Book Review: Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

 

Reviewer: Alan Chin

Publisher: Forge Books (Oct, 2022)

Pages: 277

Rating:★★★★

 

Lavender House, 1952: the family seat of recently deceased matriarch Irene Lamontaine, head of the famous Lamontaine soap empire. This estate offers a unique freedom, where none of the residents or staff hide their sexuality. But to keep their secret, they've needed to keep others out. And now they're worried they're keeping a murderer in.

Irene’s widow hires Evander Mills to uncover the truth behind her mysterious death. Andy, recently fired from the San Francisco police after being caught in a raid on a gay bar, is happy to accept. Andy had never imagined a world like Lavender House. He's seduced by the safety and freedom found behind its gates, where a queer family lives honestly and openly. But that honesty doesn't extend to everything, and he quickly finds himself a pawn in a family game of old money, subterfuge, and jealousy.

This is the first book in a series of Detective Evander Mills mysteries.

 

This is a tale of loss and redemption. The hero, Detective Mills, is at the end of his rope after being caught having sex in the men’s room of a gay bar. He loses everything, but then he is hired as a private detective to solve a murder. He soon finds that Lavender House is an island of gay honesty within a sea of 1950’s bigotry. In this open environment, Mills finds that a new life, an open life, is possible. This story is not just a murder mystery, and in fact, the mystery seems secondary to the awaking that Mills experiences. This is about bigotry, learning to stand your ground, and more importantly, learning to stand up for those like you, your family. 

 

I found this book rather slow in parts, and I also found the solving of the mystery was neither complex nor exciting, but the author was able to take me back sixty years, into my teens, to a time before gay rights. I lived through this time of bigotry, when I had to hide who I was from my family, friends, the entire world. This author skillfully made me remember what that bigotry felt like, the fear and shame, and for that I found this a fascinating read. Well done. 

 

Ultimately, this is a taut story of crushing loneliness and the fragility of human connections. It delves into the desperate need we feel to cling to anything that lessens that loneliness. The characters are brutally authentic, and the author handles them with sympathy and honesty. The reader so easily feels compassion, even becomes them as they face morally difficult choices.

 

Like so many formula thrillers, this story leaves the reader feeling satisfied, like a wool blanket on a chilly afternoon. It is an easy read with a splash of gay stardust to keep things more interesting.

 

This book was discussed at my book club, and we had a lively dialogue where everyone gave it two thumbs up.