Lavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen

This was such a fun queer mystery!! The actual whodunit part at the end was kind of schmeh but the book overall was really well written and just plain awesome. I hope the author continues with these characters.

If you're interested in reading a light murder mystery with queer/gay/lesbian representation- definitely check this one out in October!!

Thanks again to @netgalley for this ARC and thanks to @torbooks for hosting #torcon and introducing me to this author's works.

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Lavender House is utterly brilliant. If you love an Agatha Cristi style locked room mystery, but wished it was a thousand percent more queer? This is the story for you. Almost every character is queer. They are each wonderfully explored and realized. The mystery is full of twists. This book is powerful, exciting, and fun. I can’t recommend it enough

Thanks you Netgalley and Forge Books for this eARC, these opinions are my own. So I don’t always have the easiest time reading books that are historically set but I loved every bit of this book! I personally have never done a lot of research into queer history, I just know that things were hard. Lavender House takes place in the 1950’s and centers around a closeted gay police office who had just had his world turned upside down because he was got doing sexual acts with another man. He ends up going to Lavender House to help look into the death of a woman there. He never expected to find a place where queer people could live openly and honestly! At Lavender House all the occupants save one are part of the queer community, to the outside world they seem like the typical straight people but at home they get to be who they really are! Andy, the detective, looks into the death to determine if it was actually a murder… if so one of those living in the house probably committed the murder… Lev AC Rosen created the perfect Noir mystery that was thrilling and exciting and at every turn! But I feel this book really shines in the depth of the characters, each dealing with how they fit into the world especially with their queerness! I also loved seeing more about how things were for people in the Queer community in the 1950’s, beaten and arrested by cops just for being who they were. Shunned by society at large. Forced to hide. I greeting up knowing that things had been tough but to read about it, even in a fictional sense, really provides needed perspective! I highly recommend this book, for the mystery, depth of characters, and insight to what people in the older generations of the queer community have been through! Can’t wait to read it again!

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

It's 1952 and Andy has been kicked off the police force. When he has reached the end of his rope he meets Pearl, a beautiful heiress who asks him to investigate a crime. What he finds is a safe haven for people like him...queer people who have nowhere else to go...but is the Lavender House safe for everyone?

I really enjoyed this. I loved the art deco feel to it and it felt very "knives out" but with important social context for the time (or any time really). A timely read at the moment when so many hard-fought rights are in jeopardy. Definitely recommend!!

Lavender House will be available on October 18th. Many thanks to @netgalley and @forgereads for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

ARC review Lavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen

Saying this is a murder mystery is too much of a simplification of everything this book is. It is fantastic and full of emotions on top of finding out the mystery.

Synopsis:
1950’s San Fransisco, Irene Lamontaine has died after falling over a banister in her house. Irene was the owner of a popular soap company, who worked tirelessly on her scents each year.
Her wife senses foul play and hires a disgraced cop, Evander Mills, to investigate. He goes to the Lavender House to find answers about the death but finds a lot out about the House and himself.


My thoughts:
This was a mystery but it was also a book with many queer characters trying to get by in a time of US history that was completely blatantly hostile towards their way of life. The mystery was interesting but learning about these characters and what they had to do and not do to fit in was really what kept me turning pages. To me it was heartbreaking and eye opening, but the characters maintained their positivity and found family with each other.

I loved this and recommend it to anyone.

Lavender House tells the story of Andy, a police officer in the 50s who was fired due to being gay. He gets hired by Pearl, who's sure her wife's death wasn't an accident. While this gives Andy the opportunity to keep his mind occupied and productive, it also gives him the chance to enjoy the acceptance Lavender House has to offer. The people who live in Lavender House are queer, only keeping up appearances for the outside world. While this book is described as a queer version of Knives Out, I feel like it didn't have the humor of the movie but definitely the incredible cast of characters. Each one is compelling and unique and keeps you guessing on their motives.

Lavender House isn't exactly a thriller, it's more like a cozy mystery with a slow pace but it's such an enjoyable read! Keep in mind that since this book is set in the 50s there are some scenes depicting discrimination, but the author handled it really well and I'd recommend this book.

I'm going to need time to process this and go back and read some of my favorite parts before I fully review, but for now, suffice it to say that when they say "knives out with a queer twist," it was accurate and amazing.

Lavender House is a queer historical mystery. Andy is recruited as a private investigator - a few days after losing his job as a detective after he was caught with another man- by a queer family who just lost their matriarch.

I don't read enough mysteries to be fully familiar with the genre and be able to unpull all the threads in advance, I am glad that Lavender House is a mystery that unravels slowly over time and does not end on a plot twist that came out of nowhere. I was not trying to outsmart the book so I was left satisfied by the mystery's conclusion.

What I loved the most about this book is that it shows you what Andy considers a utopia: a queer family living secretly together in a house but their relationships are a lot more complex than you would expect. Elsie and Margo are arguing, teasing but still fully in love, Cliff is struggling with his demons and Henry is overwhelmed but is still worried about him and Pearl even in her grief is fiercely protective of the life they've built. Also, I loved Pat and Gene, shout out to Pat for giving Andy book recs

I couldn’t put this down! It’s the story of Andy, a cop who has just been kicked off the force because his colleagues found out he’s gay. He is approached to solve a murder at the Lavender House, where the matriarch of a family has been killed. It’s a good mystery, but Andy’s journey to make a new life had me hooked!

Lavander House is the kind of queer mystery the world needs more of. 

