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In My Father's House
For his final new series, New York Times mega-bestselling author E. Lynn Harris introduces Bentley L. Dean, owner of the hottest modeling agency in Miami’s sexy South Beach.
Only the world’s most beautiful models make the roster of Picture Perfect Modeling agency and they only do shoots for the most elite photographers and magazines. They are fashionista royalty—and the owners, Bentley L. Dean and his beautiful partner Alexandra, know it. But even Picture Perfect isn’t immune from hard times, so when Sterling Sneed, a rich, celebrity party planner promises to pay a ludicrously high fee for some models, Bentley finds he can’t refuse. Even though the job is not exactly a photo shoot, Bentley agrees to supply fifteen gorgeous models as eye candy for an “A” list party—to look good, be charming and, well, entertain the guests. They don’t have to do anything they don’t want to, but... His models are pros and he figures they can handle the pressure, until one drops out and Bentley asks his protégé Jah, a beautiful kid who Bentley treats as if he were his own son, to substitute. Suddenly, the stakes are much higher, particularly when Jah falls in love with the hottest African American movie star in America. Seth Sinclair is very handsome, very famous, and very married—and his closeted gay life makes him very dangerous as well. Can Bentley’s fatherly guidance save Jah from making a fatal mistake?
Only the world’s most beautiful models make the roster of Picture Perfect Modeling agency and they only do shoots for the most elite photographers and magazines. They are fashionista royalty—and the owners, Bentley L. Dean and his beautiful partner Alexandra, know it. But even Picture Perfect isn’t immune from hard times, so when Sterling Sneed, a rich, celebrity party planner promises to pay a ludicrously high fee for some models, Bentley finds he can’t refuse. Even though the job is not exactly a photo shoot, Bentley agrees to supply fifteen gorgeous models as eye candy for an “A” list party—to look good, be charming and, well, entertain the guests. They don’t have to do anything they don’t want to, but... His models are pros and he figures they can handle the pressure, until one drops out and Bentley asks his protégé Jah, a beautiful kid who Bentley treats as if he were his own son, to substitute. Suddenly, the stakes are much higher, particularly when Jah falls in love with the hottest African American movie star in America. Seth Sinclair is very handsome, very famous, and very married—and his closeted gay life makes him very dangerous as well. Can Bentley’s fatherly guidance save Jah from making a fatal mistake?
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
40 people are currently reading
975 people want to read
About the author
E. Lynn Harris
47 books743 followersE. Lynn Harris was born in Flint, Michigan and raised, along with three sisters, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville where he was the school's first black yearbook editor, the first black male Razorbacks cheerleader, and the president of his fraternity. He graduated with honors with a degree in journalism.
Harris sold computers for IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and AT&T for thirteen years while living in Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. He finally quit his sales job to write his first novel, Invisible Life, and, failing to find a publisher, he published it himself in 1991 and sold it mostly at black-owned bookstores, beauty salons, and book clubs before he was "discovered" by Anchor Books. Anchor published Invisible Life as a trade paperback in 1994, and thus his career as an author officially began.
Invisible Life was followed by Just As I Am (1994), And This Too Shall Pass (1996), If This World Were Mine (1997), Abide with Me (1999), Not A Day Goes By (2000), Any Way the Wind Blows (2001), A Love of My Own (2002), I Say A Little Prayer (2006), Just Too Good To Be True (2008), Basketball Jones(2009), and Mama Dearest(2009),all published by Doubleday, and In My Father's House(2010), published by St. Martin's Press. Ten of Harris's novels hit the New York Times bestseller list, and his books have also appeared on the bestseller lists of the Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. In 2003, Harris published his first work of nonfiction, a memoir entitled What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, which was also a New York Times bestseller. Today, there are more than four million copies of his books in print.
