Rough Pages

An Evander Mills Mystery

De: Lev AC Rosen

Narrado por: Vikas Adam

Set in atmospheric 1950s San Francisco, Rough Pages asks who is allowed to tell their own stories, and how far would you go to seek out the truth.

Private Detective Evander “Andy” Mills has been drawn back to the Lavender House estate for a missing person case. Pat, the family butler, has been volunteering for a book service, one that specializes in mailing queer books to a carefully guarded list of subscribers. With bookseller Howard Salzberger gone suspiciously missing along with his address book, everyone on that list, including some of Andy's closest friends, is now in danger.

A search of Howard’s bookstore reveals that someone wanted to stop him and his co-owner, Dorothea Lamb, from sending out their next book. The evidence points not just to the Feds, but to the Mafia, who would be happy to use the subscriber list for blackmail.

Andy has to maneuver through both the government and the criminal world, all while dealing with a nosy reporter who remembers him from his days as a police detective and wants to know why he’s no longer a cop. With his own secrets closing in on him, can Andy find the list before all the lives on it are at risk?

Dive into the full Evander Mills series:

Lavender House
The Bell in the Fog
Rough Pages

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Forge.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Immersive ...Rosen buttresses his solid suspense plot with a rendering of midcentury San Francisco that feels realistic in its depiction of the dangers facing the city’s gay residents but refreshingly optimistic about their ability to lead fulfilled lives." –Publishers Weekly

Praise for the Evander Mills series:

"Gripping...Rosen’s candid portrayal of the casual cruelties perpetrated on queer people in the 1950s provides a novel and edifying foundation for a traditional mystery. Readers will be ready for the next Mills adventure as soon as this one ends" –Publishers Weekly, on The Bell in the Fog

"The result is an atmospheric historical novel as well as a gritty noir mystery that will thrill both readers who already love Andy Mills and those meeting him for the first time." –BookPage, starred review, on The Bell in the Fog

"Rosen’s deftly clued, noir-tinged plot successfully walks the line between hope and heartbreak, all while thoughtfully exploring the role of family in our lives. This fresh take on the classic private investigator begs to be brought to the big screen." –Library Journal, starred review, on Lavender House

"Rosen’s smart, bittersweet tale plays with the oldest truth of all: the price we pay for our identity in America." –Walter Mosley, on Lavender House

"Lavender House is a fabulous, genre-bending mystery-noir, told with wit, panache and style. Lev Rosen is one of a kind and just gets better and better—his eye for characters is both acerbic and compassionate, and his story-telling is top notch." –Dan Chaon, New York Times bestselling author of Sleepwalk, on Lavender House

Very Atmospheric Detective Series

I loved Rough Pages (Evander Mills #3) by Lev AC Rosen.

This queer dark noir mystery series is steeped in 1950s gay culture and community. The latest book is especially relevant since the focus of the plot is the criminalization of queer literature.

The writing is very atmospheric and the author makes you feel like you are in 1950s San Francisco. It is gritty though and doesn’t shy away from the constant dangers, prejudices, and fear that queer people faced in that time period.

Andy, the lead character has grown from someone who only looked out for himself to now caring about the whole community. He is willing to help others even at the risk of harming himself. Each of the books in the Evander Mills series can be read as stand-alones, but there is so much character growth that I would start with the first one, “Lavender House”.

The narration by Vikas Adam is also excellent. I hope we see another book in this series!

Do not miss these stories!

I found this author by following the narrator, Vikas Adam, whom I enjoyed from Coben's Nobody's Fool--more on him in a minute.

To my delight, this and the other two Evander MIlls stories are worth every minute, every letter on the written page. Lev AC Rosen’s characters fit me like a surgeon’s glove. They felt less like fictional figures, more like kin. I’m gay adjacent, not so myself. But I know these folks, well folks akin to them, and Rosen presents the people and places in these stories authentically while making them emotionally accessible. Petrified … always, with occasional, temporary relief within their clubs and inner circles, protected only by acquiescing to extortion and the mercy of the potential abuser's mood. Anxious. On the edge. The precipice didn't ask them to jump. It just reminded them how easy it would be to fall if in the wrong place at the right time. Because, as we are being reminded of late, that fear that settled over San Francisco in the 1950s hasn’t disappeared. It's only been hibernating. It doesn’t need much to come back.

Now, I usually cringe at superlatives, but Mr. Vikas Adam was simply sublime. Each character transition was seamless. I REALLLLLLY like this guy. All his character portrayals were distinctive, identifiable. They do not sound as if it were one person interpreting them all. … AND, … FWIW, his women don’t sound like a dude doing a lady voice. Impressive talent and interpretation indeed.

I’ve listened to all three books in this series. I anxiously await the next installment (which I've preordered).

SO GOOD

I love this series so much and this might be the best one yet. I need more!

A story about stories. A book about books.

A story about stories. A book about books. And this is earnest and honest in all the right places, it feels. Evander Mills becomes a surprisingly convincing example of defiant happiness and survival while never forgetting the very real and very dangerous homophobia of the era, and that’s made me like him more than I thought I would. Good read. Would recommend.

another great one by AC

a great read, one you don't want to put down. the continuation of characters with new ones is user friendly. the book shop made a great setting.