Renovated to Death

This sprightly cozy from Lambda Award winner Polito (Drama Queers!), a series launch, introduces writer PJ Penwell, a self-described “gay millennial” suffering “from a self-inflicted Peter Pan syndrome,” and his partner, JP Broadway, an actor best known for playing a detective on TV. The couple have moved from New York City to the sleepy Detroit suburb of Pleasant Woods, where they host Domestic Partners, a home improvement TV reality show. They’re in desperate need of a house to restore for their second season when Tom Cash, the owner of a gay-friendly tavern, offers to let them do up his parents’ home, which has been sitting empty for years. When PJ and JP stop by to look the place over, they find Tom dead at the foot of the stairs. Was it an accident, or was it murder? The subsequent sleuthing takes a back seat to such matters as the various characters’ busy romantic lives and the leads’ desire to adopt a puppy. Some crackerjack renovation tips, including the proper procedure for refinishing woodwork, will appeal to DIY enthusiasts. Mystery readers, though, may feel shortchanged. (June)