I was talking with my friends a few weeks ago how I want to read more proper mystery stories, but with queer characters and/or settings, and then this book dropped into my lap. I finished it in less than a day.

It's akin to the classic mystery and crime novels, not too much of a thriller, which I loved. It reminded me of the countless Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie novels I read as a kid.

It was really the characters who made the story, each properly complex and relevant in the plot. Set in the 1950s, the author takes proper advantage of their setting, for the themes they explored too. Creating a flawed but ultimately loving queer family and setting it up as a mystery whodunit of a murdered matriarch is genius. 

I'd love to see it get a screen adaptation one day, to see the story and characters coming alive in that way. Some stories are just made to be cinematic, and this is one of them.

A great mystery with horror-ish vibes and a very drawing plot. I will say the book cover gave me more YA vibes and I was a little disappointed it wasn't YA, but the description of Knives Out with a queer and historical twist was too enthralling to pass up. Would recommend for those who loved Knives Out

4.5 Stars

Queer Knives out? Sign me UP!

This is one house that is full to bursting with secrets. One that Evander Mills is all to familiar with. One that cost him his job, his friends and almost his life.

Being queer in the 50s was not just dangerous, it was a crime. And navigating raids and a disapproving population is hard. So finding a family that are all one way or another queer is unheard of and dangerous.

Asked to discreetly investigate a mysterious murder, Mills is let in on the family secret and learns what it’s like to be surrounded my others just like him. And the safety and freedom offered to him behind those closed gates. But not all is well and he quickly learns that as more than just a mysterious murder take place.

This was such a good mystery and having the queer rep made it even better. I was a little cautious with the comparison to Knives Out because I didn’t want just a queer book version of it. That would have been boring. But if you liked Knives Out, I do believe you will like this one just as much. A private detective, a bizarre family, and a murder. It has the perfect combination of it all, making a fantastic mystery that while maybe predictable to some doesn’t fall flat in the slightest with a satisfying ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lev AC Rosen's upcoming whodunnit LAVENDER HOUSE is a queer historical fiction version of the film Knives Out in all the best ways. I haven't read anything by this author before, but I definitely heard amazing things about two of his other books JACK OF HEARTS and CAMP, so I knew that I wanted to read this book as soon as possible. Taking place in 1952 San Francisco, our main character Evander (Andy) Mills is hired by the widow of Irene Lamontaine, the owner of the famous Lamontaine soap empire. However, in 1952, Irene's wife was hidden in secret to avoid persecution. Pearl, Irene's widow, finds Andy at a bar drinking his pain away after being let go by the SFPD for being caught with another man at a gay bar. Pearl asks Andy to find out how Irene died, because she believes foul play is at hand.

When Andy arrives to their estate, named Lavender House, he finds a home securely tucked away with its own secrets. With a queer family living in harmony with queer staff, this estate feels like a dream. However, in a home where who you are is hidden from the entire world, people know how to keep a secret at any cost. Was Irene murdered in her home by her own family.

I loved this book for many reasons. I loved that it's not being marketed as a thriller. This is a cozy mystery and I was so happy to see it not being called a thriller in the buzz around this book. I loved Irene's family and chosen family at Lavender House. The family and the staff all had their unique personalities (Cliff was my favorite!), and I really could resonate with all of them. This book takes place in 1952, so it deals with a lot of pain that the LGBTQ+ community faced back then—including discrimination and violence, so please go in knowing that will be addressed explicitly.

I really don't read cozy mysteries that much, but this book really was such an eye opening experience for me. I also absolutely LOVED the ending and hope that we get more Andy Mills in the future. This book sets up for a perfect series in its own right. I read this book in a day because I just could not put it down! Funny and heartbreaking, LAVENDER HOUSE will leave you speechless.

This book is about a used-to-be cop who got fired for being queer, and gets hired on as a private investigator for a house full of people in queer relationships, a place where they can openly be themselves and hidden away from a society that otherwise wouldn’t accept them. The staff there are also queer. The only one who isn’t is Alice, the mother of one of the girls. The lady of the house, and the head of a popular soap company, has died, and her wife hired on the fired cop to tell her whether it was a murder or not, and if so, who the murderer is.
I really enjoyed the characters in the book. I felt like they were all well written and had depth to them. It was difficult to want to accuse anyone, which is the same problem the main character had, because they were just all so likeable. At the same time, every one of them had reasons they could’ve been the murderer. I greatly enjoyed watching the story unfold and see what really happened.
I think my only complaint was that it seemed like there was an excessive amount of flirting from the main character and a few of the other characters with him. It almost felt out of place and unnecessary at times, but it could just be personal preference. Otherwise the story was great and I kept wanting more.

QUICK TAKE: I'm a little tired of queer stories featuring closeted characters, but I really loved this LGBTQIA+ take on KNIVES OUT, featuring an ensemble cast of characters trying the solve the murder of soap dynasty CEO. It's oppulent and escapist and entertaining and I was sad to leave The Lavender House once the mystery was solved. More, please.

Lavender House is a very fun, quick read that reminded me most of Knives Out and other fun who-dun-its. The queer family at the heart of the story feels unlikely at first, but the characters are well-developed and grew on me as the story progressed. I can see this becoming a series, and I would definitely read more Inspector Evander adventures.

I loved the premise, title, and cover of this book, but the execution didn't fully work for me. It was fully a me issue and not gelling with the writing style, though, so I know tons of people will love this.

Couldn't put it down - this mystery had me rooting for all of the characters even through their misbehavior and the protagonist was a classic noir hero with a twist. Charming and well-written.