A cozy queer mystery. Not the biggest fan, of this one, and I am in the minority here. but the characters were over the top and that added fun to this slow story.
Thank to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to review.

I’m a huge fan of Lev A C Rosen’s YA novel, CAMP. I actually re-read it for the third time earlier this month. His first adult book, LAVENDER HOUSE, is a completely different vibe and genre and, I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure about it at first. It took me a couple of chapters to get used to the new style – a historical setting, a noir-style mystery, and a darker look at queer themes – but it was absolutely worth sticking with.
LAVENDER HOUSE is essentially a detective story, a murder mystery that should appeal to fans of Poirot or Knives Out – an outsider investigator slots into a tight family unit in a glamorous, out-of-the-way location and finds that almost everyone has secrets and potential motives for the crime.
LAVENDER HOUSE does it very well. Did Irene fall? Was she pushed? And if so, who did it? The complex-extended family, the staff, or a business rival? I enjoyed Andy’s snooping, the cast of characters that made up his suspects, and making my own guesses. The reveal perhaps wasn’t a huge twist, but I enjoyed the journey we took to get there. It’s not a big, flashy, action-packed thriller, but the characters make up for the leisurely pace.
LAVENDER HOUSE paints a vivid picture of queer history, and presents complex dilemma to the reader – is the queer-normal family Irene and Pearl have created (or as close to as then can in the 1950s) a utopia or a prison? I enjoyed the way the various personalities, identities and queer relationships were presented (WLW-MLM solidarity!) especially as everyone had their own viewpoint informed by their experiences and the era. The time period is immersive and permeates the story throughout. There’s lots of lovely little details, and phrases that really draws you into the time-setting.
The ending is open-ended enough to either be a standalone novel or the beginning of a series. If Rosen does write more from Andy, I’d definitely read it, but I don’t feel there’s anything that felt unresolved.

POV: Your name is Evander 'Andy' Mills. It's San Francisco in the 1950's, you're a disgraced former police officer who was thrown out of the police force for being caught at a gay club in the midst of a raid with your pants down, and later a woman named Pearl approaches you just as you contemplate ending your life with a proposition to find the person who murdered her wife Irene weeks ago.

An eventful few weeks for poor Andy Mills.

Andy of course accepts the job and is quickly thrown back into his old persona of being a cop. He soon finds out that this job is different as he is introduced to the inhabitants of Lavender House which is almost exclusively all queer - something that a newly outed Andy finds hard to deal with at first. Pearl's wife Irene was the owner of a very successful soap company, and her and their family lived openly and free in their estate away from the prying eyes of the world who would be very quick to persecute and judge them based on the way they live.

This book has been marketed as being the 'queer version of knives out' and it has those vibes, but this story didn't rely on twist endings or plots that your typical murder mystery has. It was very simple in its execution and if you paid attention you probably figured out the mystery pretty early on as I did - this did not detract from my enjoyment of the book however. Sometimes a simple plot with an interesting cast of characters and good writing can make all the difference and this book definitely had it. Andy and the inhabitants of Lavender House were written so brilliantly and developed so well in the short time you get with them that I couldn't help but want more of them after I finished the last page. I would not be sad if the author decided to make a series of books in the future with Andy solving more crimes that the police force won't take and becoming a detective for queer people who are often ignored. I'm not a huge mystery fan, but if you have a queer protagonist solving crimes and helping queer people....I'm in.

(Just a note: This book does have some content in regards to being LGBT in the 1950s which was a time that was not especially kind to queer people at that time. There are scenes of intense violence, explicit homophobia, and suicidal thoughts. Be aware if these things are difficult for you to read.)

Lavender House could be summed up simply as a murder mystery, and it very much is, but it is also a story of queer love and found family within a safe space in a time that is very much not safe. Its about finding out who you are when you don't have to hide yourself away, and how to act around others who are like you and won't judge you for simply being you. It's about realizing the institutions you once idolized are not always looking out for people's best interests and would punish those they deem to be wrong based on society's opinion. It's about learning and moving on and bettering yourself and being better for others. It's about Love. It's about queer love and learning to love yourself for being queer.

It's a murder mystery, yes, but it's also more.

Special Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of Lavender House in exchange for my honest review!

LAVENDER HOUSE was a book that I had all intentions of savoring with a slow read. I failed in that goal quite spectacularly-- I read this book in about a day and a half because I simply could not put it down. I gorged myself on its stunning cover and all the deliciously-written pages that follow. Rosen has crafted a new noir hero in Andy that plays with some interesting tropes even as it rejects others; where classic noir usually stops at a queer-coded villain or two, here we have a well-rounded, complex and dynamic all-queer cast. This compelling mystery set at the height of the Lavender Scare will grip you until its final pages.

