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A Few Right Thinking Men
(Rowland Sinclair #1)
by
Rowland Sinclair is an artist and a gentleman. In Australia's 1930s the Sinclair name is respectable and influential, yet Rowland has a talent for scandal.
Even with thousands of unemployed lining the streets, Rowland's sheltered world is one of exorbitant wealth, culture and impeccable tailoring. He relies on the Sinclair fortune to indulge his artistic passions and friend ...more
Even with thousands of unemployed lining the streets, Rowland's sheltered world is one of exorbitant wealth, culture and impeccable tailoring. He relies on the Sinclair fortune to indulge his artistic passions and friend ...more
Paperback, 349 pages
Published
June 1st 2010
by Pantera Press
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Start your review of A Few Right Thinking Men (Rowland Sinclair, #1)

This was a very interesting introduction to a series which I think I am going to like very much. Why only three stars then?
The three stars are for:-
* The characters, especially Rowland who has the makings of being a book hero. He is charming, rich, honest, thoughtful and smart. What more could you ask for? His friends and family are all interesting characters as well.
* The period setting 0f Australia during the Depression years. We get to visit the city and the outback and see the vast differen ...more
The three stars are for:-
* The characters, especially Rowland who has the makings of being a book hero. He is charming, rich, honest, thoughtful and smart. What more could you ask for? His friends and family are all interesting characters as well.
* The period setting 0f Australia during the Depression years. We get to visit the city and the outback and see the vast differen ...more

3.5★
“‘Don’t you do anything?’ asked Edna.
He smiled. ‘I’m the youngest son, Ed. . . My role is to keep bad company and squander the family fortune.’”
And Rowland Sinclair does. Well, he keeps some pretty questionable company, and although he’s not squandering the family fortune, he’s housing several dissident artists in one of his wealthy family’s homes in Sydney. By dissident, I mean left-leaning and Communist (far left) activists who love nothing better than orating from soapboxes in the park. ...more
“‘Don’t you do anything?’ asked Edna.
He smiled. ‘I’m the youngest son, Ed. . . My role is to keep bad company and squander the family fortune.’”
And Rowland Sinclair does. Well, he keeps some pretty questionable company, and although he’s not squandering the family fortune, he’s housing several dissident artists in one of his wealthy family’s homes in Sydney. By dissident, I mean left-leaning and Communist (far left) activists who love nothing better than orating from soapboxes in the park. ...more

Jan 23, 2018
Brenda
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
arc,
own-read,
5000-books,
read-on-kindle,
net-galley,
historical-fiction,
mystery,
2017-release
Rowland Sinclair – Rowly to his friends – was dining with his elderly uncle, Rowland Sinclair and as usual, enjoying the lively banter between the two of them. But when Rowly was informed a day or two later by the police that his uncle had been murdered, he was shocked and saddened. With the police seemingly doing nothing to find his killer/s, Rowly vowed to find them himself.
With the country in the throes of tensions caused by the Depression, and agitators on both sides of Parliament firing th ...more
With the country in the throes of tensions caused by the Depression, and agitators on both sides of Parliament firing th ...more

This is the first book in the Rowland Sinclair series which covers the doings of the rich, charming, talented artist Rowland Sinclair and his group of equally talented and artistic dissident friends in the Australia of 1930s which is in the midst of both an economic Depression and a potential political revolution. I enjoyed the historical, social and cultural aspects of this era; the political aspect not so much but it's only because I personally don't like politics.
Also, the cover picture is go ...more
Also, the cover picture is go ...more

I enjoyed this introduction to Rowland Sinclair and his artistic friends. Set in the Great Depression of the 1930s with high unemployment and poverty, political factions (communist, fascist, conservative) are competing for power and either trying to disrupt or defend the current government. As the son of a wealthy grazier, Rowland doesn't want for money but lives a bohemian life as an artist, sharing his wealthy home with fellow artists and poets. When his favourite uncle is assaulted and killed
...more

DNF. I gave up after 150 pages. It's very slow going, so much so that I really got annoyed with it and the subject of politics didn't help.
...more

