I really enjoyed everything about this book. I liked the characters, especially Andy, and I loved the murder mystery behind the death of the iconic soap empire. The narrator Vikas Adam did a great job voicing the story and it was a fun entertaining way to escape real life for a few hours.

This was at times difficult to get through, but not because it was bad by any means. Just because of how heart wrenching it was to hear about what life was like for people in the LGBTQ community to be out, to live their lives in peace.

The mystery itself was also a gut punch, and fantastically unfolded. It had some angst, some heartbreak, and some great humor and banter sprinkled in.

This is a historical mystery, set in the early 1950s. Right from the beginning you get that Sam Spade, noir feel. I loved the setting and the atmosphere throughout.

The murder itself is a locked-room mystery - cleverly plotted to appear as an accident. The entire household are suspects, anyone could have done it - but what would their motive be?

Along with the mystery, (now private) detective Andy is on a journey of self-discovery. He's just been fired from the San Francisco PD, and is struggling to find his place in the world.

Vikas Adam has a great voice to bring Andy's story and investigation to life. This was a fun audiobook to listen to!

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC of this! I ended up alternating between listening and reading a library copy.

An interesting, queer found-family historical murder mystery, this kept me engaged from start to finish. I loved the characters and the overall vibe. I’m not typically a mystery reader, but I liked that aspect well enough. The narrator did a great job and was easy to listen to.

3.5 stars

A sad, twist-filled murder mystery set in 1950’s California. I loved the setting, the writing is smooth, & Andy has a great character growth arc. I really enjoyed this, but a big *content warning* for anyone averse to homophobic violence, because there is a lot of it.

[What I liked:]

•The supporting cast is full of interesting characters! It really felt like a noir film, with the edgy & glamorous people hiding their dark secrets. They gave Andy plenty to investigate.

•The mystery itself has a very satisfying conclusion. There were parts that felt a bit on the slower side (when the narrative was focusing on internal/interpersonal conflicts), but overall the story has a nice slow burn sort of buildup in narrative tension.

•Andy is a sympathetic yet flawed character, & he works through a lot of things including internalized homophobia, fear of intimacy, & guilt over his past failures to protect other LGBTQ people from police brutality. I look forward to future books starring him!


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•It was very difficult for me to read the scene where Andy is brutally beaten by his former colleagues for being gay. It’s probably realistic & all that, & it’s not a flaw in the story, but I wasn’t expecting such a graphically detailed scene & I would have appreciated a content warning in the blurb/synopsis.

CW: homophobia, homophobic violence, physical assault, child abuse, infidelity, substance abuse, murder, suicide

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

This audiobook was fantastic! Vikas Adams is one of my favorite narrators, but this work was maybe his best yet? The acting was so great, especially for the genre that really helps to get super intrigued into a book. I really enjoyed everything about his voice, and really liked the book as well.

As far as the book goes, while I did find some of the side characters to be just a bit 2 dimensional, which was disappointing but not unexpected for an ensemble cast, I really enjoyed the plot and historical setting. I really appreciated the authors attention to queerness, homophobia, queer history and relationships. I will definitely be recommending this book.

The cover of this book is beautiful and led me to expect this was a YA fantasy. It is decidedly not a fantasy, but a film noir murder mystery. This isn't a genre a generally pick up, but by the time I realized it, I was too far in and had to get to the conclusion.

The main character, Andy Mills, is hired by an eccentric, wealthy, self-made family to solve the suspected murder of one of the member of their family. Having just been kicked off of the detective squad for being gay, Andy is in need of employment and a path to self-acceptance. He finds both at the Lamontaine estate.

Every time I thought I knew who the murderer was, another suspect was thrown into the mix. I am admittedly not good at solving these ahead of time, but I wasn't sure of the murderer until about 90% in.

The narrator gave the story a Mickey Spillane-esque feel, which should've tipped me off sooner, and did a great job with the characterizations. This was a fun, fast-paced read.

I read along with this audiobook for Lavender House. I really enjoyed the queer element to this murder mystery, I wish it was seen more in this type of genre. The writing was fast-paced and fun to read.

Slow start with an iffy beginning but the book picks up if you stick with it. Great narrator. Nice that it’s lgbtq in a time when that was not really talked about. Nice cozy mystery. Interesting plot. Thank you NetGalley for the chance to listen to an early copy.

Mystery thriller isn't always my genre, but Lavender House is a notable exception. The resolution of the mystery is satisfying and I found myself fully enthralled with and rooting for the characters. I will confidently recommend this book.

I listened to this via audiobook I love the graveling stereotypical detective voice!!! The voice actor did an excellent job for everyone!!!

This book gave me all the old school detective vibes. I absolutely adored it!

Found Family
Murder Mystery

The book charmed the hell out of me and the voice actor only enhanced that!

