This was a surprise hit with me. It's a 1950s era whodunit murder mystery with the added bonus of most of its characters being queer. We meet Andy Mills, a now ex-cop, just after the worst day of his life, having been found in a bathroom during a raid of a gay bar. Before he can do anything stupid, he is hired by a widow to investigate the murder of her wife. And thus begins the world-building of the Lavender House, a queer reprieve from the dangers of the police and anti-gay sentiment. The murder storyline is weak and the pacing is slow at times, but as a cozy mystery it still works. The ending sets up a future series in this world with these characters and I for one am all in!

3.5 stars

A traditional murder mystery set in 1950s California. While the ‘lavender scare’ of the McCarthy years is never mentioned by name, the juxtaposition of cities full of queer folks discovering each other and the brutal treatment they received from police and straight society is right at the forefront of this explicitly and celebratory queer novel.

The mystery mostly occurs at one fantastic setting, the titular Lavender House: a country mansion owned by a family soap-making empire and, secretly, a queer family utopia. But for all the freedoms the house provides for its inhabitants it can also serve as a prison, chaining the family together not just with bonds of love but of secrets and necessity. I love a good country house setting for a murder mystery and I think that this one is especially effective because the inhabitants are all in on a secret (their queer family) together, isolated by their lifestyle even more than their mansion gates. The family themselves are also a great cast of characters, each finding their own niche and role within the family structure and each with more going on under the surface than first appears.

I wish that the actual mystery had included one or two more twists and turns, or used the layout of the house a little more effectively, and the ending was a little rushed. But our lead character, Andy Mills, is a reliable (if slightly ordinary) investigator to follow, keenly observant and good at probing the suspects, and he keeps the narrative flowing at a very readable pace. There is a satisfying plot with enough good writing to make the reader feel immersed in the historical setting, which—along with the family relationships of the suspects—is the real charm of this particular mystery.

Content Warnings: Historical homophobia, police brutality, alcohol abuse, suicidal ideation

“People are always trying to claim you, without ever listening to who you are. They want you to be something else, to be the role they have for you in the family. But really, we’re all better off just making our own.”

LAVENDER HOUSE is like “Knives Out” but (almost) everyone is gay. Set in the Bay Area in the 1950s, it’s an atmospheric murder mystery about a secretly queer family that owns a soap company. When their matriarch dies mysteriously, a recently fired cop is brought into their mansion to suss out what happened and who is at fault. The plot was fairly straightforward - a few intriguing twists, some delicious suspense - but what really shone for me was the queer history Rosen illuminates, the messy & beautiful found family at the core of this story, and seeing through the main character’s eyes the far-reaching effects of being made to hide your true self and the healing that comes when you finally feel at home. Thanks to Forge Books and Macmillan Audio for the review copies! This novel is out 10/18.

Content warnings: murder, homophobia, family rejection, religious bigotry, child abuse, beatings/hate crimes, police brutality, survival sex work, suicide

[ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review]

Hey, this book? Absolutely amazing. A historical murder mystery in a ~lavender house~ called Lavender House? Perfection.

Andy Mills, a gay cop fired from the force for being caught during a raid on a gay bar, is hired by the widow of Irene Lamontaine to find out how the head of the famous soap family was killed. Mystery, thrills, and a little bit of romance ensue.

What I loved most about this book was the historical lens of it and how Rosen draws specific parallels to our world today. Yes, things have changed and progressed for queer people, but wow have things always been bad. Much like the people of this family, you don’t want to believe any of them could be guilty of murder, or murdering one of their own.

I wanted to reread this as soon as I finished it and I’m counting down the days until the sequel. Give me Andy Mills solving gay crimes forever.

5 stars

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback. This was a thoroughly charming queer take on noir, can't wait to read the next one.

Had to DNF at 20%... just didn't keep my attention. I tried to go back to it a few times over the past few months but I just wasn't into it. The premise and cover are great though!

I have read a lot of book club choices in 3 days but I've never had an easier or more enjoyable time doing so. I loved the setting and the characters and can't wait to spend more time in this world.

Truly a marvellous read. I loved this authors ya contemporary book that came out a few years ago so I was very interested to know how I would feel about their adult release and I loved this! The mystery was so eerie and had me on the edge of my seat

Thank you @forgereads @netgalley for my review copy!

