The Bell in the Fog by Lev AC Rosen is the second book revolving around the detective Andy Mills. This series is a wonderfully immersive story and a stunning noir mystery. The setting is atmospheric — 1950s San Francisco. It’s really fascinating how this story balances Andy on the edges of two communities — his former life as a cop and his current involvement in the queer community (who now know he’s an ex-cop, and thus someone who is at least partially responsible for past raids on the community) really highlights Andy’s isolation, which is a core theme of noir mysteries, but that’s really dialed up to a whole other level here. And we, thankfully, get to see Andy find more community and acceptance in this sequel. From the mystery set up to his budding personal life, we get to see Andy wrestle with his past and how that will influence his future. Like any good noir mystery, this novel is full of secrets, carefully held truths, and complex characters. Lovely from beginning to end!