A Few Right Thinking Men

by Sulari Gentill

Overview

An amateur sleuth searches for a killer among the aristocracy in 1930s Australia in a novel by the author of The Woman in the Library: “[A] witty hero.” —Library Journal (starred review)

Finalist, Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book

Sydney, 1931. Rowland Sinclair doesn’t fit with his family. His conservative older brother, Wilfred, thinks he’s reckless, a black sheep; his aging and declining mother thinks he’s her son who was killed in the war. Only his namesake, Uncle Rowly, a kindred spirit, understands him—and now he’s been brutally murdered in his own home.

The police are literally clueless, and so Rowly takes it upon himself to crack the mystery. In order to root out the guilty party, he uses his wealth and family influence to infiltrate the upper echelons of both the old and the new guard, playing both against the middle in a desperate and risky attempt to find justice for his uncle. With his bohemian housemates—a poet, a painter, and a free-spirited sculptress—watching his back, Rowly unwittingly exposes a conspiracy that just might be his undoing.

“Will delight traditional mystery buffs.” ―Library Journal (starred review)
 
“Fans of Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher series, rejoice.” ―Historical Novels Review
 
“The plot effectively plays Sinclair’s aristocratic bearing and involvement in the arts against the Depression setting, fraught with radical politics . . . And Sinclair himself is a delight: winning us over completely and making us feel as though he’s an old friend.” ―Booklist (starred review)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781464206382
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	04/02/2024
Series:	Rowland Sinclair WWII Mysteries , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	339
Sales rank:	11,054
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

After setting out to study astrophysics, graduating in law and then abandoning her legal career to write books, SULARI GENTILL now grows French black truffles on her farm in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains of Australia.

Gentill’s Rowland Sinclair mysteries have won and/or been shortlisted for the Davitt Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and her stand-alone metafiction thriller, After She Wrote Him won the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Novel in 2018. Her tenth Sinclair novel, A Testament of Character, was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Best Crime Novel in 2021.

Editorial Reviews

04/11/2016
Gentill’s well-mannered first novel in a series set in Depression-era Australia introduces gentleman painter Rowland “Rowly” Sinclair, the somewhat emotionally reserved youngest son of a moneyed family. Rowly’s pursuit of his artistic path and financial support of several similar-minded creative friends are causes of concern to his older brother and their peers, “right-thinking men” who suspect Rowly’s associates of Communist leanings or worse. When Rowly’s uncle, also named Roland Sinclair, dies after being assaulted in his Sydney home, the police suspect the elderly housekeeper, in collusion with other disenfranchised elements, despite the housekeeper’s reported sighting of mysterious dark figures at the scene. Convinced the police are pursuing the wrong path, Rowly looks deeper into his uncle’s holdings and interests. Gentill’s positioning of Rowly as an observer of the personal consequences of political actions targeting the privileged and the not so fortunate helps inform the sometimes dry narrative. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"Fans of Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher series, rejoice: here comes another Depression-era Australian sleuth! Along the way there is plenty of solid discussion of politics and social status, with enough context to both draw in those new to the era and keep those more well-versed in their history interested." — Historical Novel Society

"As series-launching novels go, this one is especially successful: the plot effectively plays Sinclair's aristocratic bearing and involvement in the arts against the Depression setting, fraught with radical politics, both of which he becomes involves in as he turns sleuth. And Sinclair himself is a delight: wining us over completely and making us feel as though he's an old friend." — Booklist STARRED Review

"While the vintage Down Under settings might make this debut, which was short-listed for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best First Book, comparable to Kerry Greenwood's Melbourne-based Phryne Fisher 1920s mysteries, Gentill works in historical events that add verisimilitude to her story. There are more political machinations going on here than Phryne could ever contemplate. VERDICT: Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for bringing another award-winning Australian crime writer to U.S. shores. Her witty hero will delight traditional mystery buffs." — Library Journal STARRED Review

"It takes a talented writer to imbue history with colour and vivacity... A Few Right Thinking Men more than matches its historical crime contemporaries... It is rare to find such an assured debut as A Few Right Thinking Men. The novel deserves to be both read and remembered as an insight into the Australia that was; its conflicting ideologies, aims and desires; the hallmarks of a country still maturing." — Australian Book Review

From the Publisher

"This mystery deals briefly with the struggles of veterans returning home after war. Rowly's middle brother has been killed in France and his older brother suffers from the trauma of war. I never knew anything about Australia's entrance into World War I or about her politics after the war. I found this rendition of the era fascinating. Author Sulari Gentill has won wide recognition for her work."

BookLoons

"As series-launching novels go, this one is especially successful: the plot effectively plays Sinclair's aristocratic bearing and involvement in the arts against the Depression setting, fraught with radical politics, both of which he becomes involves in as he turns sleuth. And Sinclair himself is a delight: wining us over completely and making us feel as though he's an old friend." (starred review)

Booklist

"Fans of Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher series, rejoice: here comes another Depression-era Australian sleuth! Along the way there is plenty of solid discussion of politics and social status, with enough context to both draw in those new to the era and keep those more well-versed in their history interested."

Historical Novel Society

"It takes a talented writer to imbue history with colour and vivacity... A Few Right Thinking Men more than matches its historical crime contemporaries... It is rare to find such an assured debut as A Few Right Thinking Men. The novel deserves to be both read and remembered as an insight into the Australia that was; its conflicting ideologies, aims and desires; the hallmarks of a country still maturing."

Australian Book Review

"This mystery deals briefly with the struggles of veterans returning home after war. Rowly's middle brother has been killed in France and his older brother suffers from the trauma of war. I never knew anything about Australia's entrance into World War I or about her politics after the war. I found this rendition of the era fascinating. Author Sulari Gentill has won wide recognition for her work."

Bookloons

Gentill's well-mannered first novel in a series set in Depression-era Australia introduces gentleman painter Rowland "Rowly" Sinclair, the somewhat emotionally reserved youngest son of a moneyed family. Rowly's pursuit of his artistic path and financial support of several similar-minded creative friends are causes of concern to his older brother and their peers, right-thinking men who suspect Rowly's associates of Communist leanings or worse. When Rowly's uncle, also named Roland Sinclair, dies after being assaulted in his Sydney home, the police suspect the elderly housekeeper, in collusion with other disenfranchised elements, despite the housekeeper's reported sighting of mysterious dark figures at the scene. Convinced the police are pursuing the wrong path, Rowly looks deeper into his uncle's holdings and interests. Gentill's positioning of Rowly as an observer of the personal consequences of political actions targeting the privileged and the not so fortunate helps inform the sometimes dry narrative. (June)

PW

★ 06/01/2016
In 1931 Sydney, Australia, unemployment is high and tension is mounting, especially among working people who feel the upper class are handing them a raw deal. Rowland ("Rowly") Sinclair was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but has taken up the mantle of gentleman communist. He is, after all, a bohemian artist. His older brother is embarrassed by Rowly, but when their elderly uncle is murdered at home, Rowly sets out to uncover who might have wanted a sweet old man dead. As Uncle Rowly was a silent partner in a speakeasy, gangsters might have had it out for him, but our sleuth soon learns that fascist politicians make bad bedfellows. While the vintage Down Under settings might make this debut, which was short-listed for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best First Book, comparable to Kerry Fisher's Melbourne-based Phryne Fisher 1920s mysteries, Gentill works in historical events that add verisimilitude to her story. There are more political machinations going on here than Phryne could ever contemplate. VERDICT Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for bringing another award-winning Australian crime writer to U.S. shores. Her witty hero will delight traditional mystery buffs.

Library Journal