexpected tenderness.”
“Hart Island has all the pleasures of a thriller and expertly designed detective story, while it’s also the history of an arresting and forgotten place, a meditation on grief and the crisis of faith, a testament to loyalty and compassion, and a heartening celebration of the redemptive resilience of love.”
“Zebrun’s writing is always clear, economical, and powerful. Hart Island effortlessly shows how place shapes destiny, how characters become who they are because of where they live and the secrets they keep—and confess.”
“Surprisingly meditative, Hart Island is ambitious and luminous.”
Someone You Know
Finalist for the 2005 Lambda Literary Award
Newspaper columnist Daniel Caruso has a wife he loves deeply, a daughter who means everything to him, and a secret that could destroy them all. At a conference in Seattle, he meets and spends a passionate night with Stephen Hart, a handsome firefighter, who the next day is murdered. On the journey home to Providence, R.I., Daniel receives a bizarre and frightening sign from someone who knows the most intimate details of his deception. Soon after he reunites with his family, another message makes it chillingly clear that someone sinister is observing every move Daniel and his family make.
“This astonishing first novel combines excellent prose, dialogue, and character, drawing with throat-gripping suspense that invites comparison with Hitchcock, Woolrich and Charlotte Armstrong. — Ellery Queen Magazine
“Seductive … savage … searing … an electrifying page-turner.” — Richard Labonte, Book Marks
“Stark…tightly written murder mystery… compelling.” –Booklist
“Inticing and danger-filled.” – Instinct
“Mesmerizing … “Do not try this at home.” TmeOut NY, top summer books
“A cautionary tale for anyone contemplating a one-night stand … fast paced and dark thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat.” ReFresh (London)
“Barnburner of a first novel … deft and frightening.” — Tony Lewis, Providence Journal
“A heartfelt, gracefully written, explicit tale of sexual angst and self-discovery” – Kirkus
“First-time novelist triumphs … a terrifying thriller inspired by spree killer Andrew Cunanan.” — Thrust Magazine
“A claustrophobic atmosphere that imprisons even the most squeamish reader and keeps him or her white-knuckling through to the climax of this dark tale.” — Lavender Magazine (Twin Cities)
“If you enjoy having the hair on the back of your neck stand on end with terror, this is the book for you.” –The Open Book (Sacramento)
“Mystery readers, as well as fans of horror novels, … are drawn ever deeper into the mind of a serial killer who will stop at nothing to get at the ultimate object of his desire — Daniel Caruso himself. Rating A+” — The Texas Triangle
“A graphic and frightening thriller…”– Provincetown Banner
“A tour-de-force … “Someone You know” may have you shivering like it’s still winter, but there’s plenty of the sizzle of promised summer heat, too.” –Clean Sheets
“A twisted game of cat and mouse …an entertaining walk on the dark side.” — TWN Book Report, South Florida
“Cool as witch hazel, frightening as a fresh body part … guaranteed to give you sleepless nights … If you’ve ever wondered what goes on inside those big old clapboard houses in Providence, Rhode Island, this beautifully crafted novel will give you the horrifying scoop.”
“In this first novel, Gary Zebrun introduces himself as a major fiction writing talent … SOMEONE YOU KNOW is not only a compelling mystery, but an emotionally charged and acutely observed psychological portrait of a lost and secretive man forced by a widening circle of murders to confront who he is …. A novel I found myself remembering long after I’d finished it. It’s that good.”
“Gary Zebrun’s SOMEONE YOU KNOW is a harrowing and at times heartbreaking account of one good man’s futile hope that he can contain the increasingly dangerous mess his closeted life has created for him … This is a hugely impressive debut, filled with tenderness, wisdom, and clarity of insight.”
“This novel reminds us, in beautifully perceptive prose, that imagining another person’s life is perhaps the best thing we can do for one another.”
Only the Lonely
Asim Zahid is headed to the University of Michigan, ready to bust out of Lackawanna, a rundown steel town outside of Buffalo, New York. But his dream of a bright future is derailed when his father dies and leaves behind the Bethlehem Theater and Sonia, his old man’s longtime mistress.
Soon there’s another reason frustrating the restless son’s plans to leave Lackawanna — an Irish redhead named Billy, who’s been flirting with Asim from the window of the Pig Iron Pub across the street from the theater.
Asim wonders whether he might be happy in Lackawanna after all, until he discovers his brother, Tarik, is headed off to some kind of training camp in the Afghanistan desert.
Not long after, he receives a package with a skull of a Jewish boy that initiates a terrifying and ultimately deadly set of events that peak on September 11, 2001.
“…once you start you won’t stop … for noir novel lovers.” — OutSmart, Houston
“Coming of age in a dying American town is hard enough. But if you’re Middle Eastern and gay… Zebrun’s ruminative second novel captivates through the complexity and vulnerability of its characters and the excellence of its prose, polished to a luminous transparency.” – Kirkus
“A rich dive into the tempest of family, the cold depths of loneliness and the riptide of fundamentalism … haunting.” — JustOut, Portland, Oregon
“Much like the old black-and-white movies that Sonia loved, ONLY THE LONELY reads … like an artsy independent film … a modern-day update of THE GLASS MANAGERIE.” — Desert Daily Guide, Palm Springs, Calif.
“A very intimate story that reflects international concerns in miniature, about one immigrant family’s struggles with secrets, discrimination, and religion.” — Bay Windows, Boston
“This quietly perceptive, insightfully written novel … doesn’t speculate but lets the chilling tale play out to a climax that is as frightening as it seems inevitable.”
“With his memorable cast and nicely underplayed big themes, Zebrun delivers a new and worthy perspective on the 9/11 experience.”
“Only the Lonely” is a perceptive work of modern fiction, a gripping tale of dreams dashed amidst the dust of 9/11 … a truly involving narrative about a teenager named Asim, his father’s dying wish, a passion for cinema, and a country hurtling toward September 11.”