Historical Fiction

Review of Lavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen

October 18, 2022 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Blurb

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.

Review

Part cozy mystery, part hard-hitting historical fiction, Lavender House was a gripping story with a group of fascinating characters. The story takes place in the Bay area in 1952 and follows our main character Andy, a disgraced police officer who was fired after being caught in a raid of a gay club. He’s approached by Pearl Lamontaine, a wealthy and mysterious widow who asks him to figure out who murdered her wife. He agrees and is then brought to Lavender House, where he meets the rest of a created family of LGBT people:

Pearl, the widow
Pearl’s son Henry
Henry’s partner, Cliff
Henry’s wife, Margo (they married only for appearance)
Margo’s partner, Elise
Margo’s mother, Alice (the only straight person in the household)

What’s interesting about the novel is that it takes place during a time when it is quite dangerous to be queer, as we see firsthand during a particularly disturbing scene of violence in the story (consider yourself warned). Because of this, we see some of the impossible choices some of the characters are called on to make in order to protect themselves, their identity, and their loved ones. The story illustrated nicely how one false step can cause you to lose everything: your money, your home, your social standing, and even your life.

Aside from the hard-hitting theme of the difficulty of being queer in the 50s, Rosen also gives us a fun ‘whodunnit’ with plenty of red herrings to throw us off the scent of the true killer. It was fun journeying along with Andy as we discover each character’s possible motives as well as their own struggles with being queer in an unaccepting world. I loved this mismatched group of characters and enjoyed getting to know all of their quirks and idiosyncrasies as the story unraveled. These dynamic characters are beautifully complex, empathetic, and wonderfully rendered and the author really brought them to life in the narrative.

While on the surface, Lavender House is a cozy mystery, there’s real depth to the story, which delves into themes of acceptance, loneliness, homophobia, fear, false appearances, queer love, and found family. Though the story is tough to read in places, the seriousness is balanced by witty banter and several laugh-out-loud moments.

All in all, Lavender House is a well-crafted tale with compelling and vivid characters as well as a compelling mystery to solve. Recommended!

A huge thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a review copy of this book.

Review of Death Overdue by David S. Pederson

July 14, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen 2 Comments

I was so excited when this book came to my attention, given that it takes place in Milwaukee, my hometown. The story takes place in the 1940s and follows police detective Heath Barrington, who is having a clandestine affair with another police officer, Alan Keyes. Given that being gay during this time period could lead to arrest, being institutionalized, and certainly fired from one’s job (especially if you’re a police officer!), it’s essential that the two men keep their relationship a secret.

So when Heath receives a note that says, “I know what you are,” his world crumbles. As it turns out, a low-life named Larry Crowe, a janitor as the police station, is blackmailing him to the tune of $500, or else he will tell everyone about Heath and Alan’s secret. After Heath meets with Larry, Heath, after having consumed several double-martinis at a local bar, decides to return to Larry’s apartment, perhaps to further negotiate with him. Heath’s not sure because he doesn’t remember anything after having left the bar — which is unfortunate because Larry was found murdered later that afternoon. Heath then becomes the prime suspect in Larry’s murder. And the kicker is that he’s not even certain of his own innocence given that the events of that afternoon for Heath are a complete blank and it’s not inconceivable that in his drunken state, he returned back to Larry’s apartment and killed him given that Larry was threatening him with utter ruin.

So even though it’s against the rules and could land Heath in some significant hot water, he, along with Alan, decides to investigate the crime and attempt to discover what really happened that afternoon. Luckily for Heath, he’s not the only suspect. We also have Heath’s cousin Liz who was married to the blackmailer, a dangerous gangster known as Vinnie the Horse, and Miss Caldwell, the local librarian who seems to be sweet on Larry’s current wife, Alice.

I loved the underlying tension throughout the story as we, along with Heath and Alan, journeyed to discover whether Heath did, in fact, kill Larry Crowe. The suspense is taut, but there is an emotional element at play here, and the story expertly portrayed the difficulties that gay people faced during this time period and how they always had to be extremely careful of what they said or how they acted, lest they find themselves in a whole heap of hot water. In this way, the author does a phenomenal job of portraying the atmosphere of a 1940s Milwaukee as well as illustrating the danger in being outed and how quickly it could quickly destroy lives, all of which really brought the story to life for me.

