A delicious story from a new voice in suspense, Lev AC Rosen’s Lavender House is Knives Out with a queer historical twist.
Lavender House, 1952: the family seat of recently deceased matriarch Irene Lamontaine, head of the famous Lamontaine soap empire. Irene’s recipes for her signature scents are a well guarded secret—but it’s not the only one behind these gates. This estate offers a unique freedom, where none of the residents or staff hide who they are. But to keep their secret, they’ve needed to keep others out. And now they’re worried they’re keeping a murderer in.
Irene’s widow hires Evander Mills to uncover the truth behind her mysterious death. Andy, recently fired from the San Francisco police after being caught in a raid on a gay bar, is happy to accept—his calendar is wide open. And his secret is the kind of secret the Lamontaines understand.
Andy had never imagined a world like Lavender House. He’s seduced by the safety and freedom found behind its gates, where a queer family lives honestly and openly. But that honesty doesn’t extend to everything, and he quickly finds himself a pawn in a family game of old money, subterfuge, and jealousy—and Irene’s death is only the beginning.
When your existence is a crime, everything you do is criminal, and the gates of Lavender House can’t lock out the real world forever. Running a soap empire can be a dirty business.
Lavender House
Lev AC Rosen
I came across this book because a Goodreads friend enjoyed it and not only was I looking for a good mystery but I also have been neglecting the entire Historical Fiction Genre, so I picked this one up.
The book, Lavender House is a Historial Fiction Mystery set in 1952, about Lavender House and Evander “Andy” Mills. Andy is a weary ex-police officer out to find his place in the world.
One day Andy is approached by Pearl to look into the death of her partner Irene. Pearl lives at the LAVENDER HOUSE, where Andy will be in part investigating the mystery.
This book is as much about the mystery of Irene’s death as it is about what goes on beyond the doors of the Lavender House.
There is a lot in this book about hiding. Hiding who you are and hiding secrets and guarding other people’s secrets. There is an element of the discovery of truth to everyone and everything. Everyone has secrets even inanimate objects have secrets. I appreciated that mostly but there was not enough left unsaid.
It was a little overdone.
However, I liked the rhythm and carriage of the story. It followed the natural trajectory of a mystery. I liked the use of the time period and setting as an influence on the characters.
Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Forge Books, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for the advanced copies.
LAVENDER HOUSE…⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mariah Fredericks’s The Lindbergh Nanny is powerful, propulsive novel about America’s most notorious kidnapping through the eyes of the woman who found herself at the heart of this deadly crime.
When the most famous toddler in America, Charles Lindbergh, Jr., is kidnapped from his family home in New Jersey in 1932, the case makes international headlines. Already celebrated for his flight across the Atlantic, his father, Charles, Sr., is the country’s golden boy, with his wealthy, lovely wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, by his side. But there’s someone else in their household—Betty Gow, a formerly obscure young woman, now known around the world by another name: the Lindbergh Nanny.
A Scottish immigrant deciphering the rules of her new homeland and its East Coast elite, Betty finds Colonel Lindbergh eccentric and often odd, Mrs. Lindbergh kind yet nervous, and Charlie simply a darling. Far from home and bruised from a love affair gone horribly wrong, Betty finds comfort in caring for the child, and warms to the attentions of handsome sailor Henrik, sometimes known as Red. Then, Charlie disappears.
Suddenly a suspect in the eyes of both the media and the public, Betty must find the truth about what really happened that night, in order to clear her own name—and to find justice for the child she loves.
THE LINDBERGH NANNY
Mariah Fredericks
I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this.
THE LINDBERGH NANNY written by Mariah Fredericks is a historical fiction mystery that is not wholly fictitious and inherently not mysterious. The book is loosely based on the 1932 Lindbergh kidnapping case, specifically the Lindbergh’s nanny-Betty Gow, and her involvement.
It took me a good amount of time to latch on to the story.
The first thing I noticed was a lack of connection with the characters. It was almost as if you were reading from behind a veil. I cannot imagine anything more emotionally driven than the situation these characters were in, yet they were tepid, flat, emotionless, and seemed to be going through the motions. I can only assume that it was intentional that we interpret their behavior this way.
However intentional it was, it read like it was researched and came across at first as a rather dry and boring reading experience. Once I caught on to the writing style and reconciled with the fact that I’d be questioning my memory of the case throughout the duration of the book, I settled into a groove and enjoyed the rest of my time.
In conclusion, I felt that the author struggled with the constraints of writing a fictional novel about historical people. Knowing what to keep true to fact and what details to fictionalize for effect is key for this kind of material. I don’t know that the author was 100% successful.
Thanks to Dreamscape Media, Netgalley, and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for the advanced copies!
THE LINDBERGH NANNY…⭐️⭐️⭐️
A delight for readers of Where’d You Go, Bernadette and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, this blockbuster debut set in 1960s California features the singular voice of Elizabeth Zott, a scientist whose career takes a detour when she becomes the star of a beloved TV cooking show.
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with–of all things–her mind. True chemistry results.
But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.
Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.
The Review
LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY
I had so much fun reading this book I forgot it was historical fiction.
In this book, we meet Elizabeth Zott, a zingy name for a zany scientist- turned cooking tv show host. She is refreshing and whip-smart and a lot of fun to read.
She reminded me of the character from Masters of Sex but just replace any sexual content with cooking content and you’ve got this book.
If you think a teaspoon of sugar helps the medicine go down then you’ll love this gulp of realism mixed in with lines that you’ll be smiling at from behind your headphones.
I listened to this one in audiobook format and recommend you check it out.
Out now!
Thanks to Doubleday Books/ Penguin Random House Audio and Netgalley for the advanced copies!
LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