Irene Lamontaine, head of the Lamontaine soap empire, mysteriously dies and her widow hires Evander (Andy) Mills, recently fired cop, to uncover the truth behind Irene’s death. Irene’s estate, Lavender House, holds more than just the secrets to the Lamontaine soap recipes, it’s a safe haven, affording its inhabitants the freedom to be who they are and love openly in a world where their existence is a seen as a crime. To keep these secrets, they have had to keep others out, but now they may be keeping a murderer in.

**GAY GASP!**

This book, this book! Oh my gay goddess! I was enthralled by this story, right from the start. Think the Knives Out and make it better and the gayest version ever.

I cannot get over how much I loved how the story unfolded, progressing the investigation while learning about each of Lavender Houses’ residents’ past. I kept changing who I thought the murderer was up until the end. While fun, this book also doesn’t shy away from painting an accurate picture of the grim lives many LGBTQ+ folks lived and continue to live in parts of the world today.

This cozy mystery is so much fun and I highly recommend it for any season, but especially this spooky season!

Thank you so much for including me in the #ScaredStraightReads book club, @scaredstraightreads! I can’t wait to chat about this one with the group. And, thank you, @forgereads, for the #gifted copy! 🥰

CW: homophobia

I really enjoyed this book! This is the first that I've read from Lev Rosen (though Camp has been on my TBR for AGES), and it was really good.

The story is about a former police detective who was kicked off the force when it was found out he was gay, during a raid at a gay bar. As much as I love to read books that don't include homophobia, it didn't feel gratuitous and was historically accurate for the time (1950s). This former detective is hired to investigate the murder of a queer, found family's matriarch, and it was great to see how Andy (the detective) came more into himself as he got to know the family more. It was a really interesting premise and one that I think probably happened quite often at the time, queer folks living together and pretending to be a blood family, as a way of protecting each other. Where this was a murder investigation, I was really worried about how it would go, if I would be destroyed by who the killer was, as I came to quite like all of the members of the family. Thankfully, I was very happy with the resolution.

I really loved how the book was written, it felt like a gritty, noir detective novel and I am so here for it.

I’ve heard this called gothic and I’ve heard it comped to Knives Out, and I’m not sure either is accurate. The feel of the book is closer to a noir detective story, which is fine but a bit disappointing for those who were hoping for a gothic murder mystery set in a creepy mansion, which is how the book was promoted.

I love the idea of bringing more diversity into the genre, and Rosen handles his characters deftly. But a mystery with zero atmosphere just doesn’t do it for me, especially when we’re lead to believe that it’s gothic in nature. And it’s a shame, because the family business in soap and the house itself is theoretically a great setup for a slow burn mystery that oozes atmosphere.

The mystery itself is fine and has a plausible and satisfying ending. Andy’s character arc is well written and he’s a very compelling hero. But the book just lacks the originality and sense of place that I need out of something in this genre. If you care less about that sort of thing than I do, I expect you’ll like this one well enough, because there is no issue with the quality of writing or the story.

Audiobook Readers: This story lends well to the format and the narrator does an excellent job.

Special thanks to MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for the audio ARC in exchange for my own opinion.

This book is a murder mystery set in the 50's. OK Lavendar House is my first queen book and a murder mystery. The homophobia and police brutality were made a part of the story and not just a plot point. I think the narrator had a great deal too why I liked it using different voices for the characters and I jumped it up to 4 stars for that.
I would recommend it but in audio. I just don't think it would come across the same way reading it so if you get this book I suggest audio. 3.5 or 4 stars for the narrator.

I loved the cover and premise for this book. A murder mystery in a house of queer folks in the 1950s. Learning the ins and outs of each relationship was interesting and kept me hooked in the beginning. But things slowed down - a lot.

Maybe murder mysteries just aren’t for me? The pacing never seems quite right. I find myself annoyed with the story and just want the answer. This one was no different.

The ending wasn’t really unexpected - I was glad when I finally got there.

great and enthralling queer take on a classic agatha christie esque whodunit. was a bit underwhelmed by the killer reveal but overall enjoyed it a lot

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with this ARC.

Lavender House has Raymond Chandler noir detective vibes BUT queer! I loved it. An excellent murder mystery where you get inserted into a queer found family dynamic. Set in the 50s so please check tws

This is the best queer book I have read in I don't know when.
The residents of Lavender House are able to be themselves within its walls in a time when it was illegal to be gay. When one of their own is killed, disgraced cop (fired for being gay) Evander Mills is asked to investigate in a very private way. This noir story is twisty, and well-written and allows the family to be front and center without falling back on bad stereotypes.
I loved it as a mystery on its own. But allowing the gay and lesbian characters to be the focus gives a new perspective that I haven't gotten from the genre.

I liked the narration. Mills is given the perfect voice and the narrator gives each character their own sounds.

A dark murder mystery set in the 50’s that is rough and not happy or smooth.

The twists in this were everything. The discussion of hard to acknowledge topics like homophobia and police brutality was also a very important and well felt piece. It was made a part of the story and not just a plot point on the side.

Please not content warnings before reading. This mystery is deep and can be triggering.