Harris's writing also appeared in Essence, Washington Post Sunday Magazine, and Sports Illustrated, as well as in the award-winning anthology Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America, Go The Way Your Blood Beats. His novella, "Money Can't Buy Me Love" was published in Got To Be Real: Four Original Love Stories. Freedom in This Village, a collection of short stories edited by Harris, was released in the fall of 2004. His short fiction appeared in Gumbo: A Celebration of African American Writers (Harlem Moon), a 2002 collection he edited with writer Marita Golden.
Harris won numerous accolades and prizes for his work. Just As I Am was awarded the Novel of the Year Prize by the Blackboard African-American Bestsellers, Inc. If This World Were Mine was nominated for a NAACP Image Award and won the James Baldwin Award for Literary Excellence. Abide with Me was also nominated for a NAACP Image Award. His anthology Freedom in this Village won the Lambda Literary Award in 2005. In 1999, the University of Arkansas honored Harris with a Citation of Distinguished Alumni for outstanding professional achievement, and in October 2000 he was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. He was named to Ebony's "Most Intriguing Blacks" list, Out Magazine's "Out 100" list, New York Magazine's "Gay Power 101" list, and Savoy's "100 Leaders and Heroes in Black America" list. Other honors included the Sprague Todes Literary Award, the Harvey Milk Honorary Diploma, and The Silas Hunt Award for Outstanding Achievement from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Harris was a member of the Board of Directors of the Hurston/Wright Foundation and the Evidence Dance Company. He was the founder of the E. Lynn Harris Better Days Foundation, a nonprofit company that provides support to aspiring writers and artists.
E. Lynn Harris passed away in 2009.
http://us.macmillan.com/inmyfathersho...
Harris sold computers for IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and AT&T for thirteen years while living in Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. He finally quit his sales job to write his first novel, Invisible Life, and, failing to find a publisher, he published it himself in 1991 and sold it mostly at black-owned bookstores, beauty salons, and book clubs before he was "discovered" by Anchor Books. Anchor published Invisible Life as a trade paperback in 1994, and thus his career as an author officially began.
Invisible Life was followed by Just As I Am (1994), And This Too Shall Pass (1996), If This World Were Mine (1997), Abide with Me (1999), Not A Day Goes By (2000), Any Way the Wind Blows (2001), A Love of My Own (2002), I Say A Little Prayer (2006), Just Too Good To Be True (2008), Basketball Jones(2009), and Mama Dearest(2009),all published by Doubleday, and In My Father's House(2010), published by St. Martin's Press. Ten of Harris's novels hit the New York Times bestseller list, and his books have also appeared on the bestseller lists of the Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. In 2003, Harris published his first work of nonfiction, a memoir entitled What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, which was also a New York Times bestseller. Today, there are more than four million copies of his books in print.
Harris's writing also appeared in Essence, Washington Post Sunday Magazine, and Sports Illustrated, as well as in the award-winning anthology Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America, Go The Way Your Blood Beats. His novella, "Money Can't Buy Me Love" was published in Got To Be Real: Four Original Love Stories. Freedom in This Village, a collection of short stories edited by Harris, was released in the fall of 2004. His short fiction appeared in Gumbo: A Celebration of African American Writers (Harlem Moon), a 2002 collection he edited with writer Marita Golden.
Harris won numerous accolades and prizes for his work. Just As I Am was awarded the Novel of the Year Prize by the Blackboard African-American Bestsellers, Inc. If This World Were Mine was nominated for a NAACP Image Award and won the James Baldwin Award for Literary Excellence. Abide with Me was also nominated for a NAACP Image Award. His anthology Freedom in this Village won the Lambda Literary Award in 2005. In 1999, the University of Arkansas honored Harris with a Citation of Distinguished Alumni for outstanding professional achievement, and in October 2000 he was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. He was named to Ebony's "Most Intriguing Blacks" list, Out Magazine's "Out 100" list, New York Magazine's "Gay Power 101" list, and Savoy's "100 Leaders and Heroes in Black America" list. Other honors included the Sprague Todes Literary Award, the Harvey Milk Honorary Diploma, and The Silas Hunt Award for Outstanding Achievement from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Harris was a member of the Board of Directors of the Hurston/Wright Foundation and the Evidence Dance Company. He was the founder of the E. Lynn Harris Better Days Foundation, a nonprofit company that provides support to aspiring writers and artists.
