What Fiction are you reading this week, November 13, 2022?

[CrispyQ]

16. "Lavender House" by Lev A.C. Rosen

A murder mystery.

From Goodreads:

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.

Lavender House is occupied by a wealthy family of gay people, both the residents & staff. The main character is a detective investigating the death of one of the Lavender House matriarchs. The word gay isn't used, instead queer is used most of the time. I'm not sure when gay came into our modern vernacular as a term for homosexuality.

I had four library books & didn't care which one I read first, but when I reviewed the book covers, this one was so intriguing I grabbed it. It's not a long book, just under 300 pages, but I blazed through a huge section. Easy reading but engaging characters & good plot. I have about 50 pages left. So far, very enjoyable. I still don't know who the murderer is, but the author has just thrown us a twist—someone confessed!

Interesting comments you made about the Bernadette novel. Some humor definitely has a shelf life.