📖After Andy has been fired from the police force because of a personal secret, he feels like he has nothing to live for. When he’s approached by the Lamontaine family to investigate the suspicious death of their matriarch, he decides to take the case.

💭I really enjoyed this Clue like mystery. I’m a sucker for a remote setting and a cast full of suspicious characters, so this was right up my alley! Filled with great characters and a whodunnit that kept me guessing. Really looking forward to book two!

📚Read this if you like…
Clue mystery vibes
Remote setting
Whodunnits
LGBTQ+ representation

One description for this book says it’s a ‘“Knives Out” with a queer, historical twist’, and that is 100% the way I would describe it! Evander (Andy) Mills was a cop’s cop in 1950s San Francisco…that is, until he was found with his pants down in a bathroom stall of a bathhouse in San Francisco; in a time when raids on queer establishments were a weekly event. Mills is kicked off the police force after being found out, and he is contemplating taking his own life when he encounters Pearl in the bar where he is drinking to excess on his supposed final day. Pearl’s wife, Irene Lamontaine, the owner of a successful soap business, died mysteriously and Pearl wants Andy to investigate.
Andy moves into the Lamontaine estate and spends his days digging into the messy lives of the Lamontaine family to find out who killed Irene Lamontaine. Rosen does a great job of making you constantly change your mind about the suspect. I really don’t want to spoil anything on this one, but I’ll say this: Rosen is a magnificent writer who hooks you and pulls you into the story. What are you waiting for?!?! Go buy this book! Special thanks to @netgalley for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this title.

I have only recently been getting into reading mysteries, so I was pretty excited to hear about this one set in the 50s with a queer cast. This was a really fast paced story and I enjoyed watching all these complicated characters interact. There were a lot of difficult topics in the story, that at times were hard to read. Andy is fired from his job as a police officer as a result of being found during a raid on a gay bar. That whole situation, and his thoughts about his situation were heartbreaking to read.

It was interesting seeing him try to figure out how to navigate a murder, while not exposing the truth of Lavender House, or get found out by the police department. I really enjoyed the aspects of the story that showed his interactions with the people living at Lavender House and how their seemingly incredible life isn’t that incredible. There were a lot of layers here that made the story interesting and unpredictable.

I liked that the story took different directions and twists. By the end I couldn’t even guess who the murder was or why they did it. There were so many suspects and so many potential motives. I think if you go into this book expecting anything other than a locked room-esque mystery, you will be disappointed. I think the vibes and marketing of the book made some people think it leaned a bit more supernatural. But this is a mystery set in the 50’s about queer people and all the ways they need to hide their lives and find people they can trust.

I found this very fast paced and enjoyable and I’d definitely be interested in whatever comes next in this series.

Super fast-paced. I was able to finish it in a day. I didn’t know I need a queer detective series before this, but now I’m very excited for more!

This was an interesting mystery that probably could have been better if it was a little faster and more happened in it. There was none of the usual red herrings or sucker punch moments I usually look for. I didn't find myself rooting for many of the characters, apart from Andy, and once he got a particular piece of information in his investigation, I knew who it was and then it was anti-climactic because it was obvious who was responsible. However, the family drama and the tribulations of the queer characters dealing with 1950's attitudes held the book together for me, especially Andy. To think how far we've come from those days, even as certain people today want to drag us back into the past.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are mine and freely given.

This historical thriller follows a former police detective in the 1950s ousted from the force after being found with another man at a gay club. All seems hopeless but then he's hired by an eccentric family who's matriarch--the head of a soap making empire--just died under suspicious circumstances. The family is hiding many secrets, including that they're all queer in a time when being openly queer was still illegal and deeply dangerous.

I really wanted to like this and it had positive parts but I struggled to fully get into it. The mystery was intriguing and the premise fantastic, but this felt like it needed a bit more development.

Really enjoyed this one. It’s very atmospheric, set in 1950s San Francisco in a remarkable home. Evander “Andy” Mills has been fired from the police department and evicted after being caught in a raid of a gay club, and is hired to investigate the death of Irene LaMontaine by her wife. Everyone in her house is queer, and they all have secrets they’d prefer Andy not discover. Interesting characters and some nice twists lead to a satisfying, though not shocking, ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Forge Books for granting me access to this wonderful eARC of Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen.

