The Disaster Gay Detective Agency by Lev A.C. Rosen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
The Disaster Gay Detective Agency is a, I believe, standalone Contemporary Mystery story following a diverse group of characters living in New York City.
Our core characters are a friend group, more of a found family really, comprised of Brandon, Nicole, Ian and Ollie, all 20-somethings just trying to survive in the city and navigate young adulthood.
The story begins when Brandon, a hopeless romantic, ends up having a intimate encounter with a very attractive man staying at the hotel at which he works.
The man, who tells him that his name is Jon, seems like everything Brandon has ever wanted. He can’t believe his luck, that a chance encounter could lead to love.
Jon promises to text, but to Brandon’s horror, he ends up checking out early and never reaching out as Brandon expected. What’s more confusing though is that he’s seemingly left his bag of belongings behind, as well as his cell phone.
Brandon takes the phone, thinking it’ll be the perfect excuse to track him down, to find out what really happened. Brandon’s sure that Jon felt that spark too, and he’s not willing to just be ghosted like that. He can’t just let it be.
He does eventually spot Jon again, but it’s anything but the reunion he hoped for. In fact, he ends up witnessing a murder and spies Jon fleeing the scene.
His friends, now fully invested in whatever the heck this is, decide to help Brandon solve the murder and get answers on Jon’s true identity. But are they going to be able to do that without attracting the killer’s attention? Collectively, they don’t exactly fly under the radar.
I really enjoyed my time with this novel. I’ll admit I was a bit hesitant going in, as early reviews weren’t great, and though it’s not perfect, I thought it was funny and engaging. I liked the characters and their found family group. Honestly, I’m hoping we get another book with their group in the future.
I think perhaps it isn’t as much of a Murder Mystery as people were expecting. It’s more like a gay-version of Dial A for Aunties. It’s all about the characters, their relationships and the hi-jinks that ensue after they’re adjacent to a murder, than it is about the mystery itself.
I think if you go in with that in mind, that it’s a Contemporary, very much character-driven, story with a touch of murder, you could really enjoy it like I did.
The main group of characters, their interactions with each other felt very believable, IMO. It’s sort of a messy group, but they all have different strengths that they’re bringing to the table and they’re able to support the others weaknesses because of that.
They’re stronger together, y’all.
The mystery does get completely wild and over the top, but I appreciated how it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The truth about who Jon is, and the situation revolving around the murder, it’s straight out of an action movie, and our main characters seemed so out of place in that plot.
But honestly, that was half the fun. For example, part of their investigative strategy is to host a Game Night, where they can question parties of interest on such topics as guns, drugs and international black market dealings, all under the guise of a trivia game.
I would recommend this for anyone looking for a humorous, diverse Queer story, with a light mystery and very strong found family elements.
Lev A.C. Rosen does found families so well. I’ve read his entire Evander Mills series, which I absolutely adore and highly recommend for anyone looking for Queer Historical Mysteries, and that was one of my favorite elements of that series. The found family.
Rosen also brings just the right amount of humor to his stories for my tastes, while also highlighting some important real world issues. I like the mix. Even with difficult issues explored though, I still find his stories heartwarming and full of hope.
Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. As mentioned above, I’d love to see these characters in another novel.
Keeping my fingers crossed for that!
