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kcfromaustcrime's review
5.0
If anybody could point me in the direction of a good condition Chrysler Airflow I'd be very grateful. I know there was one in the 1953 Redex Trial and there were a few in Australia at the time, so surely, somewhere, in somebody's shed... frankly I'm lusting... But I digress, and that's the problem with Sulari Gentill's Rowland Sinclair series, of which A DANGEROUS LANGUAGE is book number 8. It's easy to identify with the perfectly packaged little details, as you find yourself immersed in a time and place that's beautifully described, standing out from the pages, making the things that Sinclair and his companions get up to something you feel a part of. Reading this series is part history lesson, part time spent with good friends, part escapade.
Incorporated into all of these books are elements of fact. A DANGEROUS LANGUAGE continues the tension between Conservatives, Fascists and Communists in Australian Politics. Along the way it interweaves the sad story of the crime that became known as The Pyjama Girl Murder (for a really good outline of that story I can recommend Richard Evan's 2004 book THE PYJAMA GIRL MYSTERY), with that of the bizarre real-life story of Thomas Ley - Australian Politician, convicted murderer in England, into attempts to bring a well-known peace activist and anti-Fascist, Egon Kisch to Australia. Needless to say A DANGEROUS LANGUAGE revolves around a particularly political plot, with murder, mayhem and some hefty doses of romance and romantic shenanigans.
Told, as always, with Gentill's trademark light touch, this is not, however a book that requires the reader to be a political junkie. The history is nicely balanced against the action, and the ongoing development of the close friendship between Rowly and his companions, and the tension between Rowly and his uptight, older brother adds personal touches that don't overwhelm what is, after all, crime fiction at its core. There is a murder in Canberra to be solved. There's a peace activist to get into the country. There's a bunch of thugs to be averted. Along the way all the four companions come under threat, and at points, an under-whelmed older brother's influence is required yet again.
Being book 8 in this wonderful series, A DANGEROUS LANGUAGE is perhaps not the best place for new readers to start. There's so much back-story now to all of the characters, and their idiosyncrasies, that you really need to have started earlier on in the series. To say nothing of understanding all of the history and societal changes that have gone on in these people's lives.
For welded on fans of this series, A DANGEROUS LANGUAGE will not disappoint. On the other hand, if you're new to the series, then I envy you. Each of the books in the Rowland Sinclair series is about as good as historical Australian Crime Fiction is ever going to get.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-dangerous-language-sulari-gentill
reneesmith's review
5.0
annieb123's review
5.0
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.
polyhy_14's review against another edition
4.0
dangerpronedaphne's review against another edition
- 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
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
archytas's review
- 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.