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Kenneth Michaels, originally from Detroit, graduated from Columbia University with a M.Ed. in Counseling. He cofounded San Francisco’s renowned Encounter Theatre, where actors role-played with audience members to resolve personal-relationship conflicts, which was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts for more than two decades. Along with stage work and screenplays, Michaels wrote a one-man show The Importance of Being Ernst and the acclaimed comedy What’s Normal? The Los Angeles Weekly News said, “Ken Michaels throws out bon mots like a computer in love with Oscar Wilde.” He currently lives and writes in Key West and is currently working on The Gay Detective, Nick and Norm in Key West.
Reviewed by Marilla Mulwane for Readers' Favorite
The Gay Detective: Nick and Norm in Chicago by Kenneth D. Michaels manages to do what most mysteries can't do. It manages to do what most LGBT books can't do. It entertains. Somehow, these two different genres come together to create an enjoyable masterpiece. The Gay Detective will bring together lovers of both genres and bring in readers that didn't know they liked either one.
The Gay Detective is about, well, a gay detective named Nick who is also a talk show host that interviews famous gay people. When a murderer begins to destroy everything that Nick loves and believes in, he must pull himself together and face his enemy or be destroyed. With the help of his new partner and a host of other interesting sidekicks, Nick will face hate, anger, grief, and revenge with himself and his enemy.
Kenneth D. Michaels has some awesome writing skills. The book is about a gay detective, but the morals and thought provoking moments can be universal for anyone. Despite being a book with a gay lead, the story is not campy. It doesn't rely on predictable gay personality traits and uses them for humor. Nick is very real. That's doesn't mean there isn't any humor. There are many humorous moments; they just aren't crass.
The story also manages to be great for teaching readers to deal with grief. How the author managed to fit so much helpful information into a story that is also a page-turner is beyond me. And it is a page-turner for sure. At times the story is creepy and nerve wracking, and the reveal isn't obvious or easy to figure out until near the end. Kenneth D. Michaels needs to keep Nick and Norm together for at least a few more books.
