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The Gay Detective #1
The Gay Detective: Nick and Norm in Chicago
The premier of Nick Scott’s TV talk show, The Gay Detective, appears to be a big hit until his first guest ends up murdered. Nick, also a gay detective with the Chicago Police Department, and his older, straight partner Detective Norm Malone hunt this heinous serial killer tagged The Reaper. This odd couple encounters both personal and professional conflict as this suspenseful noir thriller races to a surprise conclusion that leaves Nick and Norm battling for their lives.
216 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 22, 2015
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53 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 6, 2015
3.5 Heart Review by Tidal
Nick Scott is a heroic Chicago policeman. He is well respected on the force and he is an out and proud gay man. The opportunity comes his way to host his own TV show called The Gay Detective. He takes up the opportunity, his lover Darren working on the show behind the scenes. The show is well received by viewers but then the first guest is found gruesomely murdered, the killer leaving behind a cryptic clue.
The show continues but the same thing happens again, several times. When it seems things could not get worse Nick’s lover Darren is brutally murdered too. Nick is teamed up with veteran detective Norm Malone and they embark on a hunt to find this killer who is playing cat and mouse with Chicago PD and terrorizing the city.
I really like the action and suspense in this book! It has good character development between Nick and Norm. They are complete opposites, like night and day, but it is not portrayed in a silly fashion, like most of the bad 80s cop movies. It was realistic. I think that feature is what gave the story a resounding feel of authenticity. I like that we get to see everyone have their vulnerable moments but not lose their compass of who they are and what is important to them, or lose sight of the big picture.
My heart was pounding at the end and when the killer is exposed, I was surprised. I like it when a book does that. I also like that the author took the time to let us connect with the other characters in the book. It gives the reader the feeling that we are really a part of their world and not just a voyeuristic reader peeking into their lives.
This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.
Nick Scott is a heroic Chicago policeman. He is well respected on the force and he is an out and proud gay man. The opportunity comes his way to host his own TV show called The Gay Detective. He takes up the opportunity, his lover Darren working on the show behind the scenes. The show is well received by viewers but then the first guest is found gruesomely murdered, the killer leaving behind a cryptic clue.
The show continues but the same thing happens again, several times. When it seems things could not get worse Nick’s lover Darren is brutally murdered too. Nick is teamed up with veteran detective Norm Malone and they embark on a hunt to find this killer who is playing cat and mouse with Chicago PD and terrorizing the city.
I really like the action and suspense in this book! It has good character development between Nick and Norm. They are complete opposites, like night and day, but it is not portrayed in a silly fashion, like most of the bad 80s cop movies. It was realistic. I think that feature is what gave the story a resounding feel of authenticity. I like that we get to see everyone have their vulnerable moments but not lose their compass of who they are and what is important to them, or lose sight of the big picture.
My heart was pounding at the end and when the killer is exposed, I was surprised. I like it when a book does that. I also like that the author took the time to let us connect with the other characters in the book. It gives the reader the feeling that we are really a part of their world and not just a voyeuristic reader peeking into their lives.
This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.
July 21, 2019
I found this book interesting as it's with a difference that grabbed my attention.
I loved reading about the Gay Detective who has a live a talk show. I was drawn to reading this book as I found it a very unusual story. Above all it is a page turning read.
When Nick Scott premiers his talk show, The Gay detective, he is anxious about its success. His first guest, a well known author, banters with Nick using sexual innuendoes throughout the interview. The excitement of the show's high ratings is short lived when his guest is found murdered the next morning. Nick vows to go on with the show but as his shows continue, so do the murders of his guest.
Nick Scott has lived with the director Darren Connor for fifteen years. They loved each other like any committed couple.
Nick, also with the Chicago police department, is teamed with straight Detective Norm Malone. This odd couple, often at odds professionally and personally, adds comic elements to this thriller as they hunt this heinous serial killer, aka The Grim Reaper.
As the story comes to an exciting conclusion, Nick and Norm, trapped on the roof of The New York Plaza Hotel, battle The Reaper for their lives.
Look out for Kenneth D.Michaels next book The Gay Detective, Nick and Norm in Key West.
I loved reading about the Gay Detective who has a live a talk show. I was drawn to reading this book as I found it a very unusual story. Above all it is a page turning read.
