Another great mystery novel in the Lavender House series by Lev AC Rosen. In 1950s San Francisco, gay PI Andy Mills is tasked with a missing persons place. Three members of the Mattachine Society, a gay rights group, have stopped attending the secret meetings. Andy’s search has him following a motorcycle gang to LA and confronting the horrors of conversion therapy.

Rosen weaves queer history into each of his books as well as painting a vivid picture of queer life in San Francisco, expanding in this book to include vivid depictions of 1950s LA. We still get some time with characters we know and love from the Ruby as well as a whole new cast of characters. Above all, Andy is a well-formed lead that the reader trusts will solve the mystery and make things a little better for the people he meets along the way.

I enjoyed Mirage City as much as the earlier installments and will continue to look forward to future books in the series.

I want to thank Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for providing an advanced reading copy of this book.

Lev Rosen's latest installment in the Andy Mills historical mystery series is thrilling. It was a joy to revisit Andy and his growing choosen family. This noir mystery tackles tough subject matter from inhumane conversion therapy, queer visabiliy from society/family. We needed heroes like this group and we need them even more today.

I cannot wait for the next installment.

I love this series so much. It explores real historical social forces that impacted the life of queer people in America in the 50s that still have repercussions for today's queer community. This time that means delving into cruel, barbarous practices administered under the guise of health care. Andy meets up with members of the Mattachine society, a gay biker gang, and his own mother along the way. Rosen skillfully examines what it means to be with family who can never know who you really are, and what kind of cognitive dissonance is necessary to keep them in your life, even to a limited degree. This book isn't even out yet and I need the next in the series.

Detective Andy Mills has embarked on a career as a private eye after getting kicked off the LAPD for being gay. In Miracle City he is searching for missing members of a secret gay rights organization.

Andy's quest to find the missing persons takes him on a literal and figurative journey of discovery. One of the things I really enjoyed about this book was the way Andy's personal life meshes with his investigation.

The book includes a big cast of interesting characters - some new to this story, and some from previous Andy Mills books. I haven't read the others, but this was not a problem.

The mystery is engaging, but I think the most important thing about this book is the depiction of gay life in 1950's America. There is a disturbing scene of conversion therapy, but I think it is imperative to understand the measures that were taken to make people conform to society's version of normal. It's even more heartbreaking when characters choose conformity over truth because life is easier that way. Sadly, this atmosphere of intolerance continues, so the perspective of those who are suffering from discrimination is crucial.

Overall a well written story, that offers more than just a puzzle to be solved. I highly recommend.

Another solid installment in the Evander Mills historical mystery series (and another amazing cover!). This time, Andy leaves behind his community in San Francisco to take on a case in LA, his hometown, and possibly reconnect with his mother. There was a different vibe this time, with less of a sense of urgency to the case, and Andy seeing his old home through new and very changed eyes. I was surprised that the usually-sharp investigator took a while to pick up on some things that seemed somewhat obvious to me, but I suppose they could just be reader advantage, or Andy's off-kilter state from revisiting the past.
Lots of new characters were introduced, but they all held their own. As always, the history felt impeccably researched. Overall a good addition to this series, if not quite as strong of a mystery as some of the previous books.

I was dying to get my hands on this book as soon as I could. Which led me to devouring the latest Evander "Andy" Mills mystery in one sitting. Author Lev AC Rosen just kills me with their writing agility and otherworldly storytelling. No Spoilers! Thoroughly enjoyed!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

In this fourth installment of Rosen's Andy Mills mystery series, the detective returns to investigate the disappearance of several members of a local queer club.

I had some issues with the third book, but I'm so glad I gave this series another chance. There was a noticeable improvement in the writing, in my opinion, and the prose was more similar in quality to the first and second books. I also like that this book, much like the second book in the series, took a step back from focusing solely on plot to dive back into the character development. While the cast of characters is a bit more concentrated in this one, I liked learned new aspects of Andy's backstory, specifically with regard to his mother, and seeing how his relationship with Gene - one of my favorite aspects of this book - continued to develop.