Additionally, the book explores some very real concerns about spousal abuse, intolerance, regret, secrets, and discrimination, and my heart broke in so several places as it was quite a traumatic roller coaster of a ride. I was overwhelmed with the deep impact portions of this story produced on me.

It was still a lot of fun to unravel the mystery of what happened to Larry Crowe, and what we end up with then is a twisted and suspenseful little mystery that entangles secrets, identity, and murder. Death Overdue is a masterful historical fiction set in the late 1940s that illuminates the very real issues of discrimination and intolerance. Moreover, it’s a well-written, lovely, eloquent, and engaging story with a twisty little mystery to solve. I definitely plan on picking up more books by this author

A huge thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy of this book.

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Silent Sin by EJ Russell

April 6, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Book Blurb:

When tailor Marvin Gottschalk abandoned New York City for the brash boomtown of silent-film-era Hollywood, he never imagined he’d end up on screen as Martin Brentwood, one of the fledgling film industry’s most popular actors. Five years later a cynical Martin despairs of finding anything genuine in a town where truth is defined by studio politics and publicity. Then he meets Robbie Goodman.

Robbie fled Idaho after a run-in with the law. A chance encounter leads him to the film studio where he lands a job as a chauffeur. But one look at Martin and he’s convinced he’s likely to run afoul of those same laws—laws that brand his desires indecent, deviant… sinful.

Martin and Robbie embark on a cautious relationship, cocooned in Hollywood’s clandestine gay fraternity, careful to hide from the studio boss, a rival actor, and reporters on the lookout for a juicy story. But when tragedy and scandal rock the town, igniting a morality-based witch hunt fueled by a remorseless press, the studio brass will sacrifice even the greatest careers to defend their endangered empire. Robbie and Martin stand no chance against the firestorm—unless they stand together.

Book Review:

I thought that this well-researched story about the silent movie era Hollywood was utterly fascinating. It’s 1921, and we’re immediately introduced to a young, naive Idaho farmboy named Robinson (AKA “Robbie”) Crusoe Goodman, who escaped to Hollywood. From what exactly he is running away is a mystery, one that is slowly revealed as the plot unfolds.

Robbie manages to land a job as a chauffeur for actor Martin Brentwood. The story then alternates between Martin’s and Robbie’s POV, and we learn that both men are extremely attracted to each other but give the era, they have to be careful to hide their feelings as it could not only ruin their careers but land them in prison.

It’s important to remember that this was a time when being gay had life-threatening consequences. It’s a time when morality-based censorship and witch hunts occupied first spots in the newspapers, morality clauses played a prominent part in Hollywood contracts, and queer people were beaten and even killed by the police. But despite the dangers, Robby and Martin embark on a cautious clandestine relationship, which becomes even more complicated when Robby is thrust into the limelight of Hollywood, and his place in the motion picture world becomes more prominent.

It’s interesting that during this time period, there still wasn’t a word for being queer, and instead, someone who had gay tendencies was referred to as “being in the life.” You still hear this term occasionally, though in recent years, it’s fallen out of favor. It reminded me of the period of my own coming-of-age during which being gay was often called “being a friend of Dorothy.”

It was so much fun going behind the scenes of the golden age of silent film and learning firsthand about the rich history of this period and the machinations of the movie industry. Though our two main characters are fictional, many of the elements, including the scandals and tragedies, are based on actual events that affected real people, all of which the author explains in the novel’s addendum. For instance, the author includes circumstances surrounding the murder of William Desmond Taylor as well as Fatty Arbuckle’s famous trials for rape and manslaughter. These tidbits added a riveting extra layer and dimension to the story, which I especially enjoyed.

In Silent Sin, we got to experience the “real” Hollywood — the Hollywood behind the flashy movie stars and all the glamor. In this way, I thought the world-building was phenomenal. It was so much fun experiencing the movie era that was still in its infancy and was just beginning to take off, still, as of yet, on unsure footing. The author really brought this story to life for me, and I continue to ruminate over it several days later.

