Paving the new road

The year is 1933. Australia has become a political battlefield, with fascists and communists fighting for control of the country. Rowland Sinclair, whose bohemian lifestyle belies his sharp intellect and genuine concern for the well-being of others, is asked for a favor: a senator who is a friend of Rowland's family wants Rowland to go to Munich and keep an eye on an up-and-coming Australian fascist leader, and, by the way, could Rowland also find out who killed the last guy the senator sent to spy on the man? The fourth Sinclair mystery is also the most captivating in the series, in part due to its weighty subject matter and in part due to the way the author works real people Eva Braun, Hugo Boss, Hermann Göring's younger brother into the story. This installment takes the aristocratic Sinclair into a much darker place than did the previous three entries in the series but does so without losing the stylish prose and the easy way with character that have given the novels their appeal.--Pitt, David Copyright 2017 Booklist

In Gentill's less-than-successful fourth mystery featuring Australian artist Rowland Sinclair (after 2017's Miles Off Course), Charles Hardy, a real-life Australian senator, asks for Rowland's help in thwarting the rise of the New Guard, a group that intends to bring European fascism to their country, even though Hardy has always suspected Rowland of being a Communist spy. The New Guard is led by Col. Eric Campbell, another historical figure, who's visiting Germany in 1933. Hardy wants Rowland, who speaks German, to look into Campbell's connections to the Nazi regime and the mysterious death of the cattle rancher he sent to shadow Campbell. Rowland agrees to go as long as his motley group of allies-"a Communist painter, a Jewish poet, and an unpredictable sculptress"-can accompany him to Germany. Once Sinclair and company arrive in Germany, his exploits, which include disguising himself as one of Hitler's guards, strain credulity. Gentill does a good job capturing the period, but her attempts to apply a light touch to the Nazis will strike some readers as misguided. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

A trip to Germany opens the eyes of four reluctant Australian spies in 1933.The leaders of the conservative Old Guard group (Miles Off Course, 2017, etc.) are so worried about the rise of Australian fascists, especially Eric Campbell, who's visiting Germany in hopes of meeting Hitler, that they've had two spies traveling with Campbell. When one dies in a mysterious accident, they press wealthy artist Rowland Sinclair, who speaks fluent German and is eminently replaceable, to go to Germany to find a way to thwart Campbell's plans. Rowly shares his Sydney home with communist artist Clyde Watson Jones, flamboyant Jewish poet Milton Isaacs, and beautiful sculptress and model Edna Higgins, with whom he's deeply in love but who still treats him as just a friend. Despite the unlikelihood of leftists and Jews visiting Nazi Germany, they insist on going with him. Campbell's interpreter, Blanshard, is one of the Old Guard's spies and is doing all he can to derail Campbell's plans, but now that his partner, Peter Bothwell, has drowned while swimming at the lakeside villa belonging to wealthy Alois Richter, who's competing with Hugo Boss to supply uniforms for the Reich, he needs more help. Rowly, posing as Bothwell's cousin, accepts an invitation for him and his friends to stay at Richter's large Munich home. Their search for answers to Bothwell's possible murder and attempts to get Campbell out of the country before he makes any significant contacts involve the spies in considerable risk in a country where the rule of law does not apply.The combination of famous historical figures, detailed descriptions of a troubling time, and plenty of action makes for a tale as rousing as it is relevant. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.