Ok so I went into this book fully thinking this book was like YA fantasy for some reason? It is not. It is a queer historical fiction mystery?

Anyways, I thought this book was good! I enjoyed the main character although he did have his annoying moments. The cast of characters really was like a family (even though they often were at each other’s throats) and there was so much love and acceptance flowing through the relationships that were shown.

Overall, I think I would recommend this book to historical mystery fans? It’s not necessarily a cozy mystery, but it does have some elements that feel more cozy I think.

3.5 stars rounded up

Oh wow, I didn't expect to be finishing this one teary eyed and grateful for reading it the way I did tonight. This book was just what I needed when I least expected that I did and I hope that many, many others feel the same way I did about it.

Lavender House is a noir set in the early fifties and it's told through the eyes of a disgraced WWII vet turned police officer who looks up from the long descent he's been on since he left the force and everything he knew in life to meet the eyes of Pearl, a recently widowed stranger who wants to hire him to find out what happened to her wife.

You're going to go into this feeling like you're on familiar ground if you've read or watched much noir, but I assure you there are going to be many examples of unexpected and often very touching depth here. Lavender House is a house surrounded in secrets and mourning like many found in noir but it's also a home and the shelter of a very different sort of family, one that needs it's safety while feeling trapped by its walls. Who killed Irene and why? What cost will there be from her loss? Will these things undo them and Andy with them? There's a lot to unravel here and a whole cast of unique characters with several facets to who they are. I couldn't h ave asked for better from start to finish.

Lavender House is an excellent read for the right person. Rosen writes beautifully, and all the characters were very interesting. Several friends adored this one, but it was too graphically violent for me to finish. The violence made sense given the main character's situation and the time period, so I wouldn't call it gratuitous. Just not my cup of tea. I'm interested to try the author's next book.

This was a fun cozy mystery. While the actual mystery doesn't do anything entirely new, I thought the characters were what made this book shine. The inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters in this historical story was new and fresh and effective.

A queer knives out. Perfectly on target. I’ve been looking for a queer pulpy/noirish detective story and this delivered in spades! Great mystery and atmosphere. The end feels like the groundwork for a series and I would be very pleased to see more of Andy’s adventures.

The Lavender House is billed as a queer "Knives Out" and apart from the fact that Lavender House is set in the 1950s, this is an apt description—a murder happens on an estate in which any and all of the inhabitants could be at fault, having both motives and opportunity to want the victim dead. Much of the activity takes place on the estate property itself, but not all of it. We also see glimpses of society at the time, particularly how dangerous it was to be part of the LGBTQ+ community. I found the story well-plotted and mystery compelling, and thought the scene-setting was vibrant, engaging all the senses (soaps and scents play a big part in the story). Definitely a recommended read!

An absolutely amazing gay noir- it was fun, mysterious, and chock full of genre tropes. Plus the queer lit requirement of a weird found family.

One of my favorite books of all time was written by Lev AC Rosen, Camp. I read it every year and I continue to enjoy it more and more. This one did not do it for me. It just dragged way too much and I didn’t care about the mystery by the end of it. I did love the writing and some of the characters but I was expecting so much more to the story.

In 1950s L.A., Andy is caught in a raid on a gay bar and loses his job as an inspector on the police force. Thinking his life is over now that his secret is out, Andy is approached by Pearl to investigate the death of her wife Irene Lamontaine, owner of a famous soap company. Andy agrees and finds himself at Lavender House, a queer household made up of Pearl and Irene, their son Henry and his partner Cliff, Henry’s wife, Margot and her mother Alice and frequent visitor Elsie, Margot’s girlfriend. Even all the staff are queer. But in this supposed haven, someone has likely committed murder.

I really enjoyed a book focused on queer lives in a time in which queerness had to be hidden away. This aspect of needing to hide one’s self from the outside world played a big part in the lives of each of the characters. Although there were a lot of people living in the house, I never felt confused about who was who. It’s a slow-burner of a mystery that spends a lot of time giving voice to each character and their struggles- without being simply about their traumas as queer people. There are many glimpses of love and joy alongside the hard stuff and the relationships feel authentic.

Wow I procrastinated so hard writing this review because I feel totally inadequate to have opinions but this is definitely one of my top books of the year and I'm not just saying that because the endpapers are incredible.

This book is a murder mystery a la Agatha Christie and the classic claustrophobic "the killer is one of us in this here house" trope- but make it queer. I loved the ensemble cast and I truly didn't know whodunit until it was revealed- but honestly Rosen could have resolved the book with any of the characters being the culprit and I wouldn't have cared because reading the book was just fun from start to finish.