When Nick Scott premiers his talk show, The Gay detective, he is anxious about its success. His first guest, a well known author, banters with Nick using sexual innuendoes throughout the interview. The excitement of the show's high ratings is short lived when his guest is found murdered the next morning. Nick vows to go on with the show but as his shows continue, so do the murders of his guest.
Nick Scott has lived with the director Darren Connor for fifteen years. They loved each other like any committed couple.
Nick, also with the Chicago police department, is teamed with straight Detective Norm Malone. This odd couple, often at odds professionally and personally, adds comic elements to this thriller as they hunt this heinous serial killer, aka The Grim Reaper.
As the story comes to an exciting conclusion, Nick and Norm, trapped on the roof of The New York Plaza Hotel, battle The Reaper for their lives.
Look out for Kenneth D.Michaels next book The Gay Detective, Nick and Norm in Key West.
January 27, 2016
The Gay Detective by Kenneth D. Michaels is an intriguing and exciting novel. Kenneth D. Michaels has brought to readers a gay detective that works for the police force and who also, has recently started his own talk show. This world is so realistic with every detail that readers wouldn't be able to tell fiction from reality. What I love about this mystery, is that readers are not just told but shown what's happening. Almost as if we were actually there sitting with the detective as he's interviewing famous gay people or talking to his partner at some resturant. There are both personal and professional conflicts inside this suspenessful tale that keep readers turning the pages. The why and who dunnit are strong and readers will love the ending. Can a gay detective and his straight partner find the killer before it's too late? Readers will have to read on to find out. Overall, I highly recommend The Gay Detective to readers everywhere.
January 4, 2016
This is an extremely easy and fast read which actually delves into some pretty hard and psychological issues which can confront gay people even when society at large accepts them. Who can they really trust? As Nick, a gay detective with the Chicago Police department and a talk show host who interviews highly placed gay personalities--people he interviews start being murdered--including his partner of 15 years. Can he and his straight Police partner get to the bottom of this--can they find and stop this heinous killer? You will never believe who it was!
The Gay Detective: Nick and Norm in Chicago
The Gay Detective: Nick and Norm in Chicago
October 18, 2015
This is an entertaining crime novel, but one a little rough around the edges. The lead characters are reasonably well-developed, and have a good rapport as new partners on the police force. The murder mystery storyline, however, is rather weak. On balance, a good start to a promising series. Read our full review, here: http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/myst...
October 10, 2015
Great book! Fell in love with the characters, didn't want the book to end! Can't wait for book #2 ..Nick & Norm will be coming to my hometown Key West!
March 10, 2016
Love this book. A perfect read for my trip down to Key West. Interesting characters, nice pace of action and fun plot. Highly recommended.
October 21, 2019
The Gay Detective (Nick and Norm in Chicago)
By Kenneth D. Michaels
La Mancha Press, 2019
Fours stars (rounded up)
I rounded this up from 3 to 4, because I wanted to encourage people to read it. I’ve bought the second in the series, “Nick and Norm in Key West,” despite misgivings – misgivings I had trouble pinpointing, which led to the raised rating. I liked it, enjoyed it, but things bothered me.
Nick Scott is a gay detective in Chicago who has is own cable TV talk show called, oddly enough, The Gay Detective. He is forty-two, happily partnered for fifteen years, and completely out to his fellow policemen. Clearly, this is not Marshall Thornton’s Nick – Nick Nowak – in that book series’ much darker, scarier Chicago of the 1980s.
When a celebrated gay author appears on Nick’s show and then is found brutally murdered, we begin to see the dark side of being visible and gay in a supposedly kinder, gentler America. Then the bodies begin to pile up, including Nick’s beloved partner, Darren, and Nick realizes that he’s got a serial killer to hunt down.
Nick is assigned a new work partner, Norm Malone, a close-to-retirement widowed straight guy who seems more like a real Chicago cop – except for the fact that he and Nick hit it off immediately, and Norm brings the bereaved Nick into his own family. It is the loveliest thing about this book, this evolving relationship between an old-school straight cop and a new-world gay one.
