HGTV-Inspired Murder Mystery Hits Bookshelves

An HGTV alum has a new murder mystery book, the first in a series, that is out for purchase now. Anthony Polito, a Michigan native who lived in New York for nearly 20 years and moved back home with his partner Craig Bentley in 2013, released Renovated to Death on May 31, 2022. Polito and Bentley found their home while appearing on the HGTV series House Hunters. They now live in a 1924 Craftsman Colonial that they’ve completely renovated. The new book is a first of its kind for Polito in this world as it is set in the fictitious Metro Detroit suburb of Pleasant Woods.

In Renovated, the main character is inspired by him. Writer Peter “PJ” Penwell, with his partner, JP Broadway, star in their own HGTV series called Domestic Partners. Polito and Bently remain avid HGTV viewers in real life. “My partner and I are definitely HGTV fans, particularly ‘Rehab Addict’ with Nicole Curtis, because we love seeing Detroit and all its beautiful historic houses on TV. Funny thing, the original title for this book was ‘Rehabbed to Death,’ but my publisher thought it sounded too much like a story about drug addiction, so we changed it,” he said in an interview with Pride Source.

The setting for the book was also intentional. “In all of my past books, including ‘Lost in the ’90s’ and ‘Drama Queers!,’ I set the stories in real cities, like Hazel Park and Ferndale, and I made it a point to mention real places that readers would recognize, like Country Boy restaurant, Pronto! and Gigi’s,” he explained.

There is a major difference in the real story and the one in the book. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, homeowners were forced to spend larger amounts of time than usual in their homes. Polito and Bentley didn’t work as closely together on their renovation as their fictional counterparts

“Craig’s former job as an automotive product specialist took him out of town quite a bit, so I would work on projects whenever he was gone,” Polito said. “This way, I could create a big mess and he wouldn’t have to look at it.”

But, he enjoes doing projects together. “We get along well when we do end up working together,” he added. “We’ve been a couple since we were in college, so we know how to give and take and compromise when it comes to getting the job done.”