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen was a riveting mystery.
A character driven story. Set in the 1950s.
A beautiful historical queer mystery that has a twisty fascinating plot.
Rosen's writing was phenomenal and had me intrigued throughout it all.
I was hooked once I started. Very compelling and amazingly written.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Forge Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you, Forge Books, for allowing me to read Lavender House early!

Lev AC Rosen writes beautifully as already attested by his previous work, but Lavender House finds itself on a completely different plane of exquisite storytelling and craft. I devoured this book like a hungry wolf would its prey.

Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was an easy read. It was easy to fall into the story, and the author did a great job of not making the murderer too easy to guess. I really oved how each character's life experiences as a queer person impacted the choices they made and how Rosen explored those choices.

That said, I wanted more dimension from the characters. I didn't really feel anything for the characters, although I really wanted to like them. I really wanted to see more personality from each of the characters, to really get a feel for who they are individually, outside of the murder investigation. Additionally, there were several overt errors that should have been caught by editors or beta readers. I can usually overlook minor issues, but some of the errors were significant enough to derail the experience and pull me out of the story.

Rosen left the ending wide open for a potential series, but the book works as a standalone as well. Overall, this was a 4 star read. Not something that will keep me thinking about it long after I've closed the book, but I wouldn't say no to reading more in the Evander Mills universe.

Review links:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4895414918?book_show_action=false
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg19k4iLX_2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

This is a perfectly decent book, but it’s not what I was hoping for. One thing that really needs to be emphasised is that this is absolutely not a queer Knives Out, which I’ve seen it described as. Lavender House is a surprisingly cosy murder-mystery, but it doesn’t have the sharp, complex vibes of Knives Out, and there’s no similarity in the casts. There’s no wacky but brilliant Pl, and these characters do not, in fact, all have their knives out ready to backstab each other.

And that’s fine! Taken on its own merits, Lavender House is very readable, a quick little read that flows along nicely. But it’s a lot more about being closeted – and experiencing a safe haven for the first time – than it is the murder, and I wasn’t especially attached to any of the cast. I can see it being deeply appealing to the right reader, but it couldn’t quite hold my interest, unfortunately.

The "Knives Out but queer" marketing hooked me, and I'm happy to say it was well deserved.

A fantastic murder mystery that explores the difference between queer safety and queer liberation, and all the gray spaces in between.

Content warnings for homophobic language and violence.

with its premise of knives out with a queer twist, lavender house lived up to my expectations being an engaging read overall. the story has readers hooked into the lamontaine family's secretive lives and relationships especially behind closed doors of their house. i loved the depth and complexity we got for each family member and even our main private investigator, andy figuring out not just the murder in this family. but himself too and views on how the outside world sees queers, and how the lamontaines make it all work in their own utopia. rosen's ability to write such a thorough mystery with twists and turns, having you truly believing some of the characters' pity stories and making readers question their own theories on who is the guilty party. i highly recommend this to anyone looking for captivating murder mystery in a historical setting and family secrets that will keep you on edge until the very last chapter.

Lavender House is a solid, twisty historical queer mystery set in the 1950s. Fans of Agatha Christie and Knives Out will be thrilled to get their hands on this new locked room mystery. Andy is fired from the San Francisco police force for being gay. Pearl hires Andy to investigate her wife's murder and Andy discovers the safe haven of the Lavender House. But who is threatening the safety of the house? The mystery is engrossing and well-written. Highly recommended! Be sure to check out Lavender House today.

This Book was amazing. I loved the historical aspects. I love the found family theme. Getting to know each of the characters. I don't always love PI novels, but this was a great one to read, if a little predictable, the journey to get to the end was worth it. I will be recommending it to all of my friends and buying it as soon as I can.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in return for honest feedback.

I loved this! I'm a big mystery fan, and I loved the queer 1950s element that doesn't get touched on much. The mystery wasn't too predictable, and it was definitely a page turner. My one critique would be that the mystery unfolded itself almost completely in the last quarter of the book, and I think that more development could have been placed in the beginning 3/4. As a longtime fan of Lev AC Rosen, I'm excited to see what he writes next.

Both a strong suspense novel and a great piece of historical fiction, this book takes places in 1950s San Francisco. Irene Lamontaine leads her family's famous soap company, known for the ever rotating floral formulas for their beloved soaps, all closely guarded secrets. Irene lives in a compound that is also closely guarded, where all of the residents and staff are able to live openly in a way they cannot in broader society -- but only by keeping outsiders away. When Irene dies under what may be questionable circumstances, her wife, Pearl, hires a former police detective, Andy Mills, to investigate what happened. Andy finds himself in a world the combines both secrets and openness. As he pursues the mystery, he is increasingly taken with the residents of the house and the world they have managed to create for themselves -- even as he becomes more and more suspicious of what happened to poor Irene.

The novel offers a strong and highly original premise, compelling and complex characters, and a well-paced and quite engaging story.

Highly recommended!