Kenneth Michaels’s writing is literate and blessedly free of blatant grammar problems. The characters are appealing and nicely drawn, and the plot is surely puzzling and surprising – if only marginally plausible in some respects. This is the kind of murder mystery where I needed to know how the bad guy managed to accomplish everything, because it stretched my credulity in several places.
The other thing that bugged me about this book was the emotional disconnect with Nick, given the horrific emotional pain he must go through right at the start of the book. This is a real case of the author telling without showing – at least not showing quite enough to satisfy my emotional expectations. Nick, with his fashion and cleaning obsessions, should have been a total basket case, and yet he was not. A corollary to that is the murder victims, each of whom is shown to be admirable and likeable (the trick is that all the celebrities in the book have names that readily remind you of the real celebrities they are meant to invoke). This is a tough thing to do to readers, especially when the tone of the book remains remarkably light in spite of the darkness and violence that infuse the narrative. Because of this, it just felt odd most of the way through for me.
I want to see where Nick and Norm go. This is the author’s first novel, and I think he bears watching.
By Kenneth D. Michaels
La Mancha Press, 2019
Fours stars (rounded up)
I rounded this up from 3 to 4, because I wanted to encourage people to read it. I’ve bought the second in the series, “Nick and Norm in Key West,” despite misgivings – misgivings I had trouble pinpointing, which led to the raised rating. I liked it, enjoyed it, but things bothered me.
Nick Scott is a gay detective in Chicago who has is own cable TV talk show called, oddly enough, The Gay Detective. He is forty-two, happily partnered for fifteen years, and completely out to his fellow policemen. Clearly, this is not Marshall Thornton’s Nick – Nick Nowak – in that book series’ much darker, scarier Chicago of the 1980s.
When a celebrated gay author appears on Nick’s show and then is found brutally murdered, we begin to see the dark side of being visible and gay in a supposedly kinder, gentler America. Then the bodies begin to pile up, including Nick’s beloved partner, Darren, and Nick realizes that he’s got a serial killer to hunt down.
Nick is assigned a new work partner, Norm Malone, a close-to-retirement widowed straight guy who seems more like a real Chicago cop – except for the fact that he and Nick hit it off immediately, and Norm brings the bereaved Nick into his own family. It is the loveliest thing about this book, this evolving relationship between an old-school straight cop and a new-world gay one.
Kenneth Michaels’s writing is literate and blessedly free of blatant grammar problems. The characters are appealing and nicely drawn, and the plot is surely puzzling and surprising – if only marginally plausible in some respects. This is the kind of murder mystery where I needed to know how the bad guy managed to accomplish everything, because it stretched my credulity in several places.
The other thing that bugged me about this book was the emotional disconnect with Nick, given the horrific emotional pain he must go through right at the start of the book. This is a real case of the author telling without showing – at least not showing quite enough to satisfy my emotional expectations. Nick, with his fashion and cleaning obsessions, should have been a total basket case, and yet he was not. A corollary to that is the murder victims, each of whom is shown to be admirable and likeable (the trick is that all the celebrities in the book have names that readily remind you of the real celebrities they are meant to invoke). This is a tough thing to do to readers, especially when the tone of the book remains remarkably light in spite of the darkness and violence that infuse the narrative. Because of this, it just felt odd most of the way through for me.
I want to see where Nick and Norm go. This is the author’s first novel, and I think he bears watching.
July 25, 2020
Nick Scott's new talk show,
The Gay Detective
kills in it's debut - literally. The first guest is found dead, and it's up to Nick and his straight partner Norm to find the killer. But then the bodies begin to pile up - all linked to Nick's talk show - and it becomes apparent they may be dealing with a serial killer.
I liked this quick read well enough, and I really liked Nick and Norm as a duo. Michaels goes for something different here - a competent gay detective paired with a straight cop with no romantic elements involved. They've got a good working relationship, and they make a good team, but I forgot what happened in it hours after I read it. It went down so easily, it's as if I'd read nothing at all.
If you're looking for a straight forward who-dunnit without romantic entanglements, a little bit of action, and a fairly decent mystery, this book is for you. I didn't seek it out, but I did appreciate the restraint Kenneth Michaels showed in the relationship between the partners. It's a short-lived series, with only two books so far, but with the first written in 2015, and its follow up, Only In Key West , there may be more adventures for the unlikely duo to come.