E. Lynn Harris passed away in 2009.
http://us.macmillan.com/inmyfathersho...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
December 3, 2020
This is probably my least favorite E. Lynn Harris book. I love the representation his work offers, and the issues that he raises but a bulk of this novel felt like drama building up, and up, and up—waiting for something to happen which would explain it all. Unfortunately, this didn’t occur. The ending was so…random. It almost felt like an attempt at crime fiction, which also happened in his novel Basketball Jones, but didn’t work. He soars writing about Black queer men, and their experiences. Diving into mysteries, crime, and unfortunately, politics, is not really his strong suit. He tried writing in real time, the election of the nations first Black President, and covering pop culture issues like Chris Brown and Rihanna, and I don’t know if it’s aged well. When I was younger, his main characters were seductive and I admired a few of them, now they appear to be very old-fashioned, and almost…slut-shame-y? This was an interesting read, I was invested in the drama, but completely let down.
November 28, 2010
Okay, this is pretty funny -- I picked this book up at the library, thinking it was women's fiction (the cover art and jacket copy are a bit misleading). Those who know E. Lynn Harris will be chuckling right now, because they know he's a gay writer and this book is about a gay man from a wealthy family who comes out and is denounced by his father. In addition to the longing-for-father-recognition plotline, the main character runs a modeling agency in Miami and the main plot centers on his misjudgment in sending a young man he mentors on a modeling job that turns out to be a front for a celebrity gay sex ring. What can I say? Not my typical choice for a read, but it wasn't totally bad.
Apparently, E. Lynn Harris is a NY Times bestselling author, so I'm guessing that his earlier books were better than this one. The writing is so-so (he spends a lot of time describing what each character is wearing and/or eating) and some of the sex scenes (there are quite a few) seem gratuitous. The biggest problem I had with this book, though, is the main character's naivete -- he really didn't know that the modeling job where the client wanted only young black male "eye-candy" types wasn't a sex ring front? Come on. I'm a middle-aged woman in the burbs and even I saw that one coming. :-)
E. Lynn Harris passed away in 2009. If you're interested in reading his books, you might start with his memoir, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, or his 2003 novel, A Love of My Own, which won Blackboard's Novel of the Year Award.
Apparently, E. Lynn Harris is a NY Times bestselling author, so I'm guessing that his earlier books were better than this one. The writing is so-so (he spends a lot of time describing what each character is wearing and/or eating) and some of the sex scenes (there are quite a few) seem gratuitous. The biggest problem I had with this book, though, is the main character's naivete -- he really didn't know that the modeling job where the client wanted only young black male "eye-candy" types wasn't a sex ring front? Come on. I'm a middle-aged woman in the burbs and even I saw that one coming. :-)
E. Lynn Harris passed away in 2009. If you're interested in reading his books, you might start with his memoir, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, or his 2003 novel, A Love of My Own, which won Blackboard's Novel of the Year Award.
August 24, 2011
Older man protaganist dealing with bisexuality, is successful on his own right, gets eyebrow raising unorthodox attention from "hot young studs" throughout the series that make no sense and are in most cases poorly described? Check
Said protaganist (who is generally a hypocrite) madly in love with "DL" someone who is "undescribably hot" and is in some sort of profession in the media? Check
Past female "love of life" now involved with someone from protaganist's close circle (father, brother, best friend)? check
Father issues between protaganist's lifestyle and old conservative views? Check
Racism? Check
Odd misplaced religious references? Check
All females in the story described as "jaw droppingly beautiful" check
Yep, another carbon copy of the tired E Lynn Harris gene. I remember picking up The Invisible Life when I was a junior in high school and loving the fact the the story finally resonated with what I was going through, and since then I just feel like I'm reading the same exact book, over and over again. With the author's seeming obsession with identifying with the "older male hero who still looks good" in addition to the odd obsession with the lifestyles of the rich and famous (can we please have a story of a regular person and not leading black sportscasters, actors, athletes, lawyers, doctors, business owners, and musicians?) we have another piece of mindless drivel with an absurd story plot with so many literary copouts, it was laughable. Thank godfully, it was the last one.
