Lavender House (Andy Mills, #1)

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Lev A.C. Rosen
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A "Best Of" Book From: Amazon * Buzzfeed * Rainbow Reading * Library Journal * CrimeReads * BookPage * Book Riot * Autostraddle A delicious story from a new voice in suspense, Lev AC Rosen's Lavender House is Knives Out with a queer historical twist. Lavender House, 1952: the family seat of recentl...

A "Best Of" Book From: Amazon * Buzzfeed * Rainbow Reading * Library Journal * CrimeReads * BookPage * Book Riot * Autostraddle

A delicious story from a new voice in suspense, Lev AC Rosen's Lavender House is Knives Out with a queer historical twist.

Lavender House, 1952: the family seat of recently deceased matriarch Irene Lamontaine, head of the famous Lamontaine soap empire. Irene’s recipes for her signature scents are a well guarded secret—but it's not the only one behind these gates. This estate offers a unique freedom, where none of the residents or staff hide who they are. 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—his calendar is wide open. And his secret is the kind of secret the Lamontaines understand.

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—and Irene’s death is only the beginning.

When your existence is a crime, everything you do is criminal, and the gates of Lavender House can’t lock out the real world forever. Running a soap empire can be a dirty business.

(From Goodreads)

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Number of Pages: 274

ISBN: 1250834228

ISBN-13: 9781250834225

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Laura Sackton 3mos
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When was the last time you read a murder mystery about a queer family living in an old mansion in the Bay Area in the 1950s? Probably never. Let’s fix that. Andy is a closeted gay cop who’s fired from the San Francisco police force after he’s caught in a raid at a gay bar. He’s th...

When was the last time you read a murder mystery about a queer family living in an old mansion in the Bay Area in the 1950s? Probably never. Let’s fix that. Andy is a closeted gay cop who’s fired from the San Francisco police force after he’s caught in a raid at a gay bar. He’s then hired by the matriarch of a wealthy queer family (they own a soap empire!) who wants him to investigate the murder of her wife. Everyone is queer! Everyone! It’s an atmospheric, character-driven mystery with a satisfying conclusion, but it’s also a moving story about the ongoing violence of being forced to hide yourself, and the (messy) healing that comes with finding queer community.

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