4.5 ★s
A Few Right Thinking Men is the first book in the Rowland Sinclair series by award-winning Australian author, Sulari Gentill. When gentleman artist Rowland Sinclair’s favourite uncle dies following a savage beating in his own home, the police seem fixated on his elderly housekeeper at the expense of doing any real investigating. Information volunteered by the victim of a similar attack leads Rowly to suspect that it’s the work of the New Guard, the face of an increasing fascist presence in ...more
A Few Right Thinking Men is the first book in the Rowland Sinclair series by award-winning Australian author, Sulari Gentill. When gentleman artist Rowland Sinclair’s favourite uncle dies following a savage beating in his own home, the police seem fixated on his elderly housekeeper at the expense of doing any real investigating. Information volunteered by the victim of a similar attack leads Rowly to suspect that it’s the work of the New Guard, the face of an increasing fascist presence in ...more

This was a good start to a series based in 1930s Australia. Rowland Sinclair is the youngest son of a wealthy, conservative family. Rather than follow tradition, Rowland hangs out with artists, is an accomplished painter, and finds himself watching his country descend into communist and fascist camps, in the form of angry men in each of these groups plotting against each other and the government. Rowland has never troubled himself with any particular political belief, and finds himself alarmed b
...more

They were all of a generation who could not possibly have seen war service, but who were marked by the lack of it all the same. Certainly, he was aware it lessened him in Wilfred’s eyes.
Just over a year since I read Miles Off Course - third in the Rowland Sinclair series of cosy historic fiction, set in New South Wales, which left me with mixed views. I liked the cover and paper ‘aged’ with the ‘30’s touch and the historical newsprint, but I found the central character far too much the gentleman ...more
Just over a year since I read Miles Off Course - third in the Rowland Sinclair series of cosy historic fiction, set in New South Wales, which left me with mixed views. I liked the cover and paper ‘aged’ with the ‘30’s touch and the historical newsprint, but I found the central character far too much the gentleman ...more

Life throughout the world was unsettled in the 1930s, with the Great Depression, mass unemployment and political unrest. In Australia, depending on your own circumstances, you were a part of, or feared, Communism, Facsicm or the Old Guard conservatives who wished to maintain the status quo established pre-World War One.
The story of these unsettled times in New South Wales is told through Rowland Sinclair, wealthy young gentleman who has turned his back on his privileged upbringing and works as a ...more
The story of these unsettled times in New South Wales is told through Rowland Sinclair, wealthy young gentleman who has turned his back on his privileged upbringing and works as a ...more

Enjoyed this immensely. From the descriptions of these post WWI times in Australian history, to the opening of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, to the country towns, the illegal nightclubs, the horse races, the Depression, the stroll through Australian artists of the time. Great!!
Rowland Sinclair is a talented artist and the younger son from a wealthy sheep farming family who spent some years in Oxford and London amongst the more bohemian artist set.
He's returned to Australia occupying the family Sydne ...more
Rowland Sinclair is a talented artist and the younger son from a wealthy sheep farming family who spent some years in Oxford and London amongst the more bohemian artist set.
He's returned to Australia occupying the family Sydne ...more

Sulari Gentill’s historical mystery series featuring Rowland Sinclair has long been on my radar. I regret that it has taken me a decade to start it, though on the plus side, there are a further eight books ahead of me to enjoy.
A Few Right Thinking Men is set in New South Wales, Australia during the early 1930’s. It is a period of great political upheaval where, in the wake of The Great Depression, tensions are mounting resulting in the rapid growth of extremist organisations.
Rowland Sinclair, a ...more
A Few Right Thinking Men is set in New South Wales, Australia during the early 1930’s. It is a period of great political upheaval where, in the wake of The Great Depression, tensions are mounting resulting in the rapid growth of extremist organisations.
Rowland Sinclair, a ...more

4.5 ★s
A Few Right Thinking Men is the first book in the Rowland Sinclair series by award-winning Australian author, Sulari Gentill. The audio version is read by Rupert Degas. When gentleman artist Rowland Sinclair’s favourite uncle dies following a savage beating in his own home, the police seem fixated on his elderly housekeeper at the expense of doing any real investigating. Information volunteered by the victim of a similar attack leads Rowly to suspect that it’s the work of the New Guard, th ...more
A Few Right Thinking Men is the first book in the Rowland Sinclair series by award-winning Australian author, Sulari Gentill. The audio version is read by Rupert Degas. When gentleman artist Rowland Sinclair’s favourite uncle dies following a savage beating in his own home, the police seem fixated on his elderly housekeeper at the expense of doing any real investigating. Information volunteered by the victim of a similar attack leads Rowly to suspect that it’s the work of the New Guard, th ...more

