Sulari Gentill

Sulari Gentill

Snowy Mountain, New South Wales

I'm Australian. I was born in Sri Lanka, learned to speak English in Zambia and grew up in Brisbane. I went to University to study Astrophysics, graduated in Law and after years of corporate contracts, realized I just wanted to tell stories. Perhaps a legal career is a natural precursor to writing fiction.

Whilst I maintain that I am nowhere near old enough for a mid-life crisis, I did begin turning down legal positions two years ago, so that I could write. Since then, I have completed four independent novels and co-authored two others. My first novel was short listed for the 2008 NSW Genre Fiction Award, and another placed in the 2008 FAW National Literary Awards (Jim Hamilton Award). In 2009 I was long-listed in the QWC Hachette Livre Manuscript Development Program and offered a Varuna Fellowship. It was enough to keep me stubbornly refusing to do anything but write, though the bills were mounting and I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever be gainfully employed again. Then, in a moment which I'll always remember as one of pure joy, hysterical giddy excitement and overwhelming relief, Pantera Press asked me to become one of their authors. And so here I am.

I live and write on a small farm in the Snowy Mountains of NSW, where I grow French Black Truffles, breed miniature cattle and raise two wild colonial boys. Most of my time is now happily devoted to researching and writing. I like painting, dogs and ginger ice-cream. I could probably still draft you a contract...but you might find it has a plot...and perhaps a twist or two.

Historical, International Mystery & Crime, Mystery, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

A Decline in Prophets (The Rowland Sinclair Mysteries)

Murder and Intrigue When High Society Meets the High Seas – A Gripping Historical Mystery The Second Book of the Acclaimed Rowland Sinclair Mysteries, the Historical Crime Series The luxury liner, RMS Aquitania, embodies all that is gracious and refined, in a world gripped crisis and doubt. But elegant atmosphere on board is charged with tension. Civility remains… but how long will the peace hold when people start to die? After months abroad, Rowland Sinclair and his companions begin their journey home on the ship. The heroes dine with a suffragette, a Bishop and a retired World Prophet. The Church encounters less orthodox religion in the Aquitania’s chandeliered ballroom, where men of God rub shoulders with mystics in dinner suits. Gentill’s razor-sharp voice draws these wonderfully diverse characters, and as the pressure rises, so too does a foreboding sense of intrigue. As the bodies pile up, and Rowland unwittingly finds himself at the centre of it all again, can he unravel the mystery and stop these heinous crimes before he and his friends become victims themselves? Gentill captures the readers interest and imagination from the first page in this superbly narrated and observed novel. A highly amusing adventure amidst the horrors of death and the bizarre nature of 1930s society. Murder and Intrigue When High Society Meets the High Seas – A Gripping Historical Mystery The Second Book of the Acclaimed Rowland Sinclair Mysteries, the Historical Crime Series The luxury liner, RMS Aquitania, embodies all that is gracious and refined, in a world gripped crisis and doubt. But elegant atmosphere on board is charged with tension. Civility remains… but how long will the peace hold when people start to die? After months abroad, Rowland Sinclair and his companions begin their journey home on the ship. The heroes dine with a suffragette, a Bishop and a retired World Prophet. The Church encounters less orthodox religion in the Aquitania’s chandeliered ballroom, where men of God rub shoulders with mystics in dinner suits. Gentill’s razor-sharp voice draws these wonderfully diverse characters, and as the pressure rises, so too does a foreboding sense of intrigue. As the bodies pile up, and Rowland unwittingly finds himself at the centre of it all again, can he unravel the mystery and stop these heinous crimes before he and his friends become victims themselves? Gentill captures the readers interest and imagination from the first page in this superbly narrated and observed novel. A highly amusing adventure amidst the horrors of death and the bizarre nature of 1930s society. Murder and Intrigue When High Society Meets the High Seas – A Gripping Historical Mystery The Second Book of the Acclaimed Rowland Sinclair Mysteries, the Historical Crime Series The luxury liner, RMS Aquitania, embodies all that is gracious and refined, in a world gripped crisis and doubt. But elegant atmosphere on board is charged with tension. Civility remains… but how long will the peace hold when people start to die? After months abroad, Rowland Sinclair and his companions begin their journey home on the ship. The heroes dine with a suffragette, a Bishop and a retired World Prophet. The Church encounters less orthodox religion in the Aquitania’s chandeliered ballroom, where men of God rub shoulders with mystics in dinner suits. Gentill’s razor-sharp voice draws these wonderfully diverse characters, and as the pressure rises, so too does a foreboding sense of intrigue. As the bodies pile up, and Rowland unwittingly finds himself at the centre of it all again, can he unravel the mystery and stop these heinous crimes before he and his friends become victims themselves? Gentill captures the readers interest and imagination from the first page in this superbly narrated and observed novel. A highly amusing adventure amidst the horrors of death and the bizarre nature of 1930s...

