A Nicky & Noah Mystery, No. 1 - Drama Queen

Back in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, Nick and Nora were THE crime-solving couple.  Today, though, author Joe Cosentino introduces readers to a brand new couple who are ready to solve the latest murder mystery - Nicky and Noah!  Nicky Abbondanza is a college theater professor, and Noah Oliver is an assistant professor in the theater department.  When their fellow colleagues start turning up dead, Nicky and Noah are called upon by the department head to look into the murders, since the police do not seem to be making any headway.  Of course, the fact that Nicky has a crush on Noah, and Noah has secretly been in love with Nicky but was just afraid to say so only makes their partnership all the more fated to be!

Drama Queen combines two things I truly love - theater and murder mysteries!  As anyone who has been involved in the theater knows, there is always more drama going on backstage than there is on the actual stage, and with this mystery, things are no different.  There are relationship issues, there are friends and enemies, there are jealousies and bitter regrets, and above all else, there is someone who is exacting revenge on the faculty members of Treemeadow College one by one!  And while murder is definitely a serious business, Cosentino adds in a good measure of humor, sarcasm, and overly dramatic soap opera elements that make this a more-than-fun read.

Nicky Abbondanza is a middle-aged college professor who is directing another play at Treemeadow College.  His lead is a self-absorbed stud, and three of his actors (two women and one man) are so enthralled with the lead that they trip over themselves to garner his attention.  Noah Oliver is an assistant professor with whom Nicky is in love, but he can't say anything or act upon those feelings, since Noah is seeking tenure and it would give an appearance of impropriety if Nicky made a move on the younger man.  Scotty Bruno is Nicky's assistant who appears to not only have the hots for Noah, but is also competing with him for that tenured position.  Tyler Thompson is technical theater assistant who teaches under the wing of the professor of technical theater, David Samson (who, to put it bluntly, is a bitter, spiteful, hateful man that is determined to keep anyone from getting tenure at the college).Ariella Samson is the professor of costuming and David's wife (the two of whom are separated).  To round the cast out is Martin Anderson (department head), Jackson Grier (stage movement professor), Loptu Lee (playwriting professor), Millie Rodrigues (voice and diction professor), Wally Wanker (Emeritus Professor of Voice and Diction), and Shayla Johnson (theater office assistant).  And, as any good murder mystery and soap opera will, each of these people have plenty of secrets...

It's no surprise that David Samson is the first to be murdered.  Everyone hates him, and pretty much everyone has a reason to see him dead.  But then more bodies start turning up, Nicky gets propositioned in the men's restroom by one of the investigating police officers, Noah gets jealous, Nicky reveals his feelings to Noah, the two of them get together, and before you know it, they are on the track of the real killer, uncovering one surprising secret after another (from a professor's fight to keep his/her transgendered identity a secret to the filming of porn films right there on the college campus to blackmail and secret siblings!).  The ultimate reveal of the killers does come a bit out of left field, but once explanations are made, it makes sense.

Cosentino gives readers a very satisfying read, and it makes me happy that he write a mystery with gay protagonists without resorting to the unnecessary graphic sex scenes that so many other writers do.  A "gay mystery" can be well-written and fun to read without the graphic sex - leave that stuff to the imagination, and it reads so much better.  Yes, he does throw in some humorous innuendos and suggestions, but no more than any "straight mystery" does.

If you love theater, you'll love this book. If you love gay detectives, you'll love this book.  Heck, if you love a good mystery with some humor mixed in, you'll love this book.  I can't wait to read the next Nicky & Noah mystery.

RATING:  10 bronze monuments of the founds of Treemeadow College out of 10 for proving a gay detective novel can be a great read without being overly graphic.