There's some tough (and unfortunately still very relevant) content around being queer in the 50s, I don't want to make this book sound like start to finish sunshine and bubbles. However, I don't read many murder mysteries so it was a refreshing change of pace (Refreshing? See, that feels like the wrong word to use in juxtaposition with this book- I told you I'm not qualified to review this!), the writing was sharp, the vibes were spot on, and there were some grossly perfect ick moments.

Read this one.

Can't wait for THE SEQUEL!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy!

This is a really interesting concept that explores a time period that I don't see often in fiction. I don't normally read mysteries, but I'm glad I read this one.

A very unique mystery! I loved the setting of an estate of queer people hiding in plain sight as a wealthy soap empire in the 1950s. Queer historical mystery? Okayyy sign me up. I loved the narrator detective. I loved the way the mystery played out and I loved the characters!! Such a great message about found family too. If you like Agatha Christie style mysteries this one is for you!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

A stunningly beautiful thriller! Fantastic Bay Area and San Francisco setting that worked perfectly for the Queerness of Lavender House. Quirky characters and lots going on I loved it.

*I received an Advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

This book was the perfect mystery with your classic 1950s murder mystery vibes. It being described as a queer knives out definitely sold me on reading, and was 1000% accurate. Overall it was surprisingly cozy and a very fun read! I’m looking forward to any future installments!

Unfortunately, though typically a fan of AC Rosen's work, I did not jive with Lavender House. The concept, to be honest, didn't appeal to me, but as I said, I'm a fan of the author and wanted to investigate! I respect what it's out to do, but it was not for me.

This was kind of INCREDIBLE. Think Knives Out, but suuuuuper queer. Everyone is queer. I really loved Andy and his journey to accepting himself and recognizing the things he had done wrong, all the people he could have helped. I love how he's going to help people like him now. I really enjoyed his time in Lavender House and how he saw the open love between all the couples there and how they were a true family, how they always had each other's backs, how they were free to love each other in this small space that belonged only to themselves. This was awesome!

Lavender House was a great, fast-paced, queer murder mystery that takes place in the 1950s. Andy is a former police officer who was fired when he was caught with another man in a club raid. He is hired as a PI for a wealthy family with a scented soap empire whose matriarch is believed to have been murdered.

I really enjoyed the journey. Each character was interesting and hard to tell who could be trusted. The fear of their secret getting out added a lot of tension to the story, because there was little Andy could do outside of the family to investigate. Of course, this made me nervous for him the whole time in case the killer did something to hurt him while he was in the house.

Ultimately, I did think the person who did it was predictable, but the way the ending that revealed who they were was not.

I highly recommend this for a quick murder mystery read!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted eARC!

I don't know if it was just me, but I wasn't too into this. I enjoyed the tone of the writing and the premise, but I didn't find myself gripped by the mystery, which made me sad since I was so looking forward to this. Maybe I'll give it another try when I'm in the mood for a mystery! Still, I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who loves stories like Knives Out!

This was wonderful and will be loved by anyone who enjoyed LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB, THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO, and THE PARAGON HOTEL.

Lavender House was a mixed read for me. I enjoyed the protagonist and the concept, but found it a bit difficult to get into at times.

I loved the concept and backstory in this one. It's set in 1950s San Francisco, and Andy is a policeman who loses his job because he's discovered at a gay bar during a raid. He's hired by a wealthy woman who wants him to solve the murder of her wife, at their home, Lavender House. Lavender House seems like an oasis in an awful world: a mansion where a large found family of queer folks can live true to themselves. Of course, since this is a murder mystery, there are dark secrets even here.

Lavender House is billed as a queer Knives Out, which also set me up with strange expectations going in -- Knives Out was fast-paced and funny, but Lavender House is much slower and has a serious tone. Both types of mysteries are enjoyable, but very different. The mystery in Lavender House has a cozy mystery feel: the victim is an older woman who ran a soap empire, and there isn't much of a sense of danger to the other residents in the house. The danger comes from the outside world and homophobia.

Andy is a wonderful character, and the scenes where he deals with homophobia and abuse from the police are heartbreaking. I loved seeing his growth as a character in accepting himself and learning to be part of the larger queer community. The historical setting outside of the mansion felt immersive and completely hooked me. However, the mystery and characters inside Lavender House interested me a bit less. With the exception of Cliff, most of them didn't have strong personalities to me, and I kept mixing up several of the women. I was much more invested in Andy's inner life than the mystery itself, when I feel like I was supposed to care about both elements of the story.

However, even though I didn't fully love this book, I am interested enough in Andy and in the concept to read the next book in the series -- the book ends with a great setup for future novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Tor-Forge for my review copy of this book. I wrote this review a month after release even though I had the ARC, due to tech issues with my e-reader.