Ultimately Anticlimactic

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actual rating: 2.5 stars

While the beginning and end of this book were decent enough, it lacked in the middle. The chapters started to feel formulaic: Andy would ask some questions, a member of the family would info dump about themselves. The blurb is right in calling this a queer, historical version of Knives Out, but where Knives Out keeps up the suspense and the intrique, I didn't feel that with LAVENDER HOUSE. By the ending, I didn't really feel much of anything for our cast except for disappointment in the potential that was never reached. I like the idea of all of them, but the narrative never pushed them to the extremes they could have gone.

The reveal, however, is the lowest point of the book. The red herring was much better handled, but when that was resolved, I kind of knew who it was. But the scene where they come clean is just boring. Or maybe, at that point, I didn't really care either way.

Either way, I was sorely disappointed by the direction this book went.