Hall of Mirrors

”[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 in 1954, 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.”
– Los Angeles Times, Paula Wood
“The ‘Lavender Scare’ of the 1950s, during which gay men and women were targeted by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI as un-American, led to countless tragedies, lost jobs, lost loved ones, and lost lives. Copenhaver employs the noir atmosphere of the time to great effect in his second installment in his Nightingale and Watson series.” – Oprah Daily
‘“Hall of Mirrors delivers a skillful historical mystery. We hope that Copenhaver continues this exciting series beyond three novels.”

– Oline Cogdill, The Sun Sentinel
“Set in 1950s McCarthy-era Washington, DC, Hall of Mirrors is a gripping mystery with secrets, danger, and a race to uncover the truth.” – TODAY.com
“But the two parties might be more interconnected than they realize. 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.” – Byron Lane, author of Big Gay Wedding
“An excellent continuation of Copenhaver’s series, richly detailed and with convincingly realized characterizations.” – CrimeReads
“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, author of Mary Higgins Clark award-winning Clark and Division
“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
“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

John Copenhaver won the 2019 Macavity Award for Best First Mystery for Dodging and Burning and the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Best Mystery for The Savage Kind. He is a co-founder of Queer Crime Writers and an at-large board member of Mystery Writers of America. He cohosts on the House of Mystery Radio Show. He’s a faculty mentor in the University of Nebraska’s Low-Residency MFA program and teaches at VCU in Richmond, VA.

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