I also thought that the author exhibits an uncanny insight into the human condition, and parts of the novel were a pretty honest and raw commentary on humanity. I was amazed at the way Russell was able to weave together historically accurate renderings of the times with a series of unlikely events and coincidences in a way that felt absolutely authentic.

Silent Sin hits at such a visceral level that it’s hard to describe with words, and parts of the book were so emotive and moving that they left me gutted. It’s a rich story that deals with very loaded issues like grief, homophobia, fear, hatred, regrets, the oftentimes difficult journey of personal growth and loss; but also with courage and the opportunity to start anew. It’s eye-opening — and heartbreaking — to witness how the systemic prejudice and homophobia our characters deal with every day has affected their lives in both small and big ways. I was also surprised by the profound impact the story had on me.

Note that though there is a romance between our two main characters, the romance takes a backseat to the historical aspect of the narrative. This is a low-heat story with all the lovemaking taking place off-screen. So if you’re looking for a steamy romance, you won’t find that there. What you will find, however, is a sweet and tender romance between two gentle and charming souls living in a time period where being their authentic selves could prove deadly.

All in all, I found Silent Sin to be an exceptionally unique, surprisingly profound, and beautifully written story that is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It’s a well-written and smoothly plotted novel of many layers with fully realized and endearing characters and will undoubtedly appeal to historical fiction lovers. I also felt that the ending is perfect, and there were definitely tears of happiness and a wonderful grin plastered across my face during those last final pages.

This is the second book that I’ve read and loved by this author, and I definitely plan on reading more of their books. This one is a gem!

Heat Level: 1

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Review of The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman

January 14, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

The World That We Knew is a historical fiction story that opens in 1941 in Berlin during the time when the Nazi Regime is coming into power. Aware of how bad things are becoming for Jewish people, a woman named Hanni visits the local Rabbi and begs him to create a Golem — a mystical Jewish creature made from mud and clay — to protect her daughter. The Rabbi refuses, but his young daughter Ettie overhears the conversation and agrees, in secret, to create a Golem for Hanni’s daughter Lea. So Ettie accomplishes what is said that only men can do, and she brings her special golem to life. The golem is given the name of Ava, and she (it’s a female golem) is sworn to protect Lea. Lea and Ava flee Germany for Paris, but as it turns out, there aren’t safe there for very long, and soon, they are running for their lives.

Though there is a magical realism aspect to the story, this is far from being a fairy tale. It’s a heartbreaking story as Lea, Ava, and the other characters in the story witness one horrifying atrocity after another at the hands of the monstrous Nazis. Through the author’s brilliant storytelling and memorable characters, we really get a feeling for the depth of the suffering that the Nazis imposed on innocent people.

And that’s what really made this novel stand out for me — it was the deep, intense, and meaningful relationships between the characters and how their lives all intertwined and collided. I also thought that it was a heartfelt tribute to those brave souls who, in a time marked by evil and death, risked their lives to help the many Jewish people to safety.

In these characters, we see heart-warming kindness, beauty, and sacrifice as they all fought the evil in their own way: by saving lives. In this way, the author gives us the best of humanity in these heroes juxtaposed with the monstrous insanity of the Nazi regime. We have a doctor who treats resistance fighters, nuns who protect refugees, underground groups who lead people to safety across the borders, individual people who house and feed the persecuted, and many, many more.

This was such an emotionally engaging story, and I teared up many times throughout. I’ll admit that there were many passages that I found difficult to read – passages about those who didn’t escape, those who were rounded up and taken to the death camps, and those allies and resistance members who ended up murdered. And yes, many of our favorite characters ended up among the dead. But though it was undoubtedly bleak in parts, there was always the thread of love, hope, and humanity at its core — all of which kept people moving forward even in those darkest of times.

In the midst of these chilling atrocities, the author shows us the kindness, compassion, and love of the many honorable characters and in so doing, transforms this into an uplifting and moving story. The theme of love was also quite prevalent throughout the story — the characters’ love for each other and their love for life. The book explores themes of cruelty, war, humanity, of mothers and daughters, faith, fear, sacrifice, and loss but also illustrates courage, bravery, love, and humanity as well as the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit.

