I received a physical ARC from BookishFirst. All opinions are my own.
The Bell in the Fog , a dazzling historical mystery by Lev AC Rosen, asks—once you have finally found a family, how far would you go to prove yourself to them?
San Francisco, 1952. Detective Evander "Andy" Mills has started a new life for himself as a private detective—but his business hasn't exactly taken off. It turns out that word spreads fast when you have a bad reputation, and no one in the queer community trusts him enough to ask an ex-cop for help.
When James, an old flame from the war who had mysteriously disappeared, arrives in his offices above the Ruby, Andy wants to kick him out. But the job seems to be a simple case of blackmail, and Andy's debts are piling up. He agrees to investigate, despite everything it stirs up.
The case will take him back to the shadowy, closeted world of the Navy, and then out into the gay bars of the city, where the past rises up to meet him, like the swell of the ocean under a warship. Missing people, violent strangers, and scandalous photos that could destroy lives are a whirlpool around him, and Andy better make sense of it all before someone pulls him under for good.
To be released: October 10th 2023
CW: period-typical/outdated 1950s language, blackmail, violence, murder, police violence
I was really excited when I first heard that the author was expanding Lavender House into a series! This book, we follow Andy Mills as he takes his first major case post-Lavender House, but it involves far more digging into his past than he was prepared for.
Andy Mills continues to be the main reason I continue to be excited for these books. In this book, he's trying to pull his weight and atone for his past by getting his private detective business off the ground, but it's harder than he anticipated when people continue to talk.
The mystery kept me on my toes! It felt like there were a couple more moving parts in this mystery than in the first book. What starts as a blackmailing case turns into a missing person's case, and then there are some mysteries hidden in Mills' past. There were maybe a few points where I was a little confused, but overall, I really enjoyed the ride!
I would've liked more reminders as to what happened in the first book. The mysteries are complete standalones, but the side characters, especially at the bar, the Ruby, were introduced in the first book, and I needed more to jog my memory.
I rated this book 4 stars! I would recommend reading the first book first to get a handle on the cast, but then you can enjoy this one (and hopefully future books???)!
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