Said protaganist (who is generally a hypocrite) madly in love with "DL" someone who is "undescribably hot" and is in some sort of profession in the media? Check
Past female "love of life" now involved with someone from protaganist's close circle (father, brother, best friend)? check
Father issues between protaganist's lifestyle and old conservative views? Check
Racism? Check
Odd misplaced religious references? Check
All females in the story described as "jaw droppingly beautiful" check
Yep, another carbon copy of the tired E Lynn Harris gene. I remember picking up The Invisible Life when I was a junior in high school and loving the fact the the story finally resonated with what I was going through, and since then I just feel like I'm reading the same exact book, over and over again. With the author's seeming obsession with identifying with the "older male hero who still looks good" in addition to the odd obsession with the lifestyles of the rich and famous (can we please have a story of a regular person and not leading black sportscasters, actors, athletes, lawyers, doctors, business owners, and musicians?) we have another piece of mindless drivel with an absurd story plot with so many literary copouts, it was laughable. Thank godfully, it was the last one.
June 16, 2022
Predictable and a bit disappointing, but it is what it is. I believe this was the last book E. Lynn wrote before passing away. Perhaps that was why so many questions were left unanswered.
Read
July 31, 2011E. Lynn Harris’ last book is fairly typical of Harris’ last few novels and as enjoyably page-turning as well. There is plenty of melodrama, hot black and multi-racial men, and one very particularly hot sex scene in a reverse “casting-couch” sequence. Bentley Dean is co-owner of hot Miami modeling agency, Picture Perfect Modeling, which specializes in casting of African-American models, both male and female. Bentley Dean oversees male casting while his female partner, Alexandria, oversees the female side. The setting for the book is just before the election and inauguration of Barak Obama to President of the U.S., so the economy is down and business is slow for the agency. Bentley Dean is offered a contract for his agency to provide a bevy of hot men for a “private party.” The men are not required to have sex with any of the party guests but it is understood that they should be mature and tolerant and accepting of any behavior that may occur at the party. At first Bentley Dean is very wary of this offered contract, but agrees to do “casting” for the party as a means to earn a lucrative contract for the business. Bentley Dean also attends the party himself accompanying a young mentee/protégé Jah who is filling in for a last-minute cancelation. Bentley soon discovers that the host of the party is a very high-powered actor/director/producer, Seth Sinclair, in Hollywood. The party goes fairly well, though not without some repercussions. Jah becomes involved in a very controlled relationship with Sinclair. Bentley also has complicated relationships with his family and when a health crisis occurs with his father, he must return to his hometown after years of being cast away by his father. There is a lot to enjoy here with strong characterizations, boldly candid sexuality and the usual Harris flair for drama. This is the first of what was to be trilogy, but not sure what exists or will be published in the future. There is also apparently another book coming late this fall that E. Lynn Harris co-authored with R.M. Johnson about a pair of twin brothers which sounds intriguing.
October 5, 2015
First book by this author that I was not impressed with. Good storyline but not understanding if the title matches the story. It started with his dad putting him out but he was out of his home for a long time. Uppity parents, a sister willing to live by her father's standards; no backbone. A mother who only thinks about the lifestyle that she's accustom to, the dad not willing to accept his son being gay and his son's gay lover doesn't want to admit to being gay. The ending was strange because everyone else was brutally beaten and died because of their interaction with a secret gay group but Bentley III and Jah survived to go to the police......really?
