Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen [Mystery Review]

Summary

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.

Goodreads

Review

Marketing campaigns for Lavender House boldly compare the book to Knives Out. Both stories feature an unusual cast of characters (dysfunctional rich family vs queer found family) and an atmospheric setting (deceased mystery writer’s mansion vs deceased soap empire matriarch’s mansion). The comparison, however, falls short beyond these two similarities.

Characters and Style

About 50 pages in to the story, I wished I was reading third person narration. I’ve learnt third person is my preference for middle grade novels. I’m not quite ready to say it’s my preference for adult novels as well, but in this case I feel it may have served the story better. Cliches and dialogue comprise a lot of the narrative style, but the characters themselves are so one dimensional that their dialogue does not make compelling reading. The narration in the early chapters felt very telling to me – ie, setting up “This is the Murder Mystery. Here are the Players.” I think that style of presentation works much better as a visual than in a written format. Or maybe I’m just not one for mystery tropes

I also would have appreciated more setting description. The prose hints at locales which could have been evocative but are never fully described in the way that I enjoy. The prose, imo, does not live up to the promise of the cover. An interview with the author in which he describes the style of hard-boiled noir that he was going for kind of explains a lot – the cover doesn’t convey noir, and noir is not for me.

The Mystery

As for the mystery itself, I found it tame and predictable. That’s where the comparison to Knives Out really falls apart. Knives Out is a bit silly and ridiculous, with lots of twists to keep you entertained. That’s absent from Lavender House. I had high hopes that the murderer would be [redacted] and then later, that they framed the person who seemed to obviously be the murderer. But no, the murderer was easily guessable.

Queer Community

So, the mystery is lackluster, the characters are uninspired, the prose is dull (not to put too fine a point on things lol). But! There’s some good exploration about hiding from vs supporting your queer community, as well as the cis white privilege that may go with that. Andy is by far the most interesting character, as a closeted ex-cop in the 1950s. One could argue that the murder mystery is not the central feature of the story and is rather just a framework to serve this social commentary. But that’s not what I’m looking for in my fiction. I’d love a queer murder mystery that does both of those things well. (And if it was catering to my preferences, it’d be written more in the style of Mexican Gothic.)

The Bottom Line

Overall, Lavender House did not deliver on what I’m looking for in a historical mystery novel. If you’re not too pressed about complex characters or pretty prose, you may find Lavender House to be a fine read, especially for its focus on queer community in the 1950s.

Further Reading

Read an excerpt
Author website
Interview @ Book Page
Reviews: Lindsi @ Do You Dog Ear, Yashwina @ Autostraddle, Liz @ Quirky Cats Fat Stacks
Related: For queer historical fiction, I highly recommend Nghi Vo’s The Chosen and the Beautiful or Siren Queen.

Do you have any historical queer novels to recommend?
What tropes do you enjoy (or dislike) in mysery fiction?