Lavender House

Lavender House, 1952 Irene Lamontaine of the Lamontaine soap empire is dead. Her scents were always her secrets. But behind the gated home lies more secrets. Irene’s widow, Pearl, has hired Evander Mills (Andy), a disgraced former police officer who was fired after being caught in a raid at a gay bar. He accepts the offer and comes to Lavender House. He finds it to be an accepting place and learns that most of the inhabitants are gay as well.

As he begins his investigation, he learns that people seldom enter the home so the killer must be one of the occupants. But who would want to harm, Irene? What could the motive be?

Described as a queer Knives out, Lavender House does not disappoint. This is a layered whodunit taking places in a unique living arrangement. The book is full of secrets and has a few twists. Plus, it’s fun! I enjoyed watching as Andy doing his investigation and coming up with conclusions.

Unique cozy mystery that looks at identity and secrets. What a delight this book was!

Thank you to Forge Books and Edelweiss for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.