Just a head’s up, this book takes place in 1952 and contains period typical homophobia including a hate crime. These things are not brushed aside in any way. It’s made very clear that this was a dangerous time for gay people.

This mystery novel stars Evander Mills, AKA Andy, who was recently fired from the police force for being gay. Andy starts working as a private detective for the widow of Irene Lamontoine, head of Lamontoine soap empire. Andy goes to Lavender House where Irene had lived with her family to investigate what her widow believes was her murder. Andy discovers that almost everyone living and working in Lavender House is gay and the place is essentially a safe haven for them. This makes investigating the possible murder difficult to say the least.

One thing I liked was that Rosen has Andy discuss how he was being a traitor to his community by turning in fellow gay people for being in gay bars and how his job made him feel sick, but he did it to protect himself. And how that still didn’t make what he was doing okay. I like that this is something discussed in the book. And how he sees Lavender House as a new way to possibly feel safe. I like that Rosen didn’t ignore the hypocrisy of Andy turning people in for doing the same things he was doing and using his position on the police force to better hide himself. And how it didn’t work as a permanent shield in the long run. And how he felt better having gay community around him.

The mystery element of the novel is well done. There are several red herrings to throw readers off and I never really knew who to suspect until the very end. Rosen leaves the ending open and I look forward to checking the sequel out whenever it hits library shelves this fall!

5 out of 5 stars

From the very beginning, I found this novel by Lev AC Rosen intriguing, especially with the LGBTQ noir mystery. I especially love that it’s set in the fifties. The period lends itself to mystery and also explores some of the difficult history of being gay during that time period. 

I love the characters, each one distinctive and how the main character, Evander, struggles with the world he is in, one in which he can’t be true to himself and has recently lost his job because of his sexuality. It explores his feelings of safety and powerlessness. 

As the mystery unfolds, the novel also explores found family and toxic, obsessive love, the type of love that prevents happiness. The mystery unfolds slowly but leaves cookie crumbs to allow the reader to solve the mystery along with the characters. The ending is wonderfully crafted.

If you love noir mystery and period pieces, you will love this LGBTQ Noir mystery. I love mysteries and this was well worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced readers copy. 5/5 stars.

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen is a 1950's murder mystery starring a queer detective named Andy. Fired from the San Francisco police department after being caught in a raid of a local gay bar and unsure what to do with his life, Andy gets drunk and plans to jump into the ocean. That's when Pearl, an older rich woman, asks if he'd like to be a private detective for a murder case- the murder of her wife, Irene. *gasp* And, not ONLY is she her wife, bur she is the owner of one of the biggest soap companies in America.

I READ THIS IN TWO DAYS!! Literally could not put this down! Queer found family, 1950s San Francisco, a down bad cop, and an underground murder investigation at one of the most famous soap companies in America? AND EVERYONE (but Margo's mom) IN THE HOUSE IS QUEER?? SIGN ME UP!!! The characters were all so unique and the plot and time period immediately drew me in. The vibes of the mansion were a dream, fields of flowers!! And Lavender!! EVERYWHERE!

This book gets heavy with the reality of being queer in 1950s America and does not shy away from it. While it was extremely difficult to read at times with the abuse that queer people dealt with, it still is a part of queer history that's important for current and future generations to learn from. There are so many layers to this queer mystery that honestly would make it enjoyable for many different readers.

Rep: Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Mexican-American character, Filipino character, older queer characters, queer marriage

TW: police brutality, homophobia, homophobic slurs, abuse, domestic violence, domestic abuse, murder, assault, guns

Smartly crafted queer mystery set in 1950's San Francisco and starring a former cop who turns to PI work after being outed, arrested, and booted out of the police force for being gay. Andy Mills goes from being kicked out to being hired by a lesbian to find out who murdered her wife. The rest of the characters are part of a logical family who make their money from a soap company. Great historical perspectives and lots of fun possibilities for sequels and more in a series, if that's where author Lev A.C. Rosen points the next project.