Lavender House

Review by Booklist Review

San Francisco, 1952. Former police inspector Evander "Andy" Mills, bounced from the SFPD for being gay, sits alone at a bar nursing his fifth martini and planning to kill himself; then a woman sits on the bar stool next to him. She introduces herself as Pearl Velez and offers him a job investigating the death of her wife, Irene Lamontaine, of the Lamontaine soap fortune. Intrigued, Andy agrees and is driven to the Lamontaine estate, where, he learns, everyone, with one exception, is queer. Andy, introduced to the Lamontaine family and their three servants, begins his investigation and determines that Irene's death was murder and that someone in the house is the murderer. Ah, but who? Although the characters tend to be types and the denouement is a bit too pat, Rosen's mystery is intriguing and a satisfying read. What makes the book exceptional, though, is its gritty treatment of queer life in the early '50s, which Rosen examines with commendable insight and compassion. A worthy effort.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Set in 1952, this appealing character-driven mystery from Rosen (Camp) finds 32-year-old Evander "Andy" Mills sitting in a San Francisco bar contemplating suicide. Two days earlier, he lost his job as an inspector for the San Francisco PD when he was picked up in a raid on a gay club. Blacklisted, kicked out of his apartment, and shunned by his former colleagues, Andy realizes he has no real options. That is, until Pearl Velez sits down beside him and offers him a job investigating the death of her wife, Irene Lamontaine, the creator of the distinctive floral scents that have made Lamontaine soap famous. Some believe that Irene's fall from her balcony was accidental; Pearl believes she was murdered. Pearl brings Andy to the secluded Lamontaine estate, where he meets the collection of friends who have become a tight-knit family. Could one of the "family" be responsible for Irene's death? Never mind the straightforward plot and the pretty obvious culprit. This book's real pleasure lies in the richly realized portrayal of its cast and their personal struggles. Rosen puts a welcome gay spin on the traditional country house whodunit. (Oct.)

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Review by Library Journal Review

Award-winning YA author Rosen (who wrote Camp as L. C. Rosen) makes his adult mystery debut with a superbly written 1950s-set novel that deftly displays a Raymond Chandleresque way with words combined with the same insightful characterization found in the crime fiction of Ross Macdonald and Patricia Highsmith. San Francisco police inspector Evander "Andy" Mills has a knack for knowing when a suspect is keeping a secret, probably because he has a lot of experience in hiding things himself. But when his fellow cops discover Andy's secret--he prefers the company of men--his career with the SFPD is toast. However, just before Andy takes a deep dive into San Francisco Bay, Pearl Velez hires him to look into the death of her wife Irene Lamontaine, who died in an "accident" at Lavender House, the family's estate outside the city. VERDICT Rosen's deftly clued, noir-tinged plot successfully walks the line between hope and heartbreak, all while thoughtfully exploring the role of family in our lives. This fresh take on the classic private investigator begs to be brought to the big screen.--John Charles

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