The mystery itself was interesting and kept me turning the page. I liked that we got to travel back to Andy's childhood city, Los Angeles, and how the overarching plot intertwined with more emotional development. I was glad to see the themes of the story continue to focus on identity, healing, authenticity, and the power of community, especially during a time in which queer people were forced to contend with danger simply for being themselves. Overall, another great read from Rosen!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books for providing me a copy of the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't realize this was part of a series but it can certainly stand on its own! Detective Andy is called on to investigate the disappearance of 3 members of the MattaChine Society--a secret society for gay members. Apparently there's a popular motorcycle gang which travels around and rumor says one of the missing may have joined them. But then we discover an even darker side to Andy's family that may help--or hinder--his investigation. It's a wild ride that I loved!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This is another delightful entry into the Evander Mills series! It is clear that Lev. A. C. Rosen cares about character, as the characters in this novel continued to shine. Our main character, Andy, is continuing to grow and develop and discover new paths in his journey, which is really exciting, and feels authentic. Seeing him continue to develop over these four books has been really wonderful, and a testament to Rosen’s writing and character work. We don’t spend too much time with the main cast of ancillary characters we have built up over the last three books, though what we do see is fun and intimate, letting us recognize how the characters’ relationships have only deepened. In their place we get a bunch of new characters, and I would happily spend many hours with all of them! The characters are wildly diverse, showing off a whole range of what queer life in mid-twentieth century USA looked like, which has always been the case with Rosen’s characters. Sometimes characters do feel like they could be flirting with caricatures or stereotypes, but they also feel like real, lived-in people whose ownership of their voices and stories have been too long denied them or made into caricatures for the sake of others’ amusement and/or derision. That is all to say that, flirting with stereotypes or not, there is still an air of authenticity to the characters that is refreshing.

The writing is playful and propulsive as usual. The writing does complement the noir tone well, fully identifying itself as within the genre but also insisting it is doing things its own way, too, notably emphasizing emotion and interiority in a way that noir isn’t always known for. Some of the writing this time around feels a little tamer than in past entries, a little more tongue-in-cheek and almost bordering on cozy or YA, but I don’t mean that in a bad way. It was appropriate for the story told and continues to make our detective and his exploits appealing, genuine page turners. The actual mystery and plotting here are thoughtful and keep the reader interested. I really appreciated the change of scenery, which gave our main character some much needed breathing room. In all three of the previous novels there is a continued fear that one of his previous co-workers on the police force will recognize him, it serves as an over-arching pressure point for the series, and it was nice to be away from that for a novel as it had begun to feel a little perfunctory. The stakes in this novel don’t feel quite as high as in the previous novels, though situations do… escalate, shall we say. I actually appreciate this, because it feels a realistic expectation of what this character’s life would be like, and even without the high stakes there is solid investigation work and intrigue, and the plot then allows a secondary storyline with higher emotional stakes to share narrative space in a way that feels fulfilling. I wouldn’t have minded if there was a little more grit, especially as a few subplots resolved a little bit too conveniently for my tastes (including one that set up a rather neat bit of action but then just blended into the background). That is to say I wouldn’t have minded an additional twenty pages that added a little more meat to those subplots and added a few bloody knuckles and broken noses, metaphorical or otherwise, in the process. While there is some emotional tension I never felt any physical tension or threat for our main character, and I wouldn’t have minded a bit more of that—again, the feeling that there were a little higher stakes, if not for Andy then at least for his primary client or for some of the friends he met on the way. Maybe that is why this one felt like it was teasing the cozy mystery subgenre, which is well and good but softer than what Rosen has given in the first three novels (which are not particularly dark, gritty, or violent but do all feel like they have weightier consequences at play than we have in this novel).

The story continues to explore what it means to know and be yourself. Ideas of representation and authenticity, culpability, and compliancy are all up for grabs, as Andy continues to discover how his values translate into the life he is desperately trying to build for himself. There are important questions about family and relationships (platonic and romantic), and what you would do, or sacrifice, to support those you care for. This series has always explored the fear of recognizing and being fully yourself, valid fears born from an unjust and harmful society, and those continue in very explicit ways here, showing some of the potential outcomes of social pressure and internalized homophobia. These ideas are all expertly woven into the fabric of the story and the characters, and the novel is able to be expressive and exploratory in ways that feel germane to the story.