Though Ava the golem played a big part in this story, the horror that the Nazis brought down upon millions of people was always at the forefront of this novel. The use of the golem as a plot device in no way dilutes the unimaginable crimes of the Nazis, who were referred to as demons in the story — living monsters. What was interesting is that Ava, the actual “monster” in this story, turns out to be more human than many of the humans, and she ends up representing for Lea a mother’s love. I felt that the magical realism aspect actually helped the reader to get through some of the more gut-wrenching and emotionally overpowering scenes. In addition to the golem, there was the appearance of The Angel of Death and of a dancing Heron, both who played fascinating roles in the story.

The book is also meticulously researched, and I learned a lot about this time period that I didn’t know before. Hoffman stated that she traveled to France and visited many of the places that hid refugees. She also met with and interviewed Holocaust survivors both in France and in the United States, and I was surprised by the amount of history that the author incorporated in the story.

All in all, The World That We Knew is an intense, sometimes brutal, no-holds-barred historical fiction novel of courage and sacrifice featuring characters unlike any you’ve ever seen. In my opinion, the beauty of the story lies in the successful balance between Historical Fiction and Mythology, and the author blends the ‘real’ and the mythic seamlessly.

Yes, it will also break your heart in a million pieces but then will slowly glue it back together, so in this way, it’s simultaneously heartbreaking and heart-mending with an underlying current of hope throughout. Additionally, I found Hoffman’s writing to be evocative, eloquent and stirring, and is overflowing with gorgeous imagery and lyrical prose. Though heavier than some of her other novels, I’m so glad that this book crossed my path, and for me, it’s a solid 5-star read.

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Review of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

January 10, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Where the Crawdads Sing is a fascinating book that takes place during the 1950s and ’60s and follows a misunderstood girl named Kya Clark, who is also known as the Marsh Girl or Marsh Trash by the local people in Barclay Cove. Kaya is abandoned, first by her mother, then all of her siblings, and finally, by her drunken and abusive father, leaving her to fend for herself all alone on the marsh, without assistance from anyone. I think she was ten years old or so when the last of her family abandoned her.

The story is told in two alternate timelines: the first, focusing on Kya’s life in the marsh and her eventual romantic involvement with two young men from town. The other timeline occurs in 1969, during which a young man named Chase Andrews is found dead. At first, police think I was an accident, but upon further investigation, begin to suspect that the young man was, in fact, murdered. The townies immediately suspect the strange and aloof Marsh girl, especially given that she has been seen several times over the years in Chase’s company.

This is another one of those books that is super-haunting and atmospheric, and the rich, vivid descriptions of the soggy swamp, the birds, insects, water, sand, mud, plants, fish and other animals transported me right back to the 1950s and makes you feel as though you’re in the marsh right along with Kya.

While this is a lovely homage to nature, it’s also a moving and heartbreaking coming-of-age story about a resilient young woman who had to overcome abandonment, prejudice, scorn, and immense loneliness and how a person can rise above their circumstance when people believe in you.

Where the Crawdads Sing a character-driven story with an admirable and tenacious heroine that is part mystery, part love story, part suspense, and part adventure. This was an engrossing and surprising story that I absolutely loved and one that I will no doubt contemplate for a long time to come.

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Review of The Binding by Bridget Collins

February 5, 2019 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

First thing I want to point out is how beautiful the book is, not just the art on the dust jacket but the book itself with gorgeous gold embossing. It’s gorgeous!

Introducing Emmett

The Binding follows a young man named Emmett Farmer who is recovering from a strange illness, of which nobody knows the cause. Though he’s trying to be helpful in his father’s fields, his strength, stamina, and usefulness are only a shadow of what they once were, as he continues to suffer bouts of dizziness, nausea, and general weakness.

Summoned by a Witch

One day a strange letter arrives from a well-known Bookbinder named Seredith, requesting that Emmett become her apprentice. Now in this world, a bookbinder is not merely someone who stitches together pages of a book. Rather, Bookbinders are feared, hated and treated with suspicion. Some people call them witches because what they do, is remove portions of a person’s memory and then bind those memories in elegant leather-bound books.

