When you’re a cop in 1952 and your colleagues bust you in a raid on a gay bar, your career options become extremely limited. Former San Francisco Police Inspector Evander Mills’ retirement plan is to drink until his money is gone, then pitch himself into the bay. Until a widow sits down next to Andy at the bar and offers him a private gig—find out what happened to her wife.
Persuaded to take the case, Andy accompanies the widow to Lavender House, the family seat of recently deceased Irene Lamontaine, head of the Lamontaine Soap empire. At this secluded estate, where none of the residents, or the staff, need to hide their identities, Andy finds a bewitching freedom.
He also immediately finds himself a pawn in a family game of old money, subterfuge, and jealousy—and Irene’s death was only the beginning. The gates of Lavender House can’t lock out the real world, and it turns out that not even a soap empire can keep everyone clean.
A delicious story from an new voice in suspense, Lavender House is Knives Out with a queer historical twist.
A murder mystery set during the Lavender Scare and gay-bashing in 1950s San Francisco.
Sometimes you want a neat little mystery that does exactly what the genre says it’s supposed to do. Sometimes you want it to be super gay.
If that is the case and if you don’t mind a few graphic police beatings of gay men, this is the book you want.
CWs: gay-bashing, homophobia, violence, obviously murder, infidelity.
Related: see my review of book #2.