I have had "Lavender House" on my to-read list for a while, and after reading "The Bell in the Fog," I am even more eager to go back and find that one. Lev Rosen does a great job introducing newcomers like myself to Andy Mills, a gay detective navigating the hostile waters of 1950s America.
The book reads like a noir book, but with the additional heartbreak of the LGBTQ characters having to either hide their identity or risk their livelihood and lives. It put me in mind of another book I read a while back by the name of "Affliction," a memoir of a woman's grappling with the fact that her father was a closeted gay man that spent the majority of his life using his family as a shield after his brief time living his true identity openly caused his persecution. The dynamic between Andy and his old flame that kicks off the plot was essentially a fictional version of that story, with all the messiness and emotions you could imagine.
The book reads like a noir book, but with the additional heartbreak of the LGBTQ characters having to either hide their identity or risk their livelihood and lives. It put me in mind of another book I read a while back by the name of "Affliction," a memoir of a woman's grappling with the fact that her father was a closeted gay man that spent the majority of his life using his family as a shield after his brief time living his true identity openly caused his persecution. The dynamic between Andy and his old flame that kicks off the plot was essentially a fictional version of that story, with all the messiness and emotions you could imagine.