July 24, 2018
It was an okay read, but I am disappointed how it ended with so many unanswered questions to so many scenarios and situations. Did Seth and sickos get what was coming to them? How did Alex's pregnancy go? Will Mom Dean and Daddy Dean get back together....or will he continue to pursue Kim? What happened to Jah as he was held as a sex slave and did he manage to get back on track? Did Bent have to hide out to save himself after reporting Wentworth's death to police? Why did they beat and almost kill Gabriel? Did he survive to tell his story?...... Huhhhhhhhh!
August 2, 2010
I won this on first reads.
E. Lynn Harris does an excellent job of showing the life of a bisexual male. He delves into the emotion and frustration very well and shows where being true to yourself can take the main character. It suggests that despite what others try to hold over you or make you live up to, you really only get justice in your life by being you.
E. Lynn Harris does an excellent job of showing the life of a bisexual male. He delves into the emotion and frustration very well and shows where being true to yourself can take the main character. It suggests that despite what others try to hold over you or make you live up to, you really only get justice in your life by being you.
March 30, 2011
While I will forever love E. Lynn Harris, In My Father's House was just okay for me. The plot moved swiftly, yet I found protagonist Bentley L. Dean to be a bit naive to what was going on. This wasn't E. Lynn's best - but I've got plenty more of his novels to keep me in love with one of my favorite authors.
September 5, 2010
Not a typical E. Lynn Harris book. It felt like a huge build up to an even bigger let down. The story really could've gone in a lot more directions. It was just too neat and clean a wrap up for the story for me.
December 3, 2010
I stopped reading this book. I wasn't as impressed with it as I thought I would be. I became bored with it. I will attempt to read another of Harris' previous books, but I just couldn't finish this one.
October 3, 2010
What's with the cover art? Totally not the type of book I thought I was taking home from the library.
December 10, 2010
Did not/could not finish it. Hated it!
November 24, 2012
Loved this book! Life is too short not to be who you are!
March 3, 2017
This was terrible and I'm fan of E.Lynn.
December 10, 2022
This book was the last book because the author died young from a heart attack. However, this was technically written to be the first of a series. What that means is there's a lot of slice of life moments, and there's also a very quick pace towards the end of the book than there was at the beginning. But this book does work as a standalone. By the way. I'm into institutional horror stories, and this book has that in addition to other wholesome content.
However, I will also say that since the president election of Obama was a major mood setter in this book I do wonder how the evolution of the Obama administration would've affected this book. (For example, just because we know now in 2022 how the changes got to the end of the administration, doesn't necessarily mean the rest of the would've been series would've projected it right. But seriously, the way the book ended, I suspect we could've just seen different parts of the community get used for a sense of timing.)
I could go on, but yes it was a good book & it makes see the downlow genre in a more sympathetic light. I can elaborate with that. To conclude this book is very 2009 February & I read this in 2022 November/December.
However, I will also say that since the president election of Obama was a major mood setter in this book I do wonder how the evolution of the Obama administration would've affected this book. (For example, just because we know now in 2022 how the changes got to the end of the administration, doesn't necessarily mean the rest of the would've been series would've projected it right. But seriously, the way the book ended, I suspect we could've just seen different parts of the community get used for a sense of timing.)
I could go on, but yes it was a good book & it makes see the downlow genre in a more sympathetic light. I can elaborate with that. To conclude this book is very 2009 February & I read this in 2022 November/December.
July 22, 2024
So, it's been a while since I've read one of his books. I was in love with the Invisible Life trilogy, and I even read some of his other books that may not have been as good but were pretty darn close. This story was . . . readable. But it fell short because it felt like it was leading up and leading up and leading up and then it just fell flat. The ending really did not do anything to tie the story together and it felt really rushed. I discovered that this was his last books before he passed (at least, I think this was the last one) and it makes me wonder if he knew that something was going on with his health so he really wanted to get the book finished *just in case*.
