Rosen holds no punches in this amazing tale of a Gay Detective trying to build a life for himself in 1952 San Francisco. The brutal truth of what it meant to be Queer in an age past is a history that should never be erased. And Rosen uses that truth to fuel the imagery of his work. When you can't trust the police and all you have is others like you the suspense is always present. 'Andy' is just trying to get by, by doing what he knows, and what he seems to love. His past is rising up to meet him, and he doesn't know who to trust, or what he needs or wants. Is it a reconnect to his past loves... or the future that smiles behind the bar. Reads like a true old style Dick Tracy sort of black and white T.V Crime novel with a modern lens. And you don't have to have read "Lavender House" to be able to get into this story. I didn't even know it was a sequel till after I'd already started reading it. A must read, in a genre I forgot I loved. And the imagery he paints with words you wouldn't think would work to describe the world brings it all... crashing home.