My new favorite mystery subgenre is "Agatha Christie style manor house murder investigation, except everyone involved - including the detective - is queer. How could it not be? Reading this book was so much fun; its fast-paced and appropriately twisty, enough that I felt smug not bored for guessing the ending. Meanings and double meanings abounded, starting with the titular Lavander House, and getting more intiguing from there. I'm a sucker for a tortured private eye, and Andy filled the role so nicely. Emotions and anxieties ran high, revealing the characters in nuanced lights, creating a suspicious but likeable cast. While it wasn't as shocking in its ending as some similar mysteries, I found that it brought a breath of fresh, perfumed air to the genre.

I LOVED this! This is a fun little queer mystery novella; I don't think it's super charming or quirky like it's described, but it's good. The characters are well-written and interesting enough, and the mystery itself is pretty solid! Overall really fun!

hmmm I wouldn't normally have picked up a noir-ish mystery novel on my own but I'd enjoyed Rosen's YA books and I was intrigued by the 50s queer San Francisco setting. (In the afterword Rosen notes that he'd turned in his first draft of this before [book:Last Night at the Telegraph Club|35224992] came out but appreciated the similar settings, though they are wildly different.)

Anyway sooo I enjoyed the historical detail but this wasn't reallly my cup of tea. I also see why Knives Out would be a comp, based on the family dynasty mystery aspect of it, but Knives Out is FUNNY, and Rosen's other books are FUNNY, and this book is PRETTY SERIOUS. And that's a totally valid thing for a mystery novel to be but I just prefer...not that. I wish there were either more development to actually flesh out all the characters who live in the Lavender House, or more jokes to distract me from the pretty flat characters.

Readers who enjoy murder mysteries in general will probably like this more than I did. But I still liked the historical setting and the Lavender House itself, just overall not my fav.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I loooooved this book. The characters were well developed and the LGBTQ2S+ representation set in the 50s when the US criminalized any queer activity was immersive, genius and heart wrenching.

Watching detective Andy come to terms with his sexual identity along the way of solving a mystery was wonderful and engrossing. Mystery wise it wasn’t until the last 15% of the book that I caught on to what the resolution might be.

Loved it!

I need to set the record straight with Lavender House; Somebody comped this book very, very very barely. This is not Knives Out with a historic twist. Lavender House is not clever or creative. It isn't full of strange wit and charm. Its detective isn't eccentric- none of its cast of characters especially quirky or morally grey. This is a mystery novella with a queer cast and thats it. If you were jumping with joy at this comp, please take a step back.

The only thing that relates this story to Knives Out at all is that it's a who done it. Barely.

Lavender House follows a recently outed and 'disgraced' gay detective brought to a house with a found family of queer people to solve a suspected murder. The story focuses a lot on the detectives personal growth and coming to terms with the shift in his life after he lost his detective job when he was outed. It contains some queer reflections that may resonate with people who have had to remain closeted for a long portion of their lives.

The story is supposed to be set in the past, but the characters have a distinctly modern vernacular that goes between being somewhat period appropriate and having the vibe of a modern tumblr conversation. It's fine, and pretty readable but not super well researched. The period angle seemed to be more about isolating the main character and his suspects to the extent where outside help would be impossible. The characters are decent, though I do feel the suspects were left intentionally a little wooden-none of them art particularly memorable- and thats what made Knives Out so good.

I did find myself wondering- was this due to fear? Did the author intentionally hold back on these characters because they are queer and the author was scared of providing bas representation? The main drive I had to read this book was having a bunch of Clue style wacky assholes for the lead to investigate, but the execution of the story was extremely understated.

The mystery is...fine. It wasn't the point of the book as much as meeting the folks who live at Lavender House and exploring Andy's personal feelings.

Some fellow reviewers have described Lavender House as a cozy mystery and I agree strongly with that assertion. I don't think it is a bad book, but that the description of the book sets you up for expectations of something much different than the final product. Really, if you want a pretty okay mystery and you want it to be queer, this book is not a bad one to try. It's short, inoffensive in any way, and follows the beats of many of your favorite cozy mysteries. I found myself extremely disappointed, but I imagine this will be quite a treat for the right person.

This book was billed as queer Knives Out and I don’t really understand the comparison. They are both murders that take place in a big house with a big family, but for me that’s where the similarities end. However, I loved this book and I also loved that movie so maybe it’s more of a “if you liked this thing, try this other thing, it just works” sort of situation. The nuances of a queer life in a harshly unwelcoming society are beautifully explored from multiple angles. The primary importance of chosen family among queer people, and what a person is capable of forgiving within that group, is thoughtfully rendered throughout the story. I dearly hope this is the beginning of a series and can easily see how it could be. The set up at the end gives me hope that that is the author’s plan. The time period is rich for exploration from a queer lens, with McCarthyism and the lavender panic looming, and Stonewall just over the horizon.