I liked this quick read well enough, and I really liked Nick and Norm as a duo. Michaels goes for something different here - a competent gay detective paired with a straight cop with no romantic elements involved. They've got a good working relationship, and they make a good team, but I forgot what happened in it hours after I read it. It went down so easily, it's as if I'd read nothing at all.
If you're looking for a straight forward who-dunnit without romantic entanglements, a little bit of action, and a fairly decent mystery, this book is for you. I didn't seek it out, but I did appreciate the restraint Kenneth Michaels showed in the relationship between the partners. It's a short-lived series, with only two books so far, but with the first written in 2015, and its follow up, Only In Key West , there may be more adventures for the unlikely duo to come.
May 6, 2021
A great who done it
Anyone who likes a good detective story would enjoy meeting Nick and Norm. There are tender moments and edge of your seat passages that left me wanting to know more. I look forward to reading Ken’s next book.
Anyone who likes a good detective story would enjoy meeting Nick and Norm. There are tender moments and edge of your seat passages that left me wanting to know more. I look forward to reading Ken’s next book.
April 28, 2023
A good sart
It would be a good start to a series of books, but on it's own it is a little predictable. However the book does a lot of work in a short time. There are situations and character to introduce and develop before the plot can progress.
It would be a good start to a series of books, but on it's own it is a little predictable. However the book does a lot of work in a short time. There are situations and character to introduce and develop before the plot can progress.
February 17, 2018
Great vacation read when in Key West. Loved the banter between Nick and Norm.
May 15, 2019
No.
"Lesbian, gay, transgender, questioning, intersex and ally."
Just no.
"Lesbian, gay, transgender, questioning, intersex and ally."
Just no.
November 3, 2019
Rating for the audio version, which was entertaining.
This book is good detective fluff. Recommended.
This book is good detective fluff. Recommended.
September 17, 2016
Plot
The story starts where Nick Scott, the host of The Gay Detective show and also a detective has his debut episode with a guest and next day the guest is found murdered in his house with several gibberish words written on his dead body. And this happens with two more guests.
Nick and his straight detective partner Norm investigate who is behind all these murders and stop him before it’s too late.
Characters
Nick Scott is gay and is a really sweet person. Unfortunately his partner Darren is too murdered and now Nick seeks revenge. He transforms a lot after Darren’s death.
Norman Malone (short name Norm) is a straight guy and he is never the same after his wife’s death. He remains serious at first but then, even though the age difference, they both become great friends and this shows a gay person can be friends with a straight guy. (This is what the author says in the novel)
Writing style
The writing style was great. I thought as if I was reading into the thoughts of Nick and sometimes his poor jokes and also his pain made me connect with him. I wish the novel could be more long considering it was nearly 250 pages. I wanted the story to build up more although it built up murders of four people to finally find the murderer. I just wished I knew how the murderer did his job, I mean how he managed to get past everyone and he committed the crime and then acted as if everything was normal.
Providing a second point of view could’ve also helped the novel and made it even more engaging than it was.
My review
I started reading it and I figured I can’t put it down because I wanted to know who was the killer. I wanted ro know how will Nick find him. But unfortunately I guessed the killer! Eeek! I didn’t mean to put so much brain into it but I couldn’t resist the case and my inner Sherlock Holmes did his job.
But still, if you don’t guess it then it will be a bomb for you knowing who really murdered them all. I guess it was a good read and I always enjoy reading suspense novels.
This was the first installment in The Gay Detective series which is yet to come. The second one will trace Nick and Norm in Key West.
The story starts where Nick Scott, the host of The Gay Detective show and also a detective has his debut episode with a guest and next day the guest is found murdered in his house with several gibberish words written on his dead body. And this happens with two more guests.
Nick and his straight detective partner Norm investigate who is behind all these murders and stop him before it’s too late.
Characters
Nick Scott is gay and is a really sweet person. Unfortunately his partner Darren is too murdered and now Nick seeks revenge. He transforms a lot after Darren’s death.
