Lambda Literary Award-winning author Frank Anthony Polito makes his mystery debut with RENOVATED TO DEATH, the first installment of the new Domestic Partners in Crime Mystery series starring a gay couple who are also the producers and stars of a hit reality home renovation show called Domestic Partners. RENOVATED TO DEATH is one of the first cozy mysteries with an LGBTQ+ sleuthing couple, in a new sub-genre of mystery that BookRiot and CrimeReads have dubbed as “Quozies”—cozy mysteries with a queer cast of characters. Polito’s series stars mystery writer Peter “PJ” Penwell and actor JP Broadway, who enjoy life in their sleepy Detroit suburb of Pleasant Woods—until a suspicious death makes an unscripted appearance.
Like the protagonists of RENOVATED TO DEATH, Polito and his partner Craig are also an author and actor who lived in NYC before appearing on HGTV’s House Hunters, where they purchased their 1920s Craftsman house in a historical Detroit suburb. They’ve been renovating their home together ever since, so Polito’s real-life DIY and reality TV experience bring authenticity to this entertaining new series. Fans of The Property Brothers and Fixer Upper, and readers of Kate Carlisle’s Fixer Upper Mysteries will find much to love in PJ and JP!
About the Book
After a successful first season of Domestic Partners chronicling the renovation of their historic Craftsman Colonial, Peter and JP are taking on a renovation of a local Tudor Revival inherited by identical twin brothers Terry and Tom Cash. But linoleum floors and a pink-tiled bathroom aren’t the only unwelcome surprises awaiting inside the house. Just as the show’s set to start filming, Peter and JP discover Tom Cash dead at the foot of the house’s staircase. And when the police ruling changes from accidental death to homicide, the list of suspects grows fast. Could the killer be the crabby next-door-neighbor, the Realtor ex-boyfriend, the bartender ex-boyfriend, the other, much younger, ex-boyfriend, or even Terry? And what’s that awful smell coming from the basement? Now Peter’s mystery writer skills, and JP’s experience as the former star of a cop show, will be put to the test—as will their relationship while they uncover the secrets of the house and its owners. With a killer on the loose, this is one fixer upper that may prove deadly . . .
RENOVATED TO DEATH
A Domestic Partners in Crime Mystery
By Frank Anthony Polito
Kensington Cozies, an imprint of Kensington Publishing Corp.
ON SALE: May 31st, 2022 / Cozy Mystery / Trade Paperback Original
$15.95 (21.95 CAN) / ISBN 978-1-4967-3558-4
Frank Anthony Polito is an award‑winning author and playwright. His novels include the Lambda Award-winning Drama Queers!, Lost in the ’90s, The Spirit of Detroit, and Band Fags! His plays have been produced around the country. He holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon and a BFA in Theatre from Wayne State. After growing up in the Detroit suburbs, Polito lived in New York City for 18 years before moving to Pleasant Ridge, Michigan with his partner Craig Bentley and their two dogs. They live in a 1924 Craftsman Colonial that they purchased on HGTV’s House Hunters and have been renovating together since 2013. He can be found online at https://frankanthonypolito.wixsite.com/website
Instagram: @frankanthonypolito
Facebook: @frankanthonypolito
Twitter: @fapolito