Review - A MURDER UNMENTIONED, Sulari Gentill

Sulari Gentill has never pulled her punches when it comes to putting Rowly Sinclair in a spot of peril, and it turns out that she's even prepared to do that retrospectively. In the process she makes the idea of being a scion of this particular landed gentry family a rather sobering prospect. In the first book Sinclair's uncle (he of the same name) was murdered, and now, in A MURDER UNMENTIONED, it turns out that Sinclair's father had suffered the same fate.

A family secret long kept is not just that Sinclair senior was murdered, the possible involvement of the teenage Rowly and his older brother's intervention has been under the radar as well.

In all of these books, Rowland Sinclair has been a reluctant hero. With hindsight, his reluctance to also follow the family script makes perfect sense now, so much so that you have to wonder if Gentill's been planning this personal arc all along.

A MURDER UNMENTIONED follows the discovery of a gun, that triggers a reinvestigation, that ultimately casts light into some dark corners of the Sinclair family. It's not just Rowly's reluctance that starts to make sense. Wilfred's protectiveness, and their mother's mental decline also clearly have some basis in past events. These revelations come to light for the reader, as they do for Rowly's band of supporters – they of the “leap in and defend, help, protect regardless of the circumstances, and regardless of the threat”.

Part of the outcome of all of these revelations is a strengthening of relationships. The friendship between Rowly, Edna, Milton and Clyde; the affection and regard between brothers Wilfred and Rowly (which has always been there despite the rather stiff and stilted manner of expression). Finally there is acceptance of their mother's situation and a sharing of the load. There's also some fracturing of relationships, as desired romances aren't, and others turn out to be utterly disastrous.

Told, as always, with a light hand, great sympathy and a sense of humour, A MURDER UNMENTIONED sits in its timeframe as snug as a hand in a finely crafted suede glove. Somehow Gentill is able to take the reader into the timeframe in which the books are set, and in this case, back into the past further, and make you feel like it was written then. The joy of new flight, the fascination of elaborate sports cars, the isolation of the squatter lifestyle combined with the frisson of recognition that comes with real characters being incorporated seamlessly into the fictional all contribute to the enjoyment.

What holds the reader to this series is that sense of an entire world, and the bringing to life of history, combined with strong plots, and wonderful characters that you're given full permission to like. The humour is perfect, the situations believable, and the clues to solving the mystery are there for anyone who wants to play along. The only warning is that you probably shouldn't start with this novel – you need to meet Rowly long before you find out about the past. You'll see so much more in this book if you do, and besides there is so much wonderful reading in the entire series.