Copenhaver, John

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.

Copenhaver’s latest is jam-packed with noir themes and plot twists. Sure to please fans of queer fiction and twisty mysteries.

Copenhaver, who writes a crime fiction column for the Lambda Literary website, makes a powerful debut with this unconventional novel that mixes a coming- of-age tale with a puzzling mystery and a haunting portrait of the experiences of the LGBTQ community in the 1940s. Admirers of William Kent Krueger's Edgar Award-winning stand-alone, Ordinary Grace, may appreciate this candid story.