Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Lavender House

I enjoyed everything about this book. The thing that makes this mystery work really well is the colorful characters. It's easy to believe any of the characters could be the murderer, but at the same time, like the protagonist Andy, you like them and want there to be another answer. This was somehow both uncomfortable and heartwarming at the same time. Heartwarming because Andy has finally found people who accept him as a gay man, and has many positive interactions with those in the household, but also uncomfortable because anyone in the household could be a murderer, and nobody wants to break up the safety of the house.

The book also does explore the benefits and hardships of living a secret double life. Lavender House serves as both a sanctuary and a prison to its residents, and best intentions often wind up manifesting into hurtful actions.

Many people call this book a 'queer Knives Out" and would agree with that assessment. The characters' flaws make them fun to watch and there are a lot of fun elements in their interactions.

Content Warnings

monnibo's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

genny's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I confess that I barely knew anything about this book before I borrowed it from the library, I just saw the words "queer" and "isolated mansion" and went for it. I thought this was going to be some feel-good found family story, LOL. What I got was much more up my alley, though! A mystery centered around a tight-knit group of characters in an isolated setting, with an unattached main character who attempts to figure out everyone's secrets. Classic. A gothic tale transplanted into the bright sunshine of 1950's San Francisco... I especially liked the descriptions of Lavender House itself. Lev AC Rosen was able to create a tense atmosphere even without the creaky old Victorian mansion I had come to expect. 😆

The reveal wasn't surprising...at all. It made sense, but it was a little anticlimactic. The book feels a tad too short; it needed more of the sinister scenes

Spoiler

, like Andy discovering the rat in the soap

. The ending was a nice setup for a series without being vague. You can think of this as a standalone and it works perfectly. It deals heavily with homophobia, so keep that in mind if it's a trigger.

Content Warnings

kharlan3's review against another edition

Go to review page

Content Warnings

foreverinastory's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you to Bookish First for a physical ARC and MBC for a finished copy of the book in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.

Wow loved this!! What a book.

Lavender House is a 1950’s murder mystery. Evander Mills has been recently outed and forced to leave his job as a detective. Andy is struggling with his new reality. When he’s approached by Pearl who has a job for him, he begrudgingly accepts. Then he arrives at the estate, Lavender House, and he’s shocked to see queer people living authentically. As Andy continues to investigate, Lavender House changes his mind about many things, but will he catch the killer before he can open himself up to a new idea of life?

I loved this book!! I need it to be a series because I am so ready to jump in with Andy as he investigates crimes for queer victims. This book was incredibly gripping and while I didn’t always agree with Andy, I found his motives believable and poignant. Also who could I not love Andy, we share a name 😌. I listened to the audiobook through Libro FM and I cannot recommend the narrator enough. Vikas Adam also narrated parts of The Charm Offensive and A Dark & Hollow Star and is now officially on my favorite narrator list! Overall, I loved seeing this mystery unravel and I would highly recommend it!

Content Warnings

patricktreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A dark murder mystery set in the 50’s that is rough and not happy or smooth.

The twists in this were everything. The discussion of hard to acknowledge topics like homophobia and police brutality was also a very important and well felt piece. It was made a part of the story and not just a plot point on the side.

Please not content warnings before reading. This mystery is deep and can be triggering.

Content Warnings

caseythereader's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Thanks to Forge Books for the free advance copy of this book.

- LAVENDER HOUSE is a wholly unique book: murder mystery, gothic tale, queer historical fiction, and explorations of how much you're willing to give up for safety, along with what you owe others vs looking out for only yourself.
- Every time I opened this book the world around me completely disappeared and I sank fully into Lavender House and the people in it. Each character was fighting their own internal battles and I felt for them all.
- I think avid mystery readers will probably figure out whodunnit, but even once I got it, I was still on the edge of my seat watching it all play out.

Content Warnings

More...