With all of that said: the central mystery was fun, the resolution felt justified and was rewarding, and it was a joy to spend more time with this character and his growing coterie. I really appreciate the historical setting and while it did feel like some liberties were taken here and there the overall representation feels genuine, honoring the very real lives of our queer forebears. If you enjoyed the previous novels in the series then you will find this to be a fun addition, with meaningful character growth wrapped in an entertaining mystery. You can jump into the series here and Rosen gives enough information, without ever feeling like an exposition dump, to make sure you are up to speed, you will still have a fun time, though you will miss out on my favorite part of this series, which is the continued inner journey of the main character. Overall, I am really glad I found this series, it is consistently fun and full of heart, and this latest entry is no exception to that rule.

I want to thank the author, the publisher St, Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Evander Mills, private detective, is now a fixture in the community that centers around the Ruby. He's practically living with his boyfriend. His career is going well. In spite of all that, Andy still spends a lot of time with his regrets, particularly about his failure to protect other queer people when he worked as a cop. Nothing he does, as far as he's concerned, can make up for those mistakes.

Now he has a new case, searching for three missing people. His search takes him to Los Angeles, and returning to the city where he grew up raises a lot of ghosts. Andy loves his mother, but he hasn't seen her in years. Now he's haunting familiar neighborhoods, eating waffles in his childhood kitchen, and wondering if he dares show his mother the truth of who he is. Unfortunately, there are a lot of dark things happening in LA, and Andy is inevitably caught in the middle.

Like the three previous books in the series, this effortlessly combines a well-researched historical setting, a complex mystery, social commentary, and emotional growth. Andy is a remarkable character, and seeing him rise above his fears to do what he knows is right is really moving. This is a solid entry in his story, and hopefully one of many more to come.

This is a very powerful book centering on the emergence of the gay rights movement in the 1950’s.

I found it both informative and disturbing, but am glad that I saw the book through to its conclusion.

I read a previous novel by the same author and admired its strong, well-conceived characters. This book also shared those strengths; I really could visualize each of the characters and was drawn into the complex search for three missing people. This was not an “ entertaining” book for me, but it told a story I benefitted from learning.

Mirage City is another fantastic entry in the excellent Evander “Andy” Mills noir detective series. It can easily be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend the first three books if you want to dig into Andy’s character development, from lonely closeted cop to out gay private eye with a found family (as “out” as one could be in the 1950s, anyway).

This series has always painted a vivid and atmospheric picture of 1950s San Francisco, especially the queer culture, and this latest book has expanded that view to include Los Angeles. I loved how much thought and care was put into the historical details, about both the places and the people.

I hesitate to mention many plot details, especially for a mystery—I love going into these novels mostly blind—but you can get a fuller picture by reading the summary if you want. I will say that the story gets very personal for Andy, the characters and organizations are inspired by history, and the missing persons case leads Andy to uncover a very real and horrific injustice that still exists in certain forms to this day. I loved Mirage City, and I can’t say enough good things about the whole series in general.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books for inviting me to read this

I was invited by the publisher to review this book. This is book four in a series, and while I have not read any of the previous installments, I felt the author did a good job of making the reader understand what had transpired in previous books. The book is about PI Andy Mills investigating missing people belonging to a queer rights group. The investigation takes him to San Francisco and LA where his mother is, and where he does not necessarily want to be. Andy gets wrapped up in all sorts of people and situations including motorcycle gangs, psych wards, and the drug underworld.

There is a lot of really good atmosphere in this book; though it is set in a city, the author captures the seedy underworld of various aspects of the urban life, and that transpired throughout the whole book. There was a lot to unpack in this book, and one answer led Andy to another question - I had fun with the deep dive and layers.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars. This was my first foray into Lev AC Rosen's writing and his Evander Mills series, and I absolutely loved it! Mirage City follows Andy, a private detective in 1950s San Francisco who was kicked off the police force for being gay. He is asked to investigate a series of missing persons who were part of a gay rights activist society. The investigation takes him to LA - and back to his mother's house - and is full of twists, heart, and references to real-life gay rights activists and organizations. This was such a well-done mystery with interesting historical tidbits and a beautiful representation of the diversity within the gay community.

I'm officially, absolutely obsessed with Lev AC Rosen's Evander Mills historical mystery series.
I found the book highly imaginative with interesting multi-layered characters.
The mystery, the growth of the main character, the evolving relationships with the supporting characters and the romance—it’s all top notch
An outstanding queer, historical fiction, noir mystery that is just as captivating as Lavender House!

