Not every crime is solved by a grade A detective or a hotshot sleuth, and in this case, an eclectic and rompy friend group bestows upon themselves the duty to solve the messiest of offences. Nicole is a Black lesbian junior lawyer with big dreams and near-zero social life; Brandon is a gay Jewish hotelier willing to risk his gig for a one-night stand with a hot guest; Ollie is a transgender man dog walker with no fixed address who house-sits between bouts of couch surfing; Ian is a nonbinary bookstore clerk and weekend drag queen who has spent the last year hate-stalking their ex. Not exactly the varsity team. The four of them are totally unsuited to solve any crime, let alone a murder. Which is precisely why The Disaster Gay Detective Agency is such a perfect title for Lev AC Rosen’s latest novel. Not only are they a bit of a rolling calamity as a group, but each of their Facebook statuses would have “It’s complicated” etched upon them in permanent ink.
After Brandon’s misbegotten tryst unexpectedly departs, leaving behind baggage both emotional and physical, the hotel clerk decides to play Prince Charming and search through all the area’s possible suitors in hopes of finding the one who belongs to the missing phone (which he has illegally pocketed). When his admittedly long shot is just about to pay off, he witnesses the evidence of another shot, one of the fatal variety, and his erstwhile lover exits stage left. Later, when Brandon returns to the scene of the crime, the body is missing as well.
At this point, as Sherlock Holmes would say, the game is on, and Brandon summons his friends to solve the crime. Is the would-be boyfriend mixed up in something nefarious? Is he in danger? Will seeking him out put Brandon and his pals in harm’s way as well? Not content to let dead dogs lie, Brandon enlists his social circle in a life and death game of hide-and-seek that may involve international spies, a mercenary force, the dark web and millions of illicit dollars changing hands. But it might also make for a terrific podcast, so why not go for it?
Zany is not often a word used to characterize murder mysteries, but Rosen’s adrenaline- and hormone-laced romp through humanity’s darker corridors provides levity, and the defective detectives’ Rashomon-like exposition will keep you guessing straight through.