Joe Cosentino’s Drama Detective out in audiobook format this week!

Joe Cosentino is a regular here at the blog, and I am awed by his body of work – he’s a great author, people, and I’m delighted that his Nicky and Noah mystery books (a firm favourite with his faithful readers!) are appearing now in audio format, performed by Griswold Addams.

Drama Detective, the fifth of the series, will be published as an audiobook on the 17th. And here to celebrate, is Nicky Abbondanza himself, the leading character in the Nicky and Noah mystery/comedy/romance novels, to tell us all about it.

Welcome, Nicky. Thank you for talking with us today about the audiobook release of the fifth novel in Joe Cosentino’s popular Nicky and Noah mystery series.
I’m happy to get sprung from the book. My long legs need a stretch.

How did you find Griswold Addams, the audiobook narrator for Drama Luau and now Drama Detective? Griswold sounds just like me! Actually, I prefer to call him a performer, since he perfectly captured all the characters (and they are characters) in the audiobooks. Griswold has the perfect voice, comic timing, versatility, and emotional commitment for these audiobooks. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to bring my stories to life!

After hearing the audiobooks of Drama Queen, Drama Muscle, Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, and now Drama Detective, it’s clear there should be a television series. Who do you think should play you if there is a Nicky and Noah Mysteries television series?
Matt Bomer should play me, and Neil Patrick Harris would be terrific as Noah. Luke McFarlane would be perfect as my brother, Tony (or any role). Joe (nepotism) wants to play Martin Anderson, my department head and best friend. How about Nathan Lane as Ruben and Wanda Sykes as Shayla? And wouldn’t Rosie O’Donnell and Bruce Willis be hoots as Noah’s parents? Rather than Logo showing reruns of Golden Girls around the clock, and Bravo airing so called reality shows, they should do The Nicky and Noah Mysteries. Come on, TV producers, make Joe some offers!

(Anna interrupting here to point out Mr Bomer is going to be busy, as she has dibs on him herself…)

Why did Joe Cosentino create this series?
Joe combines his past as a professional actor, present as a theatre college professor/department head, infatuation with mystery novels, and wild sense of humor in this series. Even at a young age, Joe suspected that Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson were more than roommates, which we have a lot of fun with in this fifth novel. There aren’t a lot of gay cozy mysteries out there. Joe changed all that. And I helped!

For anyone who hasn’t read them (and they should!), tell us about the Nicky and Noah mysteries.
The Nicky and Noah mysteries are set in an Edwardian style university founded originally by a gay couple (Tree and Meadow) whose name the university bears: Treemeadow College. The clues and murders (and laughs) come fast and furious, there are enough plot twists and turns and a surprise ending to keep the pages turning faster than a priest chasing a new altar boy around the choir loft. At the center is a touching gay romance between Associate Professor of Directing Nicky Abbondanza (that’s me!) and Assistant Professor of Acting Noah Oliver (the love of my life!). In the first novel, Drama Queen (Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Award for Favorite LGBT Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary Novel of 2015), college theatre professors are falling like stage curtains (while I direct the college play production), and Noah and I must figure out whodunit and why. In the second book, Drama Muscle (Rainbow Award Honorable Mention 2016), I’m directing the college’s bodybuilding competition, and bodybuilding students and professors are dropping like barbells. In Drama Cruise it is summer on a ten-day cruise from San Francisco to Alaska and back. Noah and I must figure out why college theatre professors are dropping like life rafts as I direct a murder mystery dinner theatre show onboard ship starring Noah and other college theatre professors from across the US. Complicating matters are our both sets of our parents who want to embark on all the activities on and off the boat with us. In Drama Luau, I’m directing the luau show at the Maui Mist Resort. Noah and I need to figure out why muscular Hawaiian hula dancers are dropping like grass skirts. Our department head and his husband, Martin and Ruben, are along for the bumpy tropical ride. In each book Noah and I eavesdrop, seduce, role play, and finally trap the murderer, as pandemonium, hilarity, and true love ensue for a happily ever after ending—until the next book.

