Drama Daddy (the 17th Nicky and Noah mystery)
by Joe Cosentino,
now also an audiobook performed by Brian Cheney
Listen to a sample of the audiobook at:
Summer stock, romance, and murder blossom at Treemeadow College on July 4th when theatre professors and husbands Nicky and Noah and their thespian cohorts stage an original gay musical adaptation heralding the signing of the Declaration of Independence entitled, I Do Declare. Nicky and Noah need to use their drama skills to catch the killer before the frills on their collars are tied in a knot—around their throats. You will be applauding and shouting Bravo for Joe Cosentino’s fast-paced, side-splittingly funny, edge-of-your-seat entertaining first-time novelette (mystery #17) in this delightful series. Take your seats. It’s Independence Day! The curtain and fireworks are going up on an enamored John Adams and Thomas Jefferson who raise Ben Franklin’s kite, Daddy John Dick-in-son, John Hand-cock, George Washington and his French squeeze Guy Raffleur, and murder!
Praise for the Nicky and Noah mysteries:
“Joe Cosentino has a unique and fabulous gift. His writing is flawless, and his plot-lines will have you guessing until the very last page, which makes his books a joy to read. His books are worth their weight in gold, and if you haven’t discovered them yet you are in for a rare treat.” Divine Magazine
“a combination of Laurel and Hardy mixed with Hitchcock and Murder She Wrote…
Loaded with puns and one-liners…Right to the end, you are kept guessing, and the conclusion still has a surprise in store for you.” “the best modern Sherlock and Watson in books today…I highly recommend this book and the entire series, it’s a pure pleasure, full of fun and love, written with talent and brio…fabulous…brilliant” Optimumm Book Reviews
“adventure, mystery, and romance with every page….Funny, clever, and sweet….I can’t find anything not to love about this series….This read had me laughing and falling in love….Nicky and Noah are my favorite gay couple.” Urban Book Reviews
“Every entry of the Nicky and Noah mystery series is rife with intrigue, calamity, and hilarity…Cosentino keeps us guessing – and laughing – until the end, as well as leaving us breathlessly anticipating the next Nicky and Noah thriller.” Edge Media Network
“Superb fun from start to finish, for me this series gets stronger with every book and that’s saying something because the benchmark was set so very high with book 1.” Three Books Over the Rainbow
“The Nicky and Noah Mysteries series are perfect for fans of the Cozy Mystery sub-genre. They mix tongue-in-cheek humor, over-the-top characters, a wee bit of political commentary, and suspense into a sweet little mystery solved by Nicky and Noah, theatre professors for whom all the world’s a stage.” Prism Book Alliance
“This is one hilarious series with a heart and it just keeps getting better. I highly recommend them all, and please read them in the order they were written for full blown laugh out loud reading pleasure!” Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
Having written sixteen popular Nicky and Noah mystery novels, I was surprised when Nicky and Noah fans asked me for a Nicky and Noah mystery novelette. At first I resisted. Upon thinking about it further, it made total sense. We live in a fast-paced world, where we want our entertainment to be as tight as our abs. So as I sat at my computer, I was adamant that a Nicky and Noah mystery novelette had to have all the same elements as the novels: riotous humor, sweet romance, political commentary, social satire, and a crackling whodunit solved by armchair detective, or rather detective’s chair detective, Professor of Play Directing at Treemeadow College, Nicky Abbondanza. Our favorite regular characters needed to be included along with the usual array of hot and hunky new suspects. But how could I fit an entire novel into a novelette? It struck me like a light bulb hit by lightning. Instead of the usual five murders per story, there would be only one murder—and it would be a doozy! As you Nicky and Noah mystery fans know, Nicky and Noah and their theatrical troupe are always putting on a show. What would be the show for the novelette? I thought, what is it that most people want nowadays? A feeling of independence. My mind exploded like fireworks—Independence Day! I decided Nicky, Noah, and their theatrical troupe at Treemeadow College would stage an original musical production of the founding of our nation entitled, I Do Declare.
In my version of the story, it’s summer stock time at Treemeadow College. Sexy Nicky Abbondanza directs the show and takes on the leading role (What else did you expect?) of John Adams. Nicky’s gorgeous and faithful husband, Associate Professor of Acting Noah Oliver, is cast as Adam’s love interest, Thomas Jefferson. Nicky and Noah’s best friend and department chair, Martin Anderson, grabs (among other things) the plumb role of Adams’s beard Abigail. Electricity sparks fly as Martin’s long-suffering husband, Ruben Markinson, plays a frisky Benjamin Franklin. Nicky and Noah’s son, Taavi, and Martin and Ruben’s son, Ty, threaten to call Child Protective Services until Nicky casts them as the Couriers. Nicky’s nemesis, the oblivious Detective Manuello, worms his way into the cast as King George III with a roving eye for muscular male servants. Nicky’s dog, Asterisk, shows his molars until he secures the treat role of the king’s dog Georgie. New to the cast are hunky Sami Zaman, Graduate Assistant of Music, Musical Director, and Edward Rutledge, who has a yen for handsome Haku Yamato, Assistant Professor of Dance, Choreographer, and John Dick-in-son. Hot Theatre majors, Hector Alvarez and Philippe Laurent, play the father of our country George Washington and his French kiss lover Guy Raffleur III, giving new meaning to the term, “Call Me Daddy.” When the actor playing John Hand-cock finds snarky Professor of Music Hank Tobias (Caesar Rodney) murdered in the theatre wing, Nicky and Noah take flight to solve the case—before the murderer clips their wings.
