Hall of Mirrors is out now!
Cover by Derek Thornton of Notch Design.
Praise for Hall of Mirrors …
Featured on Oprah’s Bookclub’s Sizzling Summer Reads: “The Lavender Scare of the 1950s, during which gay men and women were targeted by the FBI, led to countless tragedies, lost jobs, lost loved ones, and lost lives. John Copenhaver employs the noir atmosphere of the time to great effect.” —Bethanne Patrick, Oprah Daily.
"[HALL OF MIRRORS] has haunted me since I’ve finished it. As Copenhaver details with breathtaking skill, full exposure, however terrifying, flings open the closet doors to truth." —Sarah Weinman, The New York Times Book Review
Set against the backdrop of 1950s Washington, D.C., Hall of Mirrors is a riveting mystery imbued with secrecy and a relentless pursuit of truth. —Bryon Lane, author of Big Gay Wedding for People.
Featured on Today.com’s “6 must-read books for Pride Month, according to Jenna pick author Steven Rowley (The Guncle) and Byron Lane (Big Gay Wedding),”: "As the two parties’ goals intertwine, past and present crimes collide. Set in 1950s McCarthy-era Washington, DC, Hall of Mirrors is a gripping mystery with secrets, danger, and a race to uncover the truth."
"Hall of Mirrors is a stunner and something rare for a historical mystery. Copenhaver has alchemized the intimacies and pain of midcentury queer characters into something more universal and timeless, reflecting back to us the closets in which marginalized people have been forced to live, and their righteous struggles to break free." —Paula Woods, The Los Angeles Times.
Featured in The Washington Post’s “12 Thrillers to Read This Summer.”
“Hall of Mirrors delivers a skillful historical mystery. We hope that Copenhaver continues this exciting series beyond three novels." —Oline Cogdill, The Sun Sentinel
“The second in the Nightingale trilogy, following The Savage Kind, is a mystery, but the historical elements add complexity as the author explores issues of passing as straight or White, concealing an identity at a time of physical and emotional violence toward LGBTQIA+ and Black people.”—Library Journal, starred review
“Copenhaver keeps things moving at a relentless pace as he introduces multiple narrators and a plethora of plot twists. Queer history aficionados will find the depiction of the period’s antigay political paranoia fascinating. This series deserves a long life.”—Publishers Weekly
"An excellent continuation of Copenhaver’s series, richly detailed and with convincingly realized characterizations." —CrimeReads
"Hall of Mirrors is a complex historical mystery. [A] deep characterization of the leads and well-researched historical details form the backdrop of the action. This one is highly recommended." —BOLO Books
“A searing portrait of a treacherous era and the extraordinary characters who navigated through it at their peril. Hall of Mirrors is equal parts stylish noir and heart-breaking testament. I couldn’t put it down.” —Carol Goodman, two-time Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author of The Bones of the Story
“A Rubik’s Cube of a period mystery—readers will become increasingly obsessed about the intersection of a biracial ghostwriter seeking justice for his dead partner and two fans who have been on a hunt for a serial killer. Prevailing McCarthy-era attitudes about race and sexual orientation inform the story, yet characters reign supreme. By the end of Hall of Mirrors, I cared desperately for the well-being of all three, seeking to embrace their truth under oppressive circumstances.” —Naomi Hirahara, Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author of Clark and Division
“The very best mysteries blend reality and imagination into a cocktail where no single ingredient overpowers another. In his delicious new novel, Hall of Mirrors, John Copenhaver stirs together a twisted criminal and two pairs of lovers in the glamorous atmosphere of 1950s Washington, DC. Indulge yourself!” —Sujata Massey, internationally bestselling author of The Mistress of Bhatia House
"With Hall of Mirrors, Copenhaver deftly toes the line between harmless voyeurism and the type of subversive curiosity that turns fans into predators. You float through the story, an unseen guest watching everything unfold, noting all the beautiful period details that anchor the narrative in the 1950s - brass bar carts, bold wallpaper - until all at once, you realize that this perverse kind of observation may have led to the death of an innocent man. If Architectural Digest started a True Crime Beat, Copenhaver would be the magazine’s star writer.” —Ava Barry, author of Double Exposure
About the novel …
An exploration of misogyny, race, and homophobia, Hall of Mirrors is a twisty, atmospheric noir about DC in the 1950s, the age of Joseph McCarthy and the Lavender Scare, a decade when politicians used fear and bigotry to harness power—a time we thought we’d left behind.
Whether you're a fan of The Savage Kind, Judy and Philippa’s dark coming-of-age story, or you’re new to the trilogy, this novel is accessible. You don't need to read the first book to get this one—although they would make an attractive pair on your bookshelf!
From the book jacket:
When a popular mystery novelist dies suspiciously, his writing partner must untangle the author’s connection to a serial killer, in award-winning John Copenhaver’s new novel set in 1950s McCarthy-era Washington, DC.
In May 1954, Lionel Kane witnesses his apartment engulfed in flames with his lover and writing partner, Roger Raymond, inside. Police declare it a suicide due to gas ignition, but Lionel refuses to believe Roger was suicidal.
A month earlier, Judy Nightingale and Philippa Watson—the tenacious and troubled heroines from The Savage Kind—attend a lecture by Roger and, being eager fans, befriend him. He has just been fired from his day job at the State Department, another victim of the Lavender Scare, an anti-gay crusade led by figures like Senator Joseph McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover, claiming homosexuals are security risks. Little do Judy and Philippa know, but their obsessive manhunt of the past several years has fueled the flames of his dismissal.
They have been tracking their old enemy Adrian Bogdan, a spy and vicious serial killer protected by powerful forces in the government. He’s on the rampage again, and the police are ignoring his crimes. Frustrated, they send their research to the media and their favorite mystery writer anonymously, hoping to inspire someone, somehow, to publish on the crimes—anything to draw Bogdan out. But has their persistence brought deadly forces to the writing team behind their most beloved books?
In the wake of Roger’s death, Lionel searches for clues, but Judy and Philippa threaten his quest, concealing dark secrets of their own. As the crimes of the past and present converge, danger mounts and the characters race to uncover the truth, even if it means bending their moral boundaries to stop a killer.