Has the Nicky and Noah mystery series been well received so far?
They like me. They really liked me! Reviewers called the books hysterically funny farce, Murder She Wrote meets Hart to Hart meets The Hardy Boys, and a captivating whodunit with a surprise ending. One reviewer wrote it was the funniest book she had ever read. Who am I to argue? Noah and I are an adorable couple. The awards have also been amazing.

What do you like about Treemeadow College in Vermont?
Treemeadow College is the perfect setting for a cozy mystery with its white Edwardian buildings, low white stone fences, lake and mountain views, and Cherry wood offices with tall leather chairs and fireplaces. It’s also very romantic. Just ask Noah.

Tell us about the storyline in Drama Detective. But no spoilers please!
I’m directing and ultimately starring as Sherlock Holmes opposite Noah as Dr. Watson in a Sherlock Holmes musical premiering at Treemeadow College, Is Holmes a Homo?, on the road to Broadway. When cast members begin toppling over like hammy actors at a curtain call, Noah and I use our drama skills to figure out who is lowering the streetlamps on the actors before we get half-baked on Baker Street. As usual it’s a laugh riot and a good puzzle with an ending you won’t see coming. You’ll love it more than an anti-gay conservative politician loves men’s public bathroom stalls.

Joe describes you as tall, handsome with a Roman nose and dark hair, muscular, and having an enormous manhood. Does that help you solve the murders?
It doesn’t hurt. Well, maybe it hurts Noah a bit. Hah. I have to flirt my way into some places to get certain information, so I guess it’s a huge asset (no pun intended). Even more, however, Noah and I use our theatre skills, including playing other people, to get clues. And as in the third and fourth novels, we get some help from Martin and Ruben, joining in with hysterically funny role plays to nab the killer.

Your and Noah’s parents are also in the latest book.
I think our parents are absolutely hilarious. I love Noah’s mother’s fixation with taking pictures of everything, and his father’s fascination with seeing movies. I also love how Noah’s father is an amateur sleuth like me. As they say, men marry their fathers. Also, both sets of our parents accept their son’s spouse as part of their family. Kudos to them.

Who is your favorite character in Drama Detective?
Noah of course. He is kind, gorgeous, sweet, sexy, and the perfect Watson to my Holmes. He is also genuinely concerned for others, and he will do anything to solve a murder mystery. Finally, Noah is a one-man man, and I’m proud to admit that I’m the man. Of the newbies in book five, my favorite character is Mark Melody, the creator of the Sherlock Holmes musical. Mark talks in musical theatre talk, and he has a wild crush on Corey Sundance a young stud actor member of the company.

Who is your favorite couple in the book, next to you and Noah?
Ruben and Martin are terrific. I love Martin’s paternal instincts toward Noah and me, sense of theatricality, and his inquiring mind. I also like how Ruben keeps Martin in line. Finally, it’s wonderful to see an older couple so much in love (uncommon in the entertainment field), and how they can read each other like a book (no pun intended). They’re two terrifically talented guys. (Try saying that three times fast.)

Which character do you like the least in book five?
I started out not liking handsome Rev. Tommy Hawk for his discrimination against Noah and me under the guise of Hawk’s “religious freedom.” However, when things took a turn in the story, my feelings changed.

Which character is the most misunderstood?
Corey Sundance is a handsome, muscular, and sexy young rebel with a cause. His inner secret makes him behave in a self-centered manner, but he’s masking the heart of a frightened child yearning for love.

Which character was the sexiest?
Noah would say Tony, my macho, muscular, Italian-American, younger brother.

How can readers get their hands on the new audiobook of Drama Detective, and how can they contact you?
The purchase links are below. Readers and listeners can contact me through Joe’s web site. I’m always in his head. I guess I’m the man inside the man. And we both love to hear from readers/listeners!

