How could I resist Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen after hearing it was a historical fiction murder mystery where the main character is a gay man in the 1950s who gets employed by the wife of a soap dynasty businesswoman to investigate the death of said businesswoman? Not only is it LGBTQ representation, but its representation given by an author who identifies with the LGBTQ community. Someone who knows first hand the struggle. Someone who understands the depths of what it means to be queer.

I love historical fiction and I’ve been looking for a new series to get into that isn’t the same regency-era murder mystery with the recycled tropes and characters I’ve grown used to. No hate to any of the books I have read or mentioned that fit this description – I have been loving so many of these series but getting someone new and unchartered is a godsend. I love the 1950s setting; WWII is a near memory and the boys are back to their normal lives, their actions and inclinations why serving no longer something that can be overlooked by society. The time where nations, especially America, are rebuilding their identity and rebranding themselves in a way. Men going from the strong, self-sacrificing saviours of the world to the dependable, respectable, firm family man. No space for “fairies” but plenty of space for toxic masculinity apparently.

Andy is a fantastic character – a man who had a dream of helping people, who did the “traditional” thing of enlisting and serving and came back to serve in the SFPD. A strong man who did his job well, but who had an identity that isolated himself in the workplace. A part of himself, something that he cannot change, that would be the end of him if it came to light. A man living half a life by being half alive, closing off the truest part of himself so that he could conform to societal standards in the day, yet at night carves the touch and the love of those who he sees as friends, family, escapes allowing himself reprieve from the harsh reality. His character is so palpable and real to me, as are the patrons of Lavender House. So many people who see things differently, act differently, and think differently but deep down share common threads of family, trust, loyalty and love.

Forgive me, I haven’t talked about the most objective elements of this novel. For 270 pages, the pacing is quite good. I do wish it was longer, though I understand that there would have to have been another subplot thread weaved through the main plot and things would get a bit repetitive simply for a few extra chapters. I liked the build up of tension and how little things would occur which were unsettling, inciting some suspicion or emotion, and how character dynamics meant that you never truly knew how someone would react to what Andy found out. I also couldn’t be sure what the motive was until the end, though I did work out the culprit early on. The setting and description is beautiful and the imagery of the flowers and the sensory involvement with the areas of the house and the products made the scents almost fill my nose.

Lavender House is a wonderful historical fiction with a compelling plot, vibrant characters and a landscape of glamour and brutal truth. I haven’t read a novel like this and I implore everyone to read it.