Frank Anthony Polito’s ‘Renovated to Death’ book set in Detroit suburb – Detroit Free Press
LGBTQ readers and mystery lovers have a new book series to dive into. Detroit-area native Frank Anthony Polito’s “Renovated to Death” follows a young, hip, gay couple who find a dead body while renovating a home in the fictional Detroit neighborhood suburb of Pleasant Woods.
A Lambda Literary Award winner, Polito based the lead characters on himself and his partner, Craig. Like the protagonists, the pair are also an author and actor who lived in New York City before appearing on HGTV’s “House Hunters,” where they bought a 1920s Craftsman house in a historic Detroit suburb they then begin renovating themselves.
An author talk and signing will be held Tuesday, June 7 at Pages Bookshop, 19560 Grand River Ave., in Detroit, from 6 to 7 p.m.
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Polito brings his real-life DIY and reality TV experience to the new Domestic Partners in Crime book series. The series falls neatly into the subgenre of “cozy mystery,” quirky stories set in small, close-knit communities where sex and violence take place between the scenes instead of on the pages. The subgenre is typically dominated gently, elderly female lead characters and is typically marketed toward older female readers.
Polito said his editor suggested the idea of a gay couple with a DIY home reality show who solve mysteries together “to show that cozies aren’t just for little old ladies.”
“And I’m hoping,” he added, “that heterosexual, middle-aged or older ladies who maybe think they have a certain perception of what being gay is like will read this and see that we’re just like everybody else. We just want to live our lives and be happy and figure out who killed the guy that got pushed down the staircase.
“I also want people who live here to feel like they’re in the know and have fun when they see locations mentioned like Fernridge and Royal Heights.”
PopSugar said “Renovated to Death” “just might be the perfect cozy mystery,” but Polito reveals he’s already putting finishing touches on the follow-up.
The title: “Rehearsed to Death.”