"I thought I'd have the place all to myself, this early. Like church on a Tuesday - no one but you and God - or in my case, the bartender."
I immediately was drawn to our narrator, Evander Mills, sitting alone, early, in a bar, thinking suicidal thoughts. As we find out what landed him here, being kicked off the police force for being queer, we find it hard to imagine how such an existence can lead to unemployment. Luckily (or not so, as we may learn), Pearl Velez arrives ("Her style is dated, but very high society.") with a proposition for him - help solve the murder of her wife, Irene. Evander doesn't seem to have much to lose, so he rides with her to the scene of the crime, Lavender House. Turns out, it's the estate of the Lamontaine ("like the soap") family and is named for Irene's favorite flower - and the "other reason" - everyone who lives here is queer. We meet Margo and Cliff and Pearl's son, Henry, all hiding their sexuality behind the gates of Lavender House.
This first look was incredibly tantalizing - who would want to murder Irene? Has Evander found a place where he can be himself? ("I wouldn't tell her the truth, that we're all alone in this world..."). Somehow I feel the situation is already more complicated than we see, and is about to get more so. What must it be like to be discriminated against simply because of whom you love?
I immediately was drawn to our narrator, Evander Mills, sitting alone, early, in a bar, thinking suicidal thoughts. As we find out what landed him here, being kicked off the police force for being queer, we find it hard to imagine how such an existence can lead to unemployment. Luckily (or not so, as we may learn), Pearl Velez arrives ("Her style is dated, but very high society.") with a proposition for him - help solve the murder of her wife, Irene. Evander doesn't seem to have much to lose, so he rides with her to the scene of the crime, Lavender House. Turns out, it's the estate of the Lamontaine ("like the soap") family and is named for Irene's favorite flower - and the "other reason" - everyone who lives here is queer. We meet Margo and Cliff and Pearl's son, Henry, all hiding their sexuality behind the gates of Lavender House.
This first look was incredibly tantalizing - who would want to murder Irene? Has Evander found a place where he can be himself? ("I wouldn't tell her the truth, that we're all alone in this world..."). Somehow I feel the situation is already more complicated than we see, and is about to get more so. What must it be like to be discriminated against simply because of whom you love?