annieb123's review against another edition
5.0
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
If someone had told me that A Dangerous Language was an authentic heretofore unknown classic golden age mystery, I would have no trouble believing it. It's beautifully plotted, taut, and meticulously researched. With most modern period mysteries, there's a polite suspension of disbelief which allows the reader to enter the story in whichever time period whilst reading a modern feeling narrative. This book (and the others in the series) absolutely resonate with the spirit of the 1930s. I was transported. Terribly trite, but the settings and story really came alive for me.
There is something very quintessentially Australian about this book. Many (most?) of the wealthy social upper class in Australia still had close ties to England, and that's the case with Rowland. He's on the outs with his ultra traditional (stuffy!) brother, Wilfred, who disapproves heartily of Rowland's bohemian friends, and feels that Rowland's escapades are willfully designed to embarrass.
Sinclair is affluent, self-deprecating and genuinely likeable. He's loyal to his friends and dashing and not above a bit of derring-do and can be relied upon in a tight spot. With fascists and anti-communist thugs as well as disapproving family members and an old flame trying to make life difficult, Rowly and company have their work cut out for them.
Such a fun read. The dialogue is wonderfully written and pitch perfect. There are sidebar news bits providing current (1934) headlines and backstory history along with an epilogue at the end of the book with real-life backstory, with which I was previously unfamiliar. The historical sidebars and chapter intros make up roughly 10% of the page content and are cleverly interwoven into the plot seamlessly.
Five stars, brilliantly written, flawlessly executed. I want to go re-read the series now.
As an aside. I do think the book could be read as a standalone, but definitely benefits from being read as part of the series.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
If someone had told me that A Dangerous Language was an authentic heretofore unknown classic golden age mystery, I would have no trouble believing it. It's beautifully plotted, taut, and meticulously researched. With most modern period mysteries, there's a polite suspension of disbelief which allows the reader to enter the story in whichever time period whilst reading a modern feeling narrative. This book (and the others in the series) absolutely resonate with the spirit of the 1930s. I was transported. Terribly trite, but the settings and story really came alive for me.
There is something very quintessentially Australian about this book. Many (most?) of the wealthy social upper class in Australia still had close ties to England, and that's the case with Rowland. He's on the outs with his ultra traditional (stuffy!) brother, Wilfred, who disapproves heartily of Rowland's bohemian friends, and feels that Rowland's escapades are willfully designed to embarrass.
Sinclair is affluent, self-deprecating and genuinely likeable. He's loyal to his friends and dashing and not above a bit of derring-do and can be relied upon in a tight spot. With fascists and anti-communist thugs as well as disapproving family members and an old flame trying to make life difficult, Rowly and company have their work cut out for them.
Such a fun read. The dialogue is wonderfully written and pitch perfect. There are sidebar news bits providing current (1934) headlines and backstory history along with an epilogue at the end of the book with real-life backstory, with which I was previously unfamiliar. The historical sidebars and chapter intros make up roughly 10% of the page content and are cleverly interwoven into the plot seamlessly.
Five stars, brilliantly written, flawlessly executed. I want to go re-read the series now.
As an aside. I do think the book could be read as a standalone, but definitely benefits from being read as part of the series.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
dragons1966's review against another edition
5.0
This is the eighth book in the Rowland Sinclair series, and takes place in 1934, a very interesting time in Australia. There was widespread disbelief of the atrocities inn Nazi Germany, and panic about the rise of communism at home.
A thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening series. I'm looking forward to the next instalment.
A thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening series. I'm looking forward to the next instalment.
polyhy_14's review against another edition
4.0
This wonderful series continues to effortlessly blend historical characters from Australia of the 1930s with a group of delightful fictional characters while somehow dealing with a murder mystery at the same time. The setting for this one is the attempt of the government at the time to prevent anti-fascist Egon Kisch from landing on Australian soil and addressing the people. I’m hoping there will be many more books to come.
dangerpronedaphne's review
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
‘The 1934 Melbourne International Motor Show was in its final day.’
Rowland Sinclair, Clyde Watson Jones and Milton Isaacs are at the show. Edna Higgins, who prefers not to see ‘grown men reduced to simpering lovesick boys by shiny machines’ has not accompanied them to Melbourne. Rowly has purchased a new car: a Chrysler Airflow. The plan is to pick up Edna at Albury on their way to a house party in Yackandandah. What could possibly go wrong?
