A Decline in Prophets - (Rowland Sinclair WWII Mysteries) by Sulari Gentill (Paperback)

About the Book

"Direct threats from Australia's warring Right and the Left having quieted, wealthy Rowland Sinclair and his group of bohemian friends are their way home to Sydney via New York after a lengthy stay in Europe. The wealthy Sinclair scion has treated his artist friends to first-class accommodations on the Cunard ship, the luxury liner of the day. Also on board are some members of the Theosophical Society, one of those spiritualism movements that had a heyday in the early twentieth century, as well as an aggressively conservative Irish Catholic bishop and his cohorts. Their clash ups the tensions in first class and presents the liner's captain with a tricky situation when bodies start to drop"--Amazon.com.

Book Synopsis

A fascinating historical mystery by Sulari Gentill, author of #1 LibraryReads pick The Woman in the Library

Winner of the Davitt Award for Best Adult Crime Fiction for 2012

Travel back in time to 1932 and book a first-class suite on the passenger liner RMS Aquitania, but take care, for among your fellow passengers is a ruthless killer....

Direct threats from Australia's warring Right and the Left having quieted, so wealthy Rowland Sinclair and his group of bohemian friends are their way home to Sydney via New York after a lengthy stay in Europe. The wealthy Sinclair scion has treated his artist friends to first-class accommodations on the Cunard ship, the luxury liner of the day. Also on board are some members of the Theosophical Society (a spiritualism movement), as well as an aggressively conservative Irish Catholic Bishop and his cohorts. Their clash ups the tensions in first class and presents the liner's captain with a tricky situation when bodies start to drop.

It is Sinclair's bad luck that he becomes a suspect in the first death, that of the Bishop's beautiful young niece. But before the ship docks, he is cleared and the investigation, and further crimes, are taken ashore to the Australian capital and into some of its grand country houses--and of course, Rowly and his amateur sleuth friends follow.

Weaving a fascinating crime into a rich historical novel, this next Rowland Sinclair WWII Mystery is perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen, Kerry Greenwood, and Jacqueline Winspear.

Review Quotes

"...the start of a promising new series set in 1930s Sydney about a character who is a little like a male Phryne Fisher. Rowland Sinclair is a gentleman artist who comes from a privileged background but whose sympathies are with bohemians, lefties and ratbags. It's a rich political and cultural era to explore and Gentill has a lot of fun with a hero who is always getting paint on his immaculate tailoring." -- The Sydney Morning Herald

"A delightful period piece." -- Kirkus Reviews

"I thoroughly enjoyed the glamour of the ocean voyage, the warmth and wit among the friends, and yet all the time, simmering beneath the surface, was the real and savage violence, waiting to erupt. The 1930s are a marvelous period. We know what lies ahead! This is beautifully drawn, with all its fragile hope and looming tragedy. I am delighted this is a series. I want them all." -- Anne Perry, New York Times bestselling author

"Set in late 1932, Gentill's lively second mystery featuring dashing Australian millionaire Rowland 'Rowly' Sinclair takes place initially aboard the luxury cruise ship Aquitania, as it steams along toward Sydney ... The witty and insightful glimpses of the Australian bourgeoisie of this period keep this mystery afloat." -- Publishers Weekly

About the Author

After setting out to study astrophysics, graduating in law and then abandoning her legal career to write books, Sulari now grows French black truffles on her farm in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains of NSW. Sulari is author of The Rowland Sinclair Mystery series, historical crime fiction novels (eight in total) set in the 1930s. Sulari's A Decline in Prophets (the second book in the series) was the winner of the Davitt Award for Best Adult Crime Fiction 2012. She was also shortlisted for Best First Book (A Few Right Thinking Men) for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2011. Paving the New Road was shortlisted for another Davitt in 2013.