Thank you, Nicky, for sharing with us today.
It is Noah’s and my joy and pleasure to share these stories with you. So put on your Sherlock Holmes coat and hat, grab your pipe and program, and take your front row seat. Listen up! The curtain is rising and the game is afoot in the audiobook of Drama Detective!

Grab the audiobook HERE:

Drama Detective (the 5th Nicky and Noah mystery) a comedy/mystery/romance novel by Joe Cosentino, audiobook performed by Griswold Addams

https://www.audible.com/pd/B09FFWRXPF/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-276297&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_276297_rh_us

http://myBook.to/DramaDetective

About the book:

Theatre professor Nicky Abbondanza is directing a Sherlock Holmes musical in a professional summer stock production at Treemeadow College, co-starring his husband and theatre professor colleague Noah Oliver as Dr. John Watson. When cast members begin toppling over like hammy actors at a curtain call, Nicky dons Holmes’ persona on stage and off. Once again Nicky and Noah will need to use their drama skills to figure out who is lowering the street lamps on the actors before the handsome couple get half-baked on Baker Street. You will be applauding and shouting Bravo for Joe Cosentino’s fast-paced, side-splittingly funny, edge-of-your-seat entertaining fifth novel in this delightful series. Curtain up, the game is afoot!

Language: English
Cover Art & Design: Holly McCabe
Release date: September 17, 2021

Praise for Drama Detective, the 5th Nicky and Noah mystery:

“Drama Detective (Nicky and Noah Mystery #5) by Joe Cosentino is high camp, warmed-hearted, murderous fun! A series that, like Nicky and Noah themselves, keeps getting better with each story as they adjust to each other, grow, and yes, continue to love, act, and investigate murders now as a family. I think this is the best yet! I can’t recommend the series and this story enough! Be prepared to want to cuddle a character or two as well as laugh out loud!” –Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

“This series is superbly twisted, full of murder and mayhem, and so many laugh out loud moments…Each Nicky and Noah Mystery Series book has a wonderfully twisted plot steeped in farce and absurdist humour. The murder ‘weapons’ are always highly original as is the motive and identity of the murderer…One thing I can guarantee; you will not put this book down until you finish, unless it’s to recover from one of the many belly laughs you’ll engage in while reading. Another winner from this gifted author which I have no hesitation in highly recommending.” —Divine Magazine

“In the fifth volume of the delightful, award-winning Nicky and Noah mystery series from author Joe Cosentino, Drama Detective, Treemeadow College theater professors Nicky Abbondanza and Noah Oliver find themselves embroiled in yet another murderer’s killing spree at the one place you would think they would be safe: A stage….As narrator, Nicky’s trademark wit, catty commentary and mocking metaphors are laugh-out-loud funny…like the previous four entries in this delectable series, the author leaves us breathlessly anticipating what’s next in store for Nicky and Noah.” –Edge Media Network

About Joe:

Bestselling author Joe Cosentino was voted Favorite LGBT Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary Author of the Year by the readers of Divine Magazine for Drama Queen. He also wrote the other novels in the Nicky and Noah mystery series: Drama Muscle, Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective, Drama Fraternity, Drama Castle, Drama Dance, Drama Faerie, Drama Runway, Drama Christmas, Drama Pan; the Dreamspinner Press series: In My Heart/An Infatuation & A Shooting Star, the Bobby and Paolo Holiday Stories: A Home for the Holidays/The Perfect Gift/The First Noel,The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland and Holiday Tales from Fairyland, the Found At Last series: Finding Giorgio and Finding Armando, and the Player Piano Mysteries: The Player and The Player’s Encore; the Cozzi Cove series: Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out, Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings, Cozzi Cove: Happy Endings (NineStar Press);andthe Jana Lane mysteries: Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, Rag Doll (The Wild Rose Press). He has appeared in principal acting roles in film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Holland Taylor, and Jason Robards. Joe is currently Chair of the Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York, and he is happily married. Many of Joe’s books have received Favorite Book of the Month Awards and Rainbow Award Honorable Mentions.