Lavender House, an art deco mansion in a secluded area outside of San Francisco, is more than just a refuge for those who would live openly as gay, and as the ex-cop uncovers its secrets, his own life becomes more and more in danger. Rescued from suicidal ideation by the wealthy owner of a soap dynasty, he accepts a commission to investigate a murder in a house where everyone is queer, including the servants and the victim. In the midst of an America under the sway of McCarthyism, a gay policeman gets caught in a raid on an underground club and finds himself at loose ends and newly a pariah. Decades later when the woman who abandoned them turns up murdered, it’s finally time to deal with the consequences of that terrible night. Something happens to the boys on their trek through the city something that changes them irreparably. Canaff, two young brothers must navigate their way through New York City during a blackout after their mother goes to get gasoline and never comes back. In this gorgeous and shattering novel from powerful new voice Roger A. With a doctoral candidate at the center of the plot, you can expect an erudite unraveling of the mystery, as well as some pressure cooker atmospherics from some of the grandest spots on the international intellectual circuit. (Nov.This debut from art historian Joanna Margaret hopscotches across European art and academia hot spots and delivers on a wild ride with nods to gothic fiction and dark academia, accompanied by smart notes of Hitchcock to round out this exemplary thriller. Agent: Lori Galvin, Aevitas Creative Management.

The fast pacing doesn’t overwhelm the deep dive into Ellice’s inner life. Morris gives her flawed lead plenty to struggle with, including a secret, ex-con brother workplace sexism and racism and an awkward encounter with her lover’s widow. She becomes increasingly anxious when she’s interviewed by the police, who are treating the death as a homicide. She’s further stunned to be immediately promoted to fill Michael’s role before she has a chance to decide whether she wants the position. Freaked out, Ellice doesn’t report her grim discovery and acts surprised when the news reaches her. But that all changes when she arrives for an early morning meeting with her white boss, Houghton’s general counsel and her lover, Michael Sayles, and finds him dead from a gunshot to the head, apparently self-inflicted. Ellice Littlejohn, a 40-something Black woman, is relatively content as a senior member of the legal department at Atlanta’s Houghton Transportation Company. Attorney Morris puts her experiences as a Black woman navigating the corridors of corporate power to good use in her strong debut, a legal thriller.

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