4 stars

Welcome to the next installment in the Evander "Andy" Mills series!

I loved _Lavender House_ and entirely missed that there was a second book, so when this third came out, I got a fantastic two-fer! Of course, I'll be backtracking to that missed middle book in the near future. Why? Because Andy is a great character in an intriguing setting.

This time, Andy is in his usual spot - historic San Francisco - living his best P.I. life. Though, for his personal safety, he is not open about his sexuality in most circumstances, he manages to find a fair amount of community and to support other queer folks through his work. I found this to be fast paced, peppered with complex characters, and filled with a real sense of time and place (as all good historical fiction should be). I am excited to read much more in this series, including but not limited to the unintentionally skipped middle book!

Of course, I recommend this to prospective readers who enjoy an engaging and well-paced plot, nice sense of history, and great characterization.

I love this series! Evander Mills, Andy, is one of my favorite book detectives and Rosen has crafted a wonderful backdrop for these stories to take place against. I feel the urgency of existing as a queer person during McCarthyism but also the vibrancy and resiliency of queer folx in the face of danger. Each recurring character in this series is beautifully realized and their feelings are palpable. While I can figure out the main culprits about halfway through the book, there are always elements of the mystery- motivations, means, etc.- that catch me by surprise. I appreciate that Rosen can craft something surprising without being gory or too suspenseful. These mysteries are easy to read and while dealing with challenging subject matter, are also fun.

I really enjoyed this book about books and stories. Lev AC Rosen’s writing and characters really drew me in. The mystery Andy was working to solve was interesting to follow, and the twists were good. I listened to the audiobook version, and Vikas Adam’s narration is amazing! Some parts of this book were really sad while others were empowering as the characters worked to find and/or create their own truth and stories or discover that of others. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This felt like the most direct story in the series so far - unlike the earlier books it didn’t feel quite so stretched thin. It also felt very timely (even though it’s set in the 50s) as it deals with queer books and the lengths people will go to prevent those books getting into the hands of people who need them.

Of course, we also had several layers of mystery. And I like that this one focused on Andy’s temperament and his ties to toxic masculinity (ie his hero complex).

Overall, this is a pretty cozy series with queer characters in a realistic 1950s backdrop that doesn’t shy away from murder, blackmail, corruption, etc