Miles Off Course (The Rowland Sinclair Mysteries)

"Norman Lindsay is a complete and utter bastard!" With this curse heaped upon the renowned real-life Australian artist and cartoonist, Miles Off Course gets underway. It is early in 1933, and wealthy bohemian Rowland Sinclair and his companions, a poet, a painter, and a sculptress who also models nude, are ensconced in the superlative luxury of The Hydro Majestic-Medlow Bath, where trouble seems distant, despite Australia's being roiled by the same political currents as are upending Europe. But Rowland, try as he might to lead the boho life in Sydney in the family mansion or in a luxury spa, can't dismiss the responsibilities of being a Sinclair. Most of them rest upon his conservative elder brother, Wilfred. And Wil now makes two claims on Rowly. One is to appear at an important upcoming board meeting of a firm where Rowly, pressured by Wil, serves as a director. And the other is to hustle up into the high country where a longtime family stockman appears to have gone missing-and find him. Harry Simpson is an aborigine. The easy answer is that Harry has gone walkabout, but neither Sinclair brother believes this to be true. Plus there are the Sinclair cattle to round up. Instead of saddling up, Rowly insists upon driving his beautiful if despised Mercedes-Benz and taking a posse in the persons of his three live-in friends along. And off they go into a rollicking Outback adventure, where the familiar elements of an American Western blend with gangsters, spies, murder-and a very belligerent writer. The plot dances inventively around actual historical events and a cameo appearance or two made by famous Australian historical figures. Which takes us back to Norman Lindsay…. Miles Off Course follows closely upon A Few Right-Thinking Men and A Decline in Prophets.

A Few Right Thinking Men (The Rowland Sinclair Mysteries)

A Dashing Artist Playing Detective to Solve His Uncle’s Brutal Murder – the 1930s Were to Die For! A Rowland Sinclair Mystery Short-listed for Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book Sulari Gentill – Winner of Davitt Award for Best Adult Crime Fiction 2012 In 1930s Australia, the Sinclair name is respectable and influential, yet the youngest son Rowland – an artist – has a talent for scandal. Even with the unemployed lining the streets, Rowland lives in a sheltered world… of wealth, culture and impeccable tailoring with the family fortune indulging his artistic passions and friends… a poet, a painter and a brazen sculptress. Mounting political tensions fuelled by the Great Depression take Australia to the brink of revolution. While Rowland is an uncommon man, his name is not. He shares it with an uncle, an aging playboy. When the elder man is murdered, Rowland is stricken with grief and plagued by question. Foremost: why would anyone want to kill the old man? The stakes are high, as Rowland and his friends go undercover in the New Guard, a dangerous political group intent on wrestling control of the country from its current leadership. As danger looms and Rowland and his friends become targets of the fascist legion, will they be able to solve the mystery of his uncle’s murder? Will they be able to protect the country from political upheaval? Gentill skilfully weaves her narratives around real historical events and figures with razor-sharp humour and incredible imagination. Her debut novel delights the reader and excites them with richly drawn characters and impeccable timing. A Dashing Artist Playing Detective to Solve His Uncle’s Brutal Murder – the 1930s Were to Die For! A Rowland Sinclair Mystery Short-listed for Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book Sulari Gentill – Winner of Davitt Award for Best Adult Crime Fiction 2012 In 1930s Australia, the Sinclair name is respectable and influential, yet the youngest son Rowland – an artist – has a talent for scandal. Even with the unemployed lining the streets, Rowland lives in a sheltered world… of wealth, culture and impeccable tailoring with the family fortune indulging his artistic passions and friends… a poet, a painter and a brazen sculptress. Mounting political tensions fuelled by the Great Depression take Australia to the brink of revolution. While Rowland is an uncommon man, his name is not. He shares it with an uncle, an aging playboy. When the elder man is murdered, Rowland is stricken with grief and plagued by question. Foremost: why would anyone want to kill the old man? The stakes are high, as Rowland and his friends go undercover in the New Guard, a dangerous political group intent on wrestling control of the country from its current leadership. As danger looms and Rowland and his friends become targets of the fascist legion, will they be able to solve the mystery of his uncle’s murder? Will they be able to protect the country from political upheaval? Gentill skilfully weaves her narratives around real historical events and figures with razor-sharp humour and incredible imagination. Her debut novel delights the reader and excites them with richly drawn characters and impeccable timing. A Dashing Artist Playing Detective to Solve His Uncle’s Brutal Murder – the 1930s Were to Die For! A Rowland Sinclair Mystery Short-listed for Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book Sulari Gentill – Winner of Davitt Award for Best Adult Crime Fiction 2012 In 1930s Australia, the Sinclair name is respectable and influential, yet the youngest son Rowland – an artist – has a talent for scandal. Even with the unemployed lining the streets, Rowland lives in a sheltered world… of wealth, culture and impeccable tailoring with the family fortune indulging his artistic passions and friends… a...

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