I was given this book as a gift; I have no working knowledge of Australian history, so I felt a little intimidated, but that disappeared as soon as I read, "Rowland wiped his hands on his waistcoat. Not so many months ago, it had been a quality item of gentleman's attire. Now, it was stained with paint and smelled of turpentine. Rowland preferred it that way. He looked again at the painting with which he had battled all day and which, in the end, had defeated him."
This is Rowland Sinclair, a you ...more
This is Rowland Sinclair, a you ...more

The author has cleverly picked an interesting period of Australian history. The 1930s. The country is still recovering from WWI, is experiencing the great depression and there are patriots forming para-militias to fight the scourge of Communism. Amongst this setting Rowland Sinclair a man from a wealthy family and who lives well, but is also an artist and lives a life of Bohemian rhapsody. He has "adopted" three Communist aligned close friends, a sculptress, a painter and a poet. These three cha
...more

As some of my review followers may be aware, I have begun to read more crime fiction over the last year or two. Generally it is crime fiction written in the forties and fifties and occasionally the odd Agatha Christie - more for setting than anything else and a break from the literary fiction I generally read.
When I came across a review for a Sulari Gentill (it wasn’t for the first in the series) I immediately took note. Here was an Australian woman writer, (I belong to the Australian Women Writ ...more
When I came across a review for a Sulari Gentill (it wasn’t for the first in the series) I immediately took note. Here was an Australian woman writer, (I belong to the Australian Women Writ ...more

Mar 30, 2018
Lady Alexandrine
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-novels,
crime-novels
I enjoyed this book very much! Especially I liked the atmosphere of the New South Wales in the early 30s and the extremely likable bunch of characters. Rowley, Ed, Milt and Clyde are lovely misfits and I can't wait to read more about them.
What I loved most about this book were the characters and the dialogues. The main character is a wealthy artist Rowland Sinclair, known as Rowley to his friends. His friends are also artists, they are funny and charming. For the most of time they are just drif ...more
What I loved most about this book were the characters and the dialogues. The main character is a wealthy artist Rowland Sinclair, known as Rowley to his friends. His friends are also artists, they are funny and charming. For the most of time they are just drif ...more

There’s nothing quite like the bohemian life in 1930s Australia. Throw in a wealthy gentleman artist, Rowland Sinclair, a mix-match of creative types living in his palatial home, and the murder of a much-loved uncle and you have the setting for Sulari Gentell’s historical crime novel. While A Few Right Thinking Men starts out with a murder, it soon devolves into an examination of the politics of the time. Fascism, communism, The New Guard, the Old Guard, the landed gentry …. Yes, there’s a lot i
...more

Despite the far-too-many similarities with Kerry Greenwood's divine Phryne Fisher series, A Few Right Thinking Men still pales in comparison. Gentill's characters are not especially interesting, the plot wanders aimlessly and then fizzles out, and the editing is less than scrupulous. The author struggled to intelligently resolve the crime and the red herrings and detours and pointless scenes have only threads of historical context to weave them together. The first in this series did not impress
...more

3.5 stars. This is a really fun first installment to an Australian crime fiction series roughly contemporary to the wonderful Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood. Like Phryne, Rowland Sinclair is from a posh conservative background but has, let’s say, more colourful friends.
Rowland is an artist, a serious one, not just a dilettante, and his closest friends in Sydney are from the artistic community. (In typical Aussie fashion, he is usually called Rowly.) These friends include Edna, a sculpt ...more
Rowland is an artist, a serious one, not just a dilettante, and his closest friends in Sydney are from the artistic community. (In typical Aussie fashion, he is usually called Rowly.) These friends include Edna, a sculpt ...more

In some ways this is the Australian version of Dorothy Sawyer's Lord Peter Whimsey detective series, although less renaissance in its literary references and more for the everyman in its setting and prose.
Each chapter begins with an epigraph, not a reference of excerpt from a Renaissance author but a relevant newspaper clipping which gives a bit of context to the narrative. The main character is from an aristocratic family, but is somewhat of a black sheep, spending more of his time with arty t ...more
Each chapter begins with an epigraph, not a reference of excerpt from a Renaissance author but a relevant newspaper clipping which gives a bit of context to the narrative. The main character is from an aristocratic family, but is somewhat of a black sheep, spending more of his time with arty t ...more

