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	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Marie Arendt
Categories
Crime & mystery fiction

LAVENDER HOUSE

Lev AC Rosen

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. LEV AC ROSEN writes books for people of all ages, including Camp, which was a best book of the year from Forbes, Elle, and The Today Show, among others, and is a Lambda finalist and ALA Rainbow List Top Ten. He lives in NYC with his husband and a very small cat. You can find him online at LevACRosen.com and @LevACRosen.

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Book Published 2022-10-18 by Forge Books

Comments

Lavender House is the best kind of noir novel - steeped in the tropes of the genre but unafraid to invert, modernize, and tweak them. Sharply written, loaded with characters you can't forget, and a can't-miss San Francisco setting, Lavender House is the queer amateur PI novel you need right now.

Rosen's deeply compelling and suspenseful historical mystery pulls readers into the 1950s with Detective Evander "Andy" Mills, who was just tossed off the force for being gay and is feeling just unmoored enough to pick up a gig investigating a maybe murder.... The mystery itself borders on cozy, and wrapping it in an exploration of WWII-adjacent queer life makes for the perfect autumn page-turner.

Terrific... a brisk, entertaining novel...Rosen's novel is a winning homage to old-time crime fiction.

Tightly spun and utterly immersive, Lev AC Rosen delivers a deliciously twisty and queer whodunnit in Lavender House. With a mid-century mystery as sprawling as its titular mansion, the velvet knives in this one are sharp as hell.

It seems like there is absolutely nothing Lev A.C. Rosen, aka L.C. Rosen, cannot do! Now he's taking a stab at the mystery and suspense genres with this brand-new title that features a gay detective in the 1950s taking on his biggest case yet.

Funny, heartbreaking and eye-opening, Rosen's Lavender House is unlike any crime novel I've ever read.

German: Second Chances Verlag

Ingenious, riveting, and utterly heartbreaking - Philip Marlowe meets Agatha Christie meets Knives Out in this twisty and sophisticated take on mid-century noir. A perfectly crafted locked-mansion mystery - starring an irresistible main character who reveals the passions and pretenses of his time, as well as the dark secrets of a captivating family. Lavender House is an absolute treasure, and Lev AC Rosen is a star. Standing ovation!

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.

Lev AC Rosen's lushly rendered mystery, Lavender House, sets the detective novel on its head. There's the dishonored policeman sitting on a barstool in 1950's San Francisco and the elegant woman who slides in next to him with a job. But this femme's wife has been murdered, and the day-drinking cop has been brutally ousted from his job for being gay. Rosen's smart, bittersweet tale plays with the oldest truth of all: the price we pay for our identity in America.

Readers who love queer history, complicated family dynamics, flawed characters and a good murder mystery will be eager for more. Perfect for fans of Knives Out, Lavender House is a queer, mid-century take on the family-centric murder mystery showcasing Lev AC Rosen's masterful character development.

Movingly explores the strain of trying to pass as straight at a time when living an authentic life could be deadly.

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen is a new take on a Golden Age crime novel. Its 1950s setting is richly cinematic, with gin martinis, bananas foster and a fantastic mid-century soundtrack... Everything about the crime ? the perpetrator, the victim, the motive ? has a deeper meaning.

Lavender House is a fabulous, genre-bending mystery-noir, told with wit, panache and style. Lev Rosen is one of a kind and just gets better and better - his eye for characters is both acerbic and compassionate, and his story-telling is top notch.

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.