“Mirage City” is the fourth installment in the Evander “Andy” Mills series by author Lev AC Rosen. Andy is a gay detective in 1950’s San Francisco. Formerly a policeman in the city, he was fired from this position after being caught in a gay bar during a raid. Now he devotes his efforts to helping people in the queer world, sometimes by acting as matchmaker, pairing up couples and creating heterosexual-looking relationships just so people can live their true lives without threat of losing their jobs or homes, sometimes taking on cases involving blackmail and other events his clients do not wish to bring to an investigator outside their circle.
In his fourth outing, Andy is hired by a leader in the Mattachine Society to find three members who seem to have disappeared. Making things more difficult is the fact that no one withing the society uses their real name, in order to protect the safety of all. Attending a meeting, he feels those in attendance are not his people, and do not give him the comfort he feels at Lavender House and in Ruby, the gay bar above which his office resides and where his boyfriend Gene serves as bartender.
His investigation leads him to Los Angeles, a biker gang that two of the missing members may have hooked up with, and the knowledge that his is in the city where his mother resides for the first time in years (she does not know about his sexuality). He struggles with the idea of reaching out to her, but eventually does, but still not sharing his biggest secret. When he is able to tour the clinic where she works, his feelings become even more divided when he realizes it plays a part in his investigation.
The guilt Andy feels for having been a cop for so many years, and having done nothing to help his people, is a driving force in each of his cases. When he realizes that one of the bikers is a policeman (who actually sends warnings when bars are going to be raided) he really begins to wonder what he could have done differently. This angst really fuels his drive and mission, and makes these novels that much more engrossing.
I have enjoyed all of Evander Mills series because the author creates an amazing sense of what it must have been like to live as a gay person in this time. His characters are always fully formed, no matter the length of their part, and each of his books has read like a movie in my head. The supporting characters at the Ruby, including Gene, Andy’s protector and boyfriend; Lee, a drag performer who insists on being addressed as “she” when in costume; and Elsie, the bar owner and supporter of his investigative missions, are all characters I love returning to. I cannot wait for number five!

Kindle Copy for Review from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

Former cop thrown off the force for being gay in the 1950’s had become a private investigator. He finds himself out of his comfort zone as he takes a case in L.A. where he will meet interesting characters along the way. It is a far cry from his usual San Francisco beat. The case involves the potential disappearance of two gay activists and the organization that wants to know what happened to them. It takes on the seedy side of gay motorcycle gangs and the world that most people are not aware of. Things are not always what it seems.

It's a secret society!!! Love this trope - wish there were more books with it! Anyways, Andy needs to find 3 milling members. which means digging throug allllll their secrets. and as a bonus, it's like the main part of the story but it does a great job of showing how tough it was to be gay in 1950's LA. Great book!

What a whirlwind of (good) emotions that I have about this book. First I'd like to point out that the series itself is beautiful and if you haven't read the others I HIGHLY suggest that you do so! Good, queer, historical fiction seems to be hard to come by these days but Rosen does not disappoint. I was hooked in the first few pages and it only took me a few days to finish. We see lots of good character development, good pacing, and beautiful writing here. And Andy is such a good character to follow! Thank you NetGalley for the eARC access.

Thank you Minotaur Books and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. So happy to be back in Evander Mills world! And this one has Andy traveling to Hollywood!! As Andy’s birthday approaches it’ll be the first one with his new family and Gene and they all want to celebrate. Andy’s not one for a party so he’s not too keen. So when a case walks in, one that has to do with the secretive Mattachine Society, a secrecy network of queer people working to get rights for the community (or the ones they deem worthy). The only problem is the client believes that the case of missing people begins in Los Angeles. Andy’s mom lives there and he didn’t think he would ever return. But when the case links him to a mysterious biker gang, one of just gay men, who are based out of LA, he’ll have no choice but to follow. As he gets deeper into the case he’ll also discover a psychiatric unit that has some secrets as well. And when missing people lead to death and homophobia, will Andy be in more danger than ever before? And his mom may just be closer to it all than he could have ever imagined. Can he find the missing people without going missing himself? As always one of the most exciting aspects to an Andy Mills story is the rich history of the queer community! Lev AC Rosen always does such an incredible job of mixing real history with his noir mysteries that add a level of excitement and intrigue! An incredible journey full of thrill that I couldn’t put down! Plus Andy and Gene are so damn cute! If you have checked this series out I highly recommend them all!!