I confess to nearly total ignorance when it comes to the history of Australia. This story takes place during a time of political upheaval in that country when many feared a revolution spurred by Communist factions.
Rowland Sinclair, the youngest son in a wealthy family, finds himself at political odds with his older brother. Rowly, as the youngest Sinclair is called, has distanced himself from his brother, living in the city where he dabbles in painting and has befriended many people who the elde ...more
Rowland Sinclair, the youngest son in a wealthy family, finds himself at political odds with his older brother. Rowly, as the youngest Sinclair is called, has distanced himself from his brother, living in the city where he dabbles in painting and has befriended many people who the elde ...more

The early 1930s were a turbulent time in New South Wales: along with the world gripping Depression, the state was run by a very Left leaning Labor government. The fear was palpable, particularly amongst the monied people who were worried of a Communist revolution. These same people were war veterans and they had been militarised and knew how to organise a militia. The results were the Old and New Guards, and the worker Communist factions. The state was not a happy place.
This is the setting of A ...more
This is the setting of A ...more

I wasn’t really sure about A Few Right Thinking Men for the first 150 pages or so. Not a whole lot happens except the characters are introduced and the scene set for what follows. It is only with Rowly’s friends turning up at his brother’s house that the book sparks into life and then it’s a thoroughly enjoyable romp all the way to near the end. The strength of the story is its characterization, and its sense of place and history. Rowly and his friends are very engaging, and the other main chara
...more

Aug 28, 2016
Barb in Maryland
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-thriller-goodies
3.5 stars.
Interesting and entertaining start to a series set in 1930s Sydney, Australia. The main characters are engaging young members of the bohemian art set. Rowland Sinclair is the one with money and a posh background--he's also a rather good painter. He shares the Sinclair family house with Edna, who works in sculpture, Milton, a poet and Clyde, who also paints. Milton is also a fervent Communist. Rowland's older brother Wilfred does not approve, at all, of the house guests.
While the murder ...more
Interesting and entertaining start to a series set in 1930s Sydney, Australia. The main characters are engaging young members of the bohemian art set. Rowland Sinclair is the one with money and a posh background--he's also a rather good painter. He shares the Sinclair family house with Edna, who works in sculpture, Milton, a poet and Clyde, who also paints. Milton is also a fervent Communist. Rowland's older brother Wilfred does not approve, at all, of the house guests.
While the murder ...more

Rowland Sinclair, an artist and youngest son to a respected and wealthy New South Wales family starts investigating the death of a close family member amid the rising political tensions of Australia and the world in the 1930ies.
I thoroughly enjoyed following Rowland's investigation, getting to know his family and close friends and also learning a lot about the society and political situations in Australia during said time. Thanks to the brilliant writing, an interesting cast of characters and a ...more
I thoroughly enjoyed following Rowland's investigation, getting to know his family and close friends and also learning a lot about the society and political situations in Australia during said time. Thanks to the brilliant writing, an interesting cast of characters and a ...more

A FEW RIGHT THINKING MEN introduces Rowland Sinclair to fans of Australian historical crime fiction. Set in 1930's Sydney and Yass, A FEW RIGHT THINKING MEN takes a reader into a world where the affects of the Great Depression are being felt, and the tension between the Proto-Fascists and Communists in Australian society veers dangerously close to civil war.
Not that the central character of this novel, Rowland Sinclair, is feeling any of the Depression affects. He is the youngest son of an extre ...more
Not that the central character of this novel, Rowland Sinclair, is feeling any of the Depression affects. He is the youngest son of an extre ...more

The first in a series of murder mysteries set in 1930s, featuring the artist and dilettante Rowland Sinclair, whose fortune allows him to support his friends – a Communist poet, an alluring sculptress and a painter. With newspaper snippets of the times heading each chapter, the mood of the times is well-expressed. I must admit I was hoping it would be funnier and faster-paced, with less about politics and more about parties, but it was an engaging read.

Brilliant book, so well written... it just flows beautifully. This was never something I thought I'd be interested in (politics in 1930s Australia) and yet I found it fascinating. It was also hilarious in parts and I absolutely adored the characters. Really looking forward to the next one. Highly recommended.
...more
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Not so long ago, Sulari Gentill was a corporate lawyer serving as a director on public boards, with only a vague disquiet that there was something else she was meant to do. That feeling did not go away until she began to write. And so Sulari became the author of the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries: thus far, six historical crime novels chronicling the life and adventures of her 1930s Australian gentlem
...more
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