Ms Gentill weaves her fiction around facts, and quite a lot was happening in Australia and in Europe in 1934. A visit by Egon Kisch, an internationally renowned peace advocate is planned. It is possible that the government might refuse him entry, or delay his entry so that he cannot speak at the All Australian Congress of the Movement Against War and Fascism to be held at the Port Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne between the 10th and 12th of November 1934. Rowly volunteers to fly to Perth to bring Kisch to Melbourne. Additionally, Rowly Sinclair is approached by the Communist Party of Australia, which was quite active then, to observe proceedings at the Australian Parliament in Canberra. Rowly refuses: he may be broadly in sympathy with the party, but he’s not a member. Milton Isaacs is, though, and the four friends decide to travel together to Canberra.
Against a backdrop of the struggle between Australian fascists and communists, the MacRobertson Air Race (part of Melbourne’s centenary celebrations), the mystery of the ‘Pyjama Girl ‘ murder, life for Rowly Sinclair and his friends becomes complicated.
There’s a murder in Canberra, on the steps of Parliament House. There’s a woman from Rowly’s past, and a trip to Perth to try to get Egon Kisch into Melbourne before he is banned.
It would be possible to read this novel without reading the earlier books, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Ms Gentill has developed such richly three-dimensional characters that knowledge of their backstories is important as is immersion in the history of the 1930s. At this distance, it may be difficult to understand the struggle between the communists and the fascists within Australia before World War II. And, if you’ve never heard of Egon Kisch and the infamous dictation test, then you might be interested in looking up the Immigration Restriction Act 1901.
‘A Dangerous Language’ is the eighth novel in Ms Gentill’s award winning Rowland Sinclair mystery series, and is set in Australia in 1934. I’d recommend these novels to anyone interested in a mystery series set in the 1930s which uses historical fact as its background.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Pantera Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Rowland Sinclair, Clyde Watson Jones and Milton Isaacs are at the show. Edna Higgins, who prefers not to see ‘grown men reduced to simpering lovesick boys by shiny machines’ has not accompanied them to Melbourne. Rowly has purchased a new car: a Chrysler Airflow. The plan is to pick up Edna at Albury on their way to a house party in Yackandandah. What could possibly go wrong?
Ms Gentill weaves her fiction around facts, and quite a lot was happening in Australia and in Europe in 1934. A visit by Egon Kisch, an internationally renowned peace advocate is planned. It is possible that the government might refuse him entry, or delay his entry so that he cannot speak at the All Australian Congress of the Movement Against War and Fascism to be held at the Port Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne between the 10th and 12th of November 1934. Rowly volunteers to fly to Perth to bring Kisch to Melbourne. Additionally, Rowly Sinclair is approached by the Communist Party of Australia, which was quite active then, to observe proceedings at the Australian Parliament in Canberra. Rowly refuses: he may be broadly in sympathy with the party, but he’s not a member. Milton Isaacs is, though, and the four friends decide to travel together to Canberra.
Against a backdrop of the struggle between Australian fascists and communists, the MacRobertson Air Race (part of Melbourne’s centenary celebrations), the mystery of the ‘Pyjama Girl ‘ murder, life for Rowly Sinclair and his friends becomes complicated.
There’s a murder in Canberra, on the steps of Parliament House. There’s a woman from Rowly’s past, and a trip to Perth to try to get Egon Kisch into Melbourne before he is banned.
It would be possible to read this novel without reading the earlier books, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Ms Gentill has developed such richly three-dimensional characters that knowledge of their backstories is important as is immersion in the history of the 1930s. At this distance, it may be difficult to understand the struggle between the communists and the fascists within Australia before World War II. And, if you’ve never heard of Egon Kisch and the infamous dictation test, then you might be interested in looking up the Immigration Restriction Act 1901.
‘A Dangerous Language’ is the eighth novel in Ms Gentill’s award winning Rowland Sinclair mystery series, and is set in Australia in 1934. I’d recommend these novels to anyone interested in a mystery series set in the 1930s which uses historical fact as its background.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Pantera Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
gawronma's review against another edition
4.0
I cannot begin to tell you how much I love these books. Every time I read a book in the series it is like visiting with old friends. I will also look forward to reading about Rowland and his friends.
archytas's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
In the time Gentill has been writing this series about 1930s fascism in Australia, 21st Century fascism ha been growing in strength. It feels like this is inevitably starting to affect the tone of the books, which is still lightweight, but less silly. Or it might be that Gentill gets an ever more assured grip on her characters. Either way, this book was a pleaure to read, only slightly marred by the far-too-well-worn Edna-Rowly non-romance.
annarella's review
5.0
I love Rowland Sinclair Mysteries and this was as good as all the instalment in this series. As the other ones it's wonderfully written, well researched and with a great cast of characters.
The historical background is an important part of the plot and it's always full of details and very accurate.
Strongly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC
The historical background is an important part of the plot and it's always full of details and very accurate.
Strongly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC