Frank Anthony Polito poses with his latest — and possibly last — cozy mystery novel, “Dragged to Death.” The author will make an appearance at the Hazel Park District Library on June 17.
By: Andy Kozlowski | Madison-Park News | Published May 29, 2026
HAZEL PARK — An award-winning author/playwright who grew up in Hazel Park is set to finish his cozy mystery series with what he believes could be his last book, and the public is invited to meet him at an upcoming event.
Frank Anthony Polito will talk about his latest creation, “Dragged to Death,” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 17 at the Hazel Park District Library, 123 E. Nine Mile Road. The book follows a gay millennial couple who renovate homes for a hit reality TV show and ends up solving crimes — in this case, the murder of a young drag queen, smothered by her own wig.
While the previous three books in the “Domestic Partners in Crime” series were published under Kensington, the latest will be under his self-published imprint, Woodward Avenue Books. Polito said he finished the fourth book before the third was even released, but Kensington canceled his series around that time due to sales of the second book. His library talk will explore the volatile nature of the publishing industry and what aspiring authors can expect if they go independent.
“To (Kensington’s) credit, they did say I could pitch them a new series. But where I feel disappointed is they did all this push for the first book — reaching out to Instagram influencers, soliciting reviews, doing all this work — and then after it sold well, they did very little to promote the second book, and even less for the third,” Polito said. “So, I’ve gone back to self-publishing, which sometimes is looked down upon by people who think, ‘Well, anyone can do that,’ but this is a series where I have readers asking, ‘When’s book No. 4,’ and I wanted to deliver for them.”
His talk will also include before-and-after videos and pictures of his own home renovations with his partner of 36 years, Craig Bentley. That passion for home renovation is what inspired the “Domestic Partners in Crime” series, which began with the book “Renovated to Death” (2022) and was followed by “Rehearsed to Death” (2023) and “Haunted to Death” (2024).
The series is about a gay millennial couple, PJ Penwell and JP Broadway, who solve crimes. They live in the fictional suburb of Pleasant Woods, set between Royal Heights and Fernridge, near Madison Park — all obvious parodies of real metro Detroit suburbs. They also host a hit reality show where they renovate homes, although they keep finding themselves drawn into murder mysteries.
In their latest adventure, PJ and JP are invited to participate in a charity drag show where they meet Harmony House, the mentor of the younger drag queens. At rehearsal, one of her mentees, the beautiful 19-year-old Melody Mansion, announces she auditioned for a TV show, “Top Drag Superstar,” and made the cut. This angers Harmony, who auditioned for the show many times without success, and who wishes Melody dead before a room full of witnesses.
Cut to the night of the charity event some weeks later, and Melody is found deceased in her dressing room, smothered by her own wig — with Harmony standing over her body. The police feel they have an open-and-shut case, with Harmony as the suspect, but PJ and JP feel something is amiss, and soon find themselves searching for answers.
“I feel each of my books keep getting stronger because when I wrote my first mystery, it was a new (genre) to me — I didn’t yet know the ins and outs of it, and some felt the mystery was too easily solved, or that I didn’t follow the rules of cozy,” Polito said.
“Cozy” refers to the cozy mystery genre, which often features small towns with colorful characters and a tasteful avoidance of gore, sex and swearing. Even the murders happen off-screen. The books are meant to be appropriate for teens and adults alike, and to feel warm and inviting despite the dark crimes at each mystery’s core.
“It’s fun and it’s gay and it’s campy and it’s drag, but like every other story I write, I try to give it some deeper meaning, really thinking about who the victim is and was, and the people who loved her,” Polito said. “So many cozies I read, someone dies on the first page or in the first chapter and you never know who they were, or why you should care that they were killed and want to solve their murder.”
Polito himself grew up in Hazel Park, an experience that has inspired his work. Before the “Domestic Partners in Crime” series, some of his prior works included “Band Fags!” (2008), “Drama Queers!” (2009) and “The Spirit of Detroit” (2013), which together form a trilogy about a group who attended Hazel Park High during the mid-to-late ’80s, inspired by Polito himself and his closest friends. “Drama Queers!” won a Lambda Literary Award. Polito also wrote the time-travel story, “Lost in the ’90s” (2012).
Despite a prolific career, Polito said the difficulties with Kensington have him thinking about other options.
“This is the last book in the series, and not only is this the last one, but this could also be the last book that I ever write. Because at this point, I need to make a living — I can’t just keep doing this for fun,” Polito said. “I’d love for people to come to this event to see me and so I can see them, and what better place to have my farewell than Hazel Park, where I grew up.”
Randy Ernst-Meyer, the librarian organizing the event at the Hazel Park District Library, explained that the talk was pitched by The Book Beat, a bookstore in Berkley.
“(The manager) wanted to promote this book, and she said let’s do it together since you (the library) have so much space,” Ernst-Meyer said. “The (book) series is so good, and Frank is just beloved here — he’s such an amazing writer, actor and person.
“I also love hosting authors who can talk about their work; some are great writers but have trouble talking to people, but Frank is so personable, and when he talks writing, it’s less about technicalities and more about how to tell your story. He is even thinking about possibly holding a young writers’ program here someday,” Ernst-Meyer said. “We just love having him at the library.”
For more information, call the Hazel Park District Library at (248) 546-4095.