Anyways, obviously this is a book centered around gay characters and I have never had any issues with reading/watching sex scenes between lgbtq characters, but I seriously do not remember Harris really going into such detail with the sex. It caught me off guard because he was way more explicit with this book compared to how he was in the past when it came to describing the sex between his characters.
Obviously, the book was written back in 2009 but I thought it was very interesting to read it now with the allegations that have recently come out in regard to Diddy and even Tyler Perry because that is all I could think about as I was reading the book. Overall, the book was just okay and definitely not his best. I think maybe if the story had gone back and forth between POVs that could have added something to it. Either way, I got several of his books for free so we'll see if any of those are better.
Anyways, obviously this is a book centered around gay characters and I have never had any issues with reading/watching sex scenes between lgbtq characters, but I seriously do not remember Harris really going into such detail with the sex. It caught me off guard because he was way more explicit with this book compared to how he was in the past when it came to describing the sex between his characters.
Obviously, the book was written back in 2009 but I thought it was very interesting to read it now with the allegations that have recently come out in regard to Diddy and even Tyler Perry because that is all I could think about as I was reading the book. Overall, the book was just okay and definitely not his best. I think maybe if the story had gone back and forth between POVs that could have added something to it. Either way, I got several of his books for free so we'll see if any of those are better.
March 5, 2020
I did not like the ending. It doesn't seem realistic.... he builds up the anticipation and then..... nothing. And yes I do realize this was book one of the Bentley Dean III series and he passed away before he made it to book two but honestly the end to me just felt lazy. And I feel terrible saying that because I am a huge fan of E. Lynn Harris. Not sure why it ended like this but it is what it is.
June 1, 2024
OH MY WORD…..talk about an amazing book that not only was a page turner with outstanding dialogue and details, it was filled with drama and real life situations that had you on the edge of your seat while reading it. I enjoyed getting to see the development of all the characters, and taking a journey reading the book and learning more about their lives and backgrounds. This was my first E Lynn Harris book that I read and I can’t wait to read more of his books!!!
July 5, 2023
The book was interesting learning about the men’s gay community. Men like Bentley are self righteous and the stupidity of understanding other class of men’s struggles of life. It is true learning about powerful men like Seth Sinclair do exist in the gay community as undercover or down low married men wants to cover up their image in the world of not being gay.
April 9, 2025
Great reading. I enjoyed reading this book from beginning to the end. I have been a fan of E. Lynn Harris for years. I have read what I thought was all of his books, but found out there were several I missed. This was one of them. Good reading. I probably will buy his other book that I haven't read.
August 16, 2025
This is the worst book with his name attached to it. I said attached b/c I don’t believe he wrote this. The narrator also didn’t help, the book was already flat and dry and he made it a lot worse. The title, the sequence, the whole thing was awful. The only reason I kept reading b/c it was E. Lynn. I’m so mad with his publishers for putting this out there.
August 7, 2022
This book try to do too many story lines and didn't even finish wrap any of them. Like did he end up getting his dad's job? Did all of those guys go down for their crime? What's going to happen after he gets out of hiding or did they find him and kill him?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2022
I love e Lynn Harris but if i would not recommend this book to anyone if they are not already a fan, it’s not his best work but it’s still better than a lot of books. I reread this cause I read it years ago and couldn’t remember anything of it
September 9, 2023
It kept you on your toes the entire time and then ended very dull. We all love a happy ending but I just felt like so much was left without resolve!! Love his writing style though and getting a glimpse into what our gay black men experience!!
June 18, 2018
captivating. interesting twists
August 13, 2018
This was not what I was expecting, but I loved what I got. Looks like I'm going to have to pick up more books from E. Lynn Harris.
March 1, 2020
As always ANYTHING by E.Lynn Harris never disappoints. But it feels like this is not totally His work. So I am wondering...
couldn-t-finish
August 27, 2022Prosaic. There was little to no feelings behind the narrative.
Stopped at chapter 12
Stopped at chapter 12
January 6, 2023
I listened to this on audio.. while I think it had potential to be a good read the narrator was so monotone.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews