Reviews

This one had a slow start for me and stayed relatively slow paced. I can see the value in this for setting up a series but as a standalone book, it didn't do heaps for me. I did appreciate that with the mystery aspect, I didn't quite know where it was going.
I did like imagining 1930s Sydney and some familiar places, particularly the hype around the Harbour Bridge opening and when people first crossed it.

apressler's review against another edition

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4.0

A well-researched crime thriller with an excellent tone; Gentill captures life in 1920s and 30s Australia with ease. Rowland and his gang of artists and poets live a mostly leisurely life, making art while staying at Rowland's inner Sydney manor. A family murder interupts their lifestyle and Rowland takes it upon himself to find the killer after the leads go dry. Gentill's knowledge of Australian history is weaved through the narrative seemlessly, and most of the characters are a joy to get to know. The only draw back is of Clyde and Milton; two of Rowland's friends who were interchangeable as characters to me and I had trouble distinguishing the two apart. Overall would recommend this series; absolutely beautiful third edition covers designed by the artist and publisher, as well.

enswbl's review against another edition

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4.0

a bit on the slow side for me but very enjoyable, love the characters and the detail of the surrounding story.

theknittingritual's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

annarella's review

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5.0

What an interesting book! More historical fiction than mystery, it's well written retelling of some historical facts of Australian history.
The cast of characters is really interesting and lively, the plot is entertaining and informative at the same time.
It starts a bit slow but once hooked you cannot put the book down.
Strongly recommended, especially if you love history.
Many thanks to publisher and Netgalley

abbyp96's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

jessmanners's review against another edition

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3.0

Maybe 3.5? This ended up leaning more towards historical fiction than mystery--the actual investigation all feels pretty MacGuffin-y--but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
I don't know if I prefer historical fiction about topics I'm really familiar with (then I get annoyed when it feels like the author is overstating the obvious, or, even worse, when they get things wrong), or about topics I know literally nothing about (the problem then is that I can't tell what's supposed to be significant ("ho ho! that historical figure has just appeared! I know what THAT means!") or what's, well, what's fiction and what's historical.
This was firmly in the second camp. I know nothing about Australia or its history, and was only able to hold on because of my loose knowledge of the 1930s and fascism in very general terms.
So, I may very well have missed lots of nuances or telling references, but this was a pleasant enough thing to listen to. I liked the central characters, and could keep them distinct in my mind, which is more than I can say for...well, basically any other character.
This is a series, I guess? I might go back to it. She seems to have exhausted this particular historical train of thought, so maybe the next one will be more mystery-heavy?

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