The Art of Bookbinding

People go to Bookbinders to remove those memories that cause them pain, cause them grief or as a manner to hide a dark secret. Do you want to forget something? Go to a Bookbinder. Do you have secrets, an embarrassing mistake or a dark past that you want to be removed from your memory? A Bookbinder can fix you right up. Is the pain or grief from the loss of a loved one so great that you simply cannot live with it? A Bookbinder can remove it all for you. And once you’ve been bound, you’ll completely forget that you’ve been bound.

The books created from these memories have the power to change lives and destroy lives, should they ever fall into the wrong hands. And what happens if those books are ever destroyed? Why, all of the memories in the book come immediately rushing right back to their originator, which could have some quite disturbing consequences.

Emmett’s Destiny

As Emmett learns from Seredith, Bookbinders aren’t made, they’re born — bookbinding is part of who you are — it’s in your blood. For as long as Emmett can remember, he’s been strangely drawn to books even though his father has strictly forbidden them. His new mentor tells him that Bookbinding is a sacred vocation and informs him that the reason he has felt this affinity for books is that he is “binder-born,” which was also the cause of his illness. But now that Emmett is working with books and fulfilling his destiny, his illness abates, and he finds a kind of peace in his workshop.

Shady Characters

Now, this is one of those novels that you can’t say too much about without giving anything away. I went into this book completely blind, having not even an inkling of the plot and I’m so glad I did because the surprises are worth it. Let me just say that not all binders are of the high moral caliber as Seredith, and there are definitely some bad apples. Some of them are in it just for the money, and some even stoop so low as to illicitly sell these books of memories on the market to make a profit.

Eventually, Emmett unwillingly becomes involved with some of these less scrupulous binders and ends up having to make some really tough decisions. It’s also worth mentioning that the art of Bookbinding is abused by some of the more dodgy characters in the book, leading to some powerful and heart-wrenching scenes. For instance, I found it genuinely chilling that memories from a rape victim can be wiped clean, allowing the perpetrator to walk away unpunished. Emmett soon finds himself plunged into a world of wealth, abuse, cruelty, depravity and deception.

A Story in Three Parts

The book is told in three parts. The first part follows Emmett’s story in the present as he is summoned by the Bookbinder and begins his apprenticeship. It’s in this part where we learn the truth about what Bookbinding actually is. I found this section absolutely riveting as we’re introduced to the somewhat unsettling and macabre world of Bookbinding.

Part Two of the story brings us to the past but prior to Emmett’s illness, before Emmett knew who or what he was. Here, we’re integrated into Emmett’s daily life on the farm and see the events that led to Emmett’s illness and his subsequent summons by the elderly Bookbinder. Initially, I found this abrupt change in direction from the first part a bit jarring, mainly because I didn’t understand the purpose to this section and how it related to the story we’ve been told thus far. But then, all the pieces fell into place leading to a delightful “ah-ha!” moment.

In Part Three, we return to present day, but interestingly, we are no longer experiencing the story through Emmett’s eyes but instead, through the eyes of someone else and I found this section just as beautiful and compelling and as the previous ones.

Verdict

The Binding is a beautiful, atmospheric and haunting story that I found to be a remarkable read. I adored the intriguing and frightening premise of this fantasy world where portions of a person’s memories can be removed and then be preserved for safekeeping in a book. I thought this concept was absolutely mind-blowing — it was so imaginative, original and clever. This was one of those books that stuck its hooks into me almost immediately, and I didn’t want to let go at the story’s finish. A truly captivating story that I didn’t want to end.

Though the world of the Binders is fascinating, the heart of this story lies in the beautifully woven yet forbidden romance of two desperate souls who find themselves caught up in the dark and cruel machinations of others around them. This story wrecked me in the best and most unexpected ways. It hit me right in the heart, and I’m still thinking about it many days later so in this way, it’s an incredibly profound and shattering story.

This book certainly raises some interesting questions and made me wonder how many of us would pay a visit to a Binder to get painful or embarrassing memories permanently removed, thus creating new stories for ourselves in the process? Quite an interesting concept, for sure.

All in all, The Binding is a unique, haunting and beautifully written multi-layered novel that’s unlike anything I’ve ever read before and I completely fell in love with this story. The author created such a vivid and realistic world here that at times, I forget I was reading fantasy. All in all, a solid 5-star read for me and I’m already thinking about giving this one a re-read.

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