The Disaster Gay Detective Agency follows four queer friends determined to solve a mystery and a murder. The book starts with Brandon working the night shift at a hotel when a handsome guest, Jon, checks in. Jon invites Brandon up to his room and after a quick consult with his friends, Brandon decides to throw caution to the wind and take a leap head first into a chance at true love. Except Jon is gone by the time Brandon shows up for work the next day and he hasn't answered any of Brandon's texts. Jon leaves a bag and a phone in his room and Brandon takes the chance again to find Jon to return his things, making himself a kind of hero and saving the day for his new true love. Except when he arrives at the meeting site with his friend Ollie in tow, they witness a murder. Now the four of them, including Ian and Nicole, are trying to figure out what trouble Jon is mixed up in before someone decides to get rid of Brandon, Ollie, Ian and Nicole instead.
The best part of this book was the characters. I loved the four of these friends together. They've known each other since college and have managed to keep a standing brunch date and a group chat going for them to talk. They know everything about each other and are in constant contact so that there is always one of them available to help when another needs it. This kind of support system is so wholesome and wonderful to see in a book. I adored when these four were together as they really worked best when they were all in the same room.
That being said, I wanted to sit Brandon down and give him a lecture. This sweetheart was head over heels for a man he only just met and was determined to ignore EVERYTHING, I mean every RED FLAG wrong with Jon. Brandon was quick with the excuses, with the defense, with ANYTHING really, to prove that Jon was going to be his future and I just wanted more moments of clarity with him. There were times where he would start to face the truth but Brandon was just so stubborn, he'd dismiss it quickly to go back to trying to save Jon because obviously THAT was what Brandon was meant to do, save Jon so they could live in love together forever. It made me sigh and grumble a lot when we joined Brandon again in the book.
Now, the rest of the characters were amazing. I loved Ollie with his love for murder podcasts and his dog walking business. I thought Ollie was so sweet with the way he was quick to offer compliments and words of love for his friends. I wanted to scoop Ollie up and give him a hug and then also find them someone to talk to about what might have been depression with the tragic loss they'd experienced. I wanted the rest of the group to really sit down and have Ollie start to open up. Ollie's interest in murder mysteries really endeared him to me and I loved how the focus of solving the case made Ollie shine.
I thought Nicole was the level-headed one of the group. I loved her for her ambition and her need to take care of her friends. Her chapters showed a woman who had purpose and drive and was determined to make something of herself. I want Nicole to find the right vision for her life and to succeed in her profession and her love life. I enjoyed every chapter with Nicole and I think I identified with her mothering instinct the most. Nicole was focused on her job but she was quick to drop everything to take care of her friends and that kind of devotion is admirable.
Ian is the last of the group and they were fun and complicated at the same time. Ian had issues with a past relationship that they had let take up a lot of their time and I wanted Nicole to sit Ian down, as the most I guess responsible one of the group, and tell them to let their past go but I'm sure that is easier said than done. Ian's chapters were interesting and intriguing, even with Ian's point of wanting to stay angry at their ex. I thought their dreams, wanting to own their own club and be the headliner, share their life with their friends, were lovely and I wanted Ian to be happy.
Still, I did have some issues with the book. A lot of the main action started over from every character's perspective, showing the same conversations over and the same beats again, which made the book seem a repetitive. I found myself kind of skimming these sections because it was almost exactly the same, they just had little asides added in to color what had happened and then eventually we moved into something that we didn't see before and then the story moved on. It wasn't my favorite way to get the story moving.
Another issue I had was with a fifth narrative added in to the book that didn't have any identifiable means for these passages. When I read the first one, I thought it was an excerpt from a book Ian was reading and I had no idea why it was there. Eventually, after the second or third excerpt I realized what the passages were but it feels like something formatting might be able to help to distinguish it better. Maybe a page break and italics so readers know these pieces are linked and separate from the main narrative. Just something because it was just added in at the end of some chapters and they felt out of place as a result.
In the end, I liked this book. I wanted to LOVE it but Brandon's love story as the driving force of the case kind of frustrated me. The constant belief in this fated love was not great for me. Maybe if Brandon was not so focused on this love of a lifetime, I would have liked the story better. If he'd had more moments where he knew his love interest was flawed and then maybe had given him up and then worked on the case for the sake of understanding what they saw and solving the murder, I think the book would have been a lot stronger for me. Still, I WILL be reading more Rosen books soon and I hope to love those when I get to read them.
Rating on my scale: 6.5 Stars. The way this one ends feels like there is a potential for a sequel and if there is, I will be back to see more of this friend group. The cast of characters and the representation among them was diverse and strong and I loved them even if I didn't love the story I had to see them in.
My thanks to Netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Lev A.C. Rosen for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
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