Review by Janice Birnie
Drama Cruise is the third book in the Nicky and Noah mystery series by Joe Cosentino. Each book can be read as a stand-alone, but I highly recommend reading each book in the series in order. These books were all 5-star reads for me.
Nicky Abbonanza and Noah Oliver are engaged theatre Professors at Treemeadow College. Everything they do they do together and a working cruise sounds like the perfect escape. Presenting acting workshops with other College Professors and directing and acting in a murder mystery play, for the passengers, seems like a great way to have some quality time together away from day to day life. What could possibly go wrong? Well. It is Nicky and Noah we are talking about, and it seems murder doesn’t only follow them at college. No sooner are they aboard than the body count begins.
Joe Cosentino is an absolute master at assembling an extraordinary cast of characters in his make believe world. As with previous books in the series, Joe’s secondary characters are a crazy bunch of individuals with fascinating character traits and back stories. Nicky and Noah are gorgeous, loving and utterly hysterical, and their supporting cast have to be read to be believed. As absurd as they are, they still read totally authentically, and believe me when I say they will have you laughing so hard you’ll need to stop reading to catch your breath!
If you’ve ever been on a cruise, heard stories about them from friends, or just read about them, this book will delight you in its portrayal of life onboard a ship. From the excess of food to the on board entertainment and shore excursions, it will tickle you in its accuracy. Every stereotypical passenger, from the overeaters to the gym junkies, from the super enthusiastic activity coordinator to the ships Captain, from the smokers to the gamblers, it’s all there in its unvarnished glory, and boy will it make you laugh! The obvious exception, of course, is the presence of a murderer. Trying to match Nicky and Noah with your sleuthing skills will keep you riveted to this book until it’s stunning conclusion.
I have been an avid reader of Joe Cosentino’s books for some time and he has yet to let me down. His ability to write highly original, yet somehow realistic, characters is one of his greatest strengths as a writer. Their quirks and personalities fill the pages in a way that makes for a fabulously entertaining and totally engrossing read. I loved this book and highly recommend it to lovers of farce, humour, murder mystery and sweet MM love stories.
Star Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Meet Joe Cosentino
Bestselling author Joe Cosentino was voted Favorite Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary Author of 2015 by the readers of Divine Magazine for Drama Queen. He also wrote the other novels in the Nicky and Noah mystery series: Drama Muscle and Drama Cruise (Lethe Press); In My Heart/An Infatuation & A Shooting Star, A Home for the Holidays, The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland (Dreamspinner Press); Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out Cozzi Cove series (NineStar Press); Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, Rag Doll (The Wild Rose Press) Jana Lane mysteries; and The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (Eldridge Plays and Musicals). 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 Head of the Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York, and is happily married. Joe was voted 2nd Place for Best MM Author of the Year in Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards for 2015, and has won many Rainbow Award Honorable mentions including for Drama Muscle. Upcoming novels are Drama Luau (fourth Nicky and Noah mystery) and Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings (fourth Cozzi Cove beach novel, NineStar Press).
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