And now Drama Daddy is available as an audiobook performed by the brilliantly talented opera singer, actor, and audiobook performer, Brian Cheney. Brian creates over 20 character voices, has perfect comic timing, displays his acting chops in the dramatic scenes, and sings beautifully. Brian is the perfect man—after Nicky.
For those of you who haven’t yet ventured to the land of Nicky and Noah (and you should!), it’s a gay cozy mystery comedy series, meaning the setting is warm and cozy, the clues and murders (and laughs) come fast and furious, and there are enough plot twists and turns and a surprise ending to keep the pages turning (as Nicky would say) faster than a Jehovah’s Witness heading for a new housing development. At the center is the touching relationship between Professor of Play Directing Nicky Abbondanza and Associate Professor of Acting Noah Oliver. We watch them go from courting to marrying to adopting a child, all the while head over heels in love with each other (as we fall in love with them). Reviewers called the series “hysterically funny farce,” “Murder She Wrote meets Hart to Hart meets The Hardy Boys,” and “captivating whodunits.” One reviewer wrote they are the funniest books she’s ever read! Another said I’m “a master storyteller.” Who am I to argue?
The premiere novel, Drama Queen, was voted Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Award for Favorite LGBT Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary Novel of the Year! The subsequent novels won many Rainbow Award Honorable Mentions and Favorite Book of the Month awards: Drama Muscle, Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective, Drama Fraternity, Drama Castle, Drama Dance, Drama Faerie, Drama Runway, Drama Christmas, Drama Pan, Drama TV, Drama Oz, Drama Prince, and Drama Merry. They are all available as audiobooks, along with the current release of Drama Daddy. Drama King, the final novel, will be available as an audiobook soon.
As a past professional actor and college theatre professor/department chair, I know first-hand the hysterically funny antics, sweet romance, and captivating mystery in the worlds of theatre and academia. The Nicky and Noah mysteries are full of them! I know you’ll laugh, cry, feel romantic, and love delving into this crackling compact mystery audiobook with more plot twists and turns than, as Nicky would say, a priest chasing a new altar boy up the bell tower.
I’m more excited, as Nicky would say, than a teenager finding a new marijuana dispensary to share this new audiobook with you. So take your seats for the fireworks. Not only Ben Franklin’s kite will rise as the men in the Continental Congress find romance, rollicking fun, and rousing murder!
And drop me a line. I’ll share it with Nicky and Noah and Brian!
https:// JoeCosentino.weebly.com
About the Author:
Joe Cosentino was voted Favorite MM Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary Author of the Year by the readers of Divine Magazine for Drama Queen, the first Nicky and Noah mystery novel. He is also the author of the remaining Nicky and Noah mysteries: Drama Muscle, Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective, Drama Fraternity, Drama Castle, Drama Dance, Drama Faerie, Drama Runway, Drama Christmas, Drama Pan, Drama TV, Drama Oz, Drama Prince, Drama Merry, Drama Daddy, Drama King; the Player Piano Mysteries: The Player and The Player’s Encore; the Jana Lane Mysteries: Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, Rag Doll; the Cozzi Cove series: Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Moving Forward, Stepping Out, New Beginnings, Happy Endings; the In My Heart Anthology: An Infatuation & A Shooting Star; the Tales from Fairyland Anthology: The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland and Holiday Tales from Fairyland; the Bobby and Paolo Holiday Stories Anthology: A Home for the Holidays, The Perfect Gift, The First Noel; and the Found At Last Anthology: Finding Giorgio and Finding Armando. His books have won numerous Book of the Month awards and Rainbow Award Honorable Mentions. As an actor, Joe appeared in principal roles in film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Jason Robards, and Holland Taylor. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Goddard College, Master’s degree from SUNY New Paltz, and is currently a happily married college theatre professor/department chair residing in New York State.
Website: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeCosen
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4071647.Joe_Cosentino
Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino
About the Narrator:
Brian Cheney, hailed by KUSC Los Angeles as the “next great tenor”, protégé of legendary tenor Jerry Hadley, has gained international acclaim for his portrayal of characters such as Radamés in Aida, Don José in Carmen, Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca, Rodolfo in La bohème, the Duke in Rigoletto, and Canio in Pagliacci. “It is tenor Brian Cheney as the brave painter Cavaradossi who really blew me away. Cheney has that terrific tenor sound: the power, richness, and vocal color of a high baritone combined with ringing, awe-inspiring high notes” (Stage and Cinema.) Highlights from last season include Mr. Cheney’s creation of the role of Victor Frankenstein in the world premiere performance of Gregg Kallor’s Frankenstein in New York to critical acclaim and his National Philharmonic debut as the tenor soloist in Leonard Bernstein’s Mass and West Side Story. “Cheney’s ringing tenor voice carried well in the stone catacombs, conveying the fear that the deep bass sound of the monster summoned. And as the section of the sketches went on, Cheney’s voice bloomed to match the action and threats of the creature.” (Operawire) Recent engagements include Radamés in Aida with Virginia Opera, Antonin Scalia in Derrick Wang’s Scalia/Ginsburg with Toledo Opera, and Salute to Vienna performances in Miami, West Palm Beach, Nashville, and New York City (Lincoln Center). In audiobooks, Mr. Cheney performed several Nicky and Noah Mystery novels, All the King’s Men by Scott Leddy, Swarm by Guy Morris, The Last Ark by Guy Morris, and Pressure by Barry Napier. www.briancheneytenor.com
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