The Disaster Gay Detective Agency (publication day June 2, 2026) by Lev AC Rosen is a funny mystery/ thriller featuring four friends in New York City who get involved over their heads in a situation and have to pull together to get out alive.
This is my first Rosen book, and I will probably try some more when I have a chance–I did quite enjoy it. He used an interesting format–alternating chapters from each friend, in the same order, over and over. For especially chaotic scenes when they were all together, we got to experience it from each character’s perspective, and it wasn’t repetitive.
We first spend time with Brandon, who sets things in motion by hooking up with a guest at the hotel where he works. He knows better, but the guy is super-hot and they have a connection! Brandon lives with Ian, a nonbinary drag queen who performs but also works in a bookstore to attempt to pay the bills. They still cyberstalk their ex, Victor, who cheated on them, but no one has made them feel as alive since. Ollie, who is trans, mostly couch-surfs and dog walks when he isn’t chilling out with an edible listening to a crime podcast, having lost his father in a car accident recently. Nicole is a black lesbian junior associate at a big law firm, working insane hours with the idea that after 7 years she’ll be able to relax.
Brandon’s hookup, Jon, checks out early, leaving his bag in the hotel, including his phone, which Brandon finds and also finds the reason Jon hasn’t responded to his thirsty morning after texts. So he decides to find Jon and return his phone to him. It’s romantic, like a queer glass slipper! Ollie accompanies him along with the 7 dogs he’s walking. They find Jon, but also witness a murder of the man Jon was meeting. After they call Nicole to find out what to do, they go back to the scene and find . . . nothing. Only a big organization–the government, private militia, or something equally as scary–could make a shooting victim disappear in an hour without leaving any trace. So Jon is involved in something scary–bigger than anyone imagined.
Though Ollie witnessed the murder, he’s invigorated in a way he hasn’t been in ages–he knows what to do. He starts a murder board, and goes back to the scene. Soon each of them have met a large, scary man with a heart-eyes emoji tattoo–how is he connected? Filled with twists and turns and plenty of drama, it was a satisfying mystery.
I really enjoyed the ride and do recommend it. It’s supposed to be a series–it will be interesting to see what these four get up to later on. I didn’t note any anti-fat bias, thankfully.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Reading While Fat 