Norman Malone (short name Norm) is a straight guy and he is never the same after his wife’s death. He remains serious at first but then, even though the age difference, they both become great friends and this shows a gay person can be friends with a straight guy. (This is what the author says in the novel)
Writing style
The writing style was great. I thought as if I was reading into the thoughts of Nick and sometimes his poor jokes and also his pain made me connect with him. I wish the novel could be more long considering it was nearly 250 pages. I wanted the story to build up more although it built up murders of four people to finally find the murderer. I just wished I knew how the murderer did his job, I mean how he managed to get past everyone and he committed the crime and then acted as if everything was normal.
Providing a second point of view could’ve also helped the novel and made it even more engaging than it was.
My review
I started reading it and I figured I can’t put it down because I wanted to know who was the killer. I wanted ro know how will Nick find him. But unfortunately I guessed the killer! Eeek! I didn’t mean to put so much brain into it but I couldn’t resist the case and my inner Sherlock Holmes did his job.
But still, if you don’t guess it then it will be a bomb for you knowing who really murdered them all. I guess it was a good read and I always enjoy reading suspense novels.
This was the first installment in The Gay Detective series which is yet to come. The second one will trace Nick and Norm in Key West.
May 31, 2016
I don't know...Normally I feel like you either like a book or you don't like a book or at least you lean more towards one end of the spectrum. This book is a complete conundrum for me, I have absolutely no clear idea how I felt about it. I sort of liked it because if you read it like satire of an actual mystery/detective story it's funny and ridiculous but if it's meant to be taken serious I did not enjoy it. The problem is I'm not really sure what the tone of the novel is, which is one reason I'm not a fan of first person narratives because I have a hard time being clear about tone.
I finished this book 2 days ago and still don't know what to do with it. Part of me would never want to read the sequel because I feel like it's going to be so odd but part of me wants to read it just so I can clarify so much in this first book about how to read it. One thing I really HATED about this book though was that at the end it felt like the author had committed to the 1st person narrative but also wanted to show everyone else perspective so he wrote it like "Later when we were at the hospital my mom told me this..." and it was just really awkward and weird to read. This book is just a giant ? for me
I finished this book 2 days ago and still don't know what to do with it. Part of me would never want to read the sequel because I feel like it's going to be so odd but part of me wants to read it just so I can clarify so much in this first book about how to read it. One thing I really HATED about this book though was that at the end it felt like the author had committed to the 1st person narrative but also wanted to show everyone else perspective so he wrote it like "Later when we were at the hospital my mom told me this..." and it was just really awkward and weird to read. This book is just a giant ? for me
February 6, 2016
The Gay Detective is the story of Nick, a Chicago police detective and host of the television talk show The Gay Detective. The show is a big hit but its guests have the unfortunate habit of being murdered, as well as the director. More and more bodies pile up around the show until Nick and his partner, Norm, finally solve the case and figure out whodunit. The narrator, Nick, is a sympathetic figure who early on loses his partner. Nick seems almost too urbane at points for being a detective. Norm, on the other hand, is fairly stereotypically the fat, cynical older detective. The pair makes a nice couple (not romantic) and play off each other well.
I liked The Gay Detective a lot. I ended up reading it in one day because the prose was so smooth and easy to read. The plot isn't overly involved but had a lot of action and carried me through the book. The supporting characters are solid, not too cardboard but not so thoroughly drawn as to detract from Nick and Norm. And, as I mentioned, Nick and Norm are a treat, they compliment each other well. All in all a good read for a cold winter's day. Looking forward to book two!
I liked The Gay Detective a lot. I ended up reading it in one day because the prose was so smooth and easy to read. The plot isn't overly involved but had a lot of action and carried me through the book. The supporting characters are solid, not too cardboard but not so thoroughly drawn as to detract from Nick and Norm. And, as I mentioned, Nick and Norm are a treat, they compliment each other well. All in all a good read for a cold winter's day. Looking forward to book two!
December 22, 2015
The book has a plot that has been well thought out and has a potential of becoming a success. But the story line had numerous rough edges which didn’t help with the plot development. This hindered a great lot in enjoying the book. However, the levity and instances of light moments definitely helped the book in becoming monotonous and boring. Read more about it here: https://ishitasmemoir.wordpress.com/2...
April 26, 2016
bought my copy from the author who signed the book. good debut novel. loved the protective cop who followed the gay detective and loved his daughter and her children.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews