A Nicky & Noah Mystery, No. 2 - Drama Muscle

Nick and Nora were the crime solving husband and wife team from The Thin Man films back in the day. But, in today's world, crime solving duos come in all forms and fashions - and author Joe Cosentino has given the world a humorous, theatrical duo in his "Drama" series of mysteries starring two college theater professors - Nicky Abbondanza and Noah Oliver (get it?  Nick and Nora is now Nicky and Noah!). In the first mystery, Drama Queen, Nicky and Noah had to figure out who was killing people on campus before their entire department was put six-feet under! Now, they are back in this second mystery, only this time, someone is killing off the competitors in a muscleman competition.

Drama Muscle finds Nicky and Noah taking a break from their own theater and helping the physical education department put on a true show for their muscleman competition. But it doesn't take long before the bodies in this competition start piling up, and Nicky and Noah find themselves smack dab in the middle of another murder mystery.  As with the first book, there are plenty of characters, plenty of suspects, and plenty of victims. Thankfully, Cosentino provides a cast of characters in the front of the book (just before the first chapter), which acts as a program for the story (I mean, hey, this is a book about theater people, after all).

Brick Strong is the department head of bodybuilding who is helping his some of his students in more ways than he should. Van Granite is the professor of bodybuilding who would do just about anything to become department head (and to get into Noah Oliver's pants!). Tim and Kim Sim are twin brothers competing in the competition, and who are fighting over an inheritance they will receive when their father dies. Maria Ruiz is another competitor who has her own very shocking secret that she will do just about anything to keep from coming out. Jimmy Saline is a theater student who has been helping out in the physical education department to get close to one of its students - but what would he be willing to do to see his secret crush win?  Jillian Flowers is yet one more competitor who has her own issues that could spell disaster. Then, of course, there is Cheryl Stryker, another professor of bodybuilding, whose secrets could threaten not one, but two of the people involved with the competition. And, of course, this is all just the beginning...

Cosentino writes a fast-moving, always humorous murder mystery with fun, sometimes over-the-top characters and with a main character (the story is told from Nicky's point of view) who always has just the right quip or snarky response to make the reader smile. But he's far from the perfect detective - he has his own insecurities about his relationship with Noah, as well as his own prowess as a crime-solving sleuth. But, as he stumbles across one body after another, he soon realizes he has no choice but to figure out who the murderer is before he gets tied up to the weight-lifting equipment and his own life placed on the line!  (Oh, wait - that does happen!)

Admittedly, it wasn't hard to spot the killer pretty early on (I think I've read way too many murder mysteries at this point to make them overly difficult to figure out), but it is not so much the whodunnit as it is the how-are-Nicky-and-Noah-going-to-figure-it-out? The journey is what is so much fun, and Cosentino's writing makes it well worth the read. Already have the next book on my stack, ready to read - can't wait!

RATING:  9 china cups of hot cocoa out of 10 for combining mystery with humor for a truly enjoyable read!