Review – Renovated to Death by Frank Anthony Polito

Posted May 27, 2022 by Carole in Reviews / 6 Comments

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review – Renovated to Death by Frank Anthony PolitoRenovated to Death by Frank Anthony Polito
Series: Domestic Partners in Crime #1
Published by Kensington Books on May 31, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Amateur Sleuth
Pages: 288
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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four-stars

Real-life domestic partners and stars and producers of the new hit reality home renovation show Domestic Partners, bestselling mystery author Peter “PJ” Penwell and actor JP Broadway are enjoying work and life in their sleepy Detroit suburb of Pleasant Woods—until a suspicious death makes an unscripted appearance . . .

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 is 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 renovation-reluctant brother, 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 . . .
 

I enjoyed this book! I decided to give this book a try because I was in the mood for a cozy and I really liked that this book features LGBT+ characters. I found this book to be a super quick read that was hard to put down and I ended up reading most of it in a single day. I thought that this was an excellent first installment in a series that I am looking forward to following.

PJ and JP are almost ready to film the second season of their home renovation show but in order to get things started, they need a house to feature. Luck would have it that there is a house in their neighborhood that was recently inherited by identical twins, Tom and Terry, that needs a lot of updating. Things take an unfortunate turn when Tom is found dead inside the house and it may not have been an accident.

I liked all of the characters and was incredibly pleased to see LGBT+ representation in a cozy mystery. This really was a fun little mystery. I did figure out the mystery pretty early on but I had a good time watching the characters put the pieces of the puzzle together.  I had hoped to see a little more home renovation in the story but everything in this book takes place just prior to the start of the actual renovation. I really enjoyed the fact that on top of filming a show and solving a murder, PJ and JP also worked to adopt a dog.

I would definitely recommend this book to others. I had a great time reading this book and couldn’t wait to see how things would work out for all of the characters. I look forward to reading more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Kensington Books via NetGalley.

6 responses to “Review – Renovated to Death by Frank Anthony Polito

  1. Verushka

    What a lovely fun gem this is! I need to check this series out!

  2. This sounds fun! I love a cozy mystery that involves home renovation. I don’t mind if I guess the killer early on if the story is compelling enough to keep me entertained.