Published in ebook format 21st May 2020 by Crime and Mystery Club and paperback in October 2020 by No Exit Press.
Read May 2020.
1935: When Australian, Rowland Sinclair, sojourning in Singapore, receives news of the death of his millionaire friend Daniel Cartwright, he finds himself on the way to Boston to take on the responsibility of executor of his friend's will, in the company of his close friends - an artist, a poet and a sculptress.
When the gang arrive in Boston, they discover that Daniel has been murdered, and has left his estate to an unknown beneficiary, much to the outrage and dismay of the Cartwright family.
Rowland has no choice but to try to uphold the terms of his friend's will, despite the opposition of the surviving Cartwright siblings, who claim the man named does not even exist - and he and his friends soon find themselves on the hunt for the missing beneficiary, rubbing shoulders with the East Coast elite, Hollywood royalty and menacing gangster types.
It appears that Daniel had been in fear of his life for some time, and as the search for the missing man goes on, Rowland and his friends uncover some secrets about their friend and the man he has named in his will that certain parties would rather remained hidden.
In a world where greed is rife, love is a matter of business and insanity is relative, danger is never far behind and the only people Rowland can trust are his faithful companions.
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Although this is book ten in the Rowland Sinclair mysteries series, it is actually the first time I have read one of Sulari Gentill's books and had no trouble reading it as a standalone. But it will certainly not be the last, as I have fallen completely in love with Rowlie and his band of friends - and the 1930s happen to be one of my absolute favourite time periods too!
It soon becomes clear in this book that Rowlie and his pals, Milton the poet, Clyde the artist, and Edna the sculptress, have been through some pretty exciting adventures in their time together - and they have formed an unconventional group, sort of like an Aussie Bloomsbury Set, with a very close bond. I found their friendship and trust in each other really endearing, and it is obvious the Rowlie holds a pretty big candle for the spirited and independent minded Edna, which certainly adds a little frisson to their interactions.
This adventure takes them right into a hot bed of greed among the reputation obsessed Boston blue-bloods, where they need to do their utmost to uphold the wishes of their murdered friend against some very dangerous opposition. And their adventure does not end there - this is a traveling circus that leads them up and down the East Coast to rub shoulders with gangsters, Hollywood icons, tycoons, political bigwigs, and fellow bohemian types in order to fix the mess they have found themselves in.
There are some juicy themes in these pages - money, greed, adultery, sexual repression, discrimination, jealousy, reputation, and anti-semitism - all mixed up with in a beautifully plotted and menacing murder mystery, that has real-life characters like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Errol Flynn consorting with the fictional ones. And the fact that our heroes are Australian adds a refreshing, quirky edge to their dealings that I found enchanting.
The whole picture is so beautifully drawn that you can almost feel yourself in 1930s East Coast USA along with Rowlie and his friends and there is a delightful feel of a sprinkling of Evelyn Waugh, a smidgeon of Agatha Christie and a big dollop of Raymond Chandler that makes everything thoroughly beguiling.
I loved this book so much that I have no doubt I will be seeking out all the previous Rowland Sinclair adventures in the next few months, so I can immerse myself in all the back stories - I particularly like the sound of the ones set in pre-war Germany, where the gang come up against some very unsavoury Nazi types!
If you like your historical murder mysteries intelligent, well plotted, and with excellent characters you can get behind, then I highly recommend this book. I am sure you will find yourself a new favourite author in the process!
A Testament of Character is available to buy now in ebook from your favourite book retailer and will be released in paperback later this year.
Thank you to Sualri Gentill and Crime and Mystery Club for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Anne Cater for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
From the cover of the book:
A suspicious death...
A missing person...
A journey across America in search of answers
In fear for his life, American millionaire Daniel Cartwright changes his will,
appointing his old friend Rowland Sinclair as his executor.
Soon murder proves that fear well founded.
When Rowland receives word of Cartwright’s death,
he sets out immediately for Boston, Massachusetts, to bury his friend
and honour his last wishes.
He is met with the outrage and anguish of Cartwright’s family,
who have been spurned in favour of a man they claim does not exist.
Artists and gangsters, movie stars and tycoons all gather to the fray
as elite society closes in to protect its own, and family secrets haunt the living.
Rowland Sinclair must confront a world in which insanity is relative,
greed is understood, and love is dictated;
where the only people he can truly trust are an artist,
a poet and a passionate sculptress.
About the author:
She set out to study astrophysics, graduated in law, and then abandoned her legal career to write books instead of contracts. Born in Sri Lanka, Sulari learned to speak English in Zambia, grew up in Brisbane and now lives in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains of NSW.
Huge thanks for this blog tour support Sue xx
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