Also published as Where There's a Will.

A Testament of Character - Gentill
(also published as Where There’s a Will )
Audio performance by Rupert Degas
4 stars

I tried to hold off on reading this book. It is the last of the currently published books in the Rowland Sinclair series. Now I’m stuck with waiting impatiently for the next book to be published. I do like these characters. I’m invested in their lives.

Rowly and his friends are hoping to return home to Sydney from Singapore when a telegram brings sad news. An American friend has been murdered, and Rowland has been named executor of his estate. The friendly foursome heads to Boston and New York City. Encounters with the rich and famous include; William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies, a manipulative, intimidating Joseph Kennedy with a cameo appearance of young Jack, and a brief reunion with Errol Flynn. As the mystery unravels, a road trip to the South includes extended time with F.Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. I love the rich historical background of this series. The devastating effects of the Depression are ever present. In this book, the attitudes of Joe Kennedy, and the Father Coughlin broadcasts are reminders of the rise of fascism.

This is not the first book in the series to feature a Queer character. In this case the ‘proclivities’ of the murder victim may be used as a means to declare his will invalid. The life threatening persecution of homosexuals is a major theme of the mystery. I thought the author went a bit over the top with the final violent encounter with the baddies. It was very much like an old black and white gangster movie. And actually, that’s probably very appropriate. ( )

Murder at Harvard!

Rowly and the gang head off to Boston where Rowly is executor of a friend's estate, millionaire Daniel Cartwright. Turns out that Daniel, Rowly’s mate from Oxford, was murdered and of course there's another mystery for the friends to solve. This time Edna is in danger, the Irish and Italian mafias loom on the horizon, and things take a dangerous turn. The resolution is unexpected and I'm left wondering!
Another brilliant read from Gentill, once again weaving so seamlessly historical personages occurrences of the day into the storyline. It’s easy to imagine the atmosphere of those times. Helped by an excerpt from various newspapers of the day as chapter introductions, centering us on the era.
Cleverly executed, I do so love the Rolland Sinclair titles.

A Poisoned Pen Press ARC via NetGalley ( )

1935, Boston, NYC, inheritance, organized-crime, murder, murder-investigation, law-enforcement, lawyers, false-information, family-dynamics, friendship, series, intimidation, artist, class-consciousness, celebrities, historical-fiction, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, crime-fiction, abduction*****

The mystery/sleuthing is every bit as terrific as the (this time it's US) history lessons from the time of the lead in to World War 2! Twisty and so full of red herrings! This one stands alone better than some of the others because it has less personal history references that are alluded to. There are crazy family members of the deceased, lying lawyers, feuding ethnic gangs, fantastic autos, victims of the depression (but not the maker of the board game of Monopoly!), Hollywood and political (rich) scumbags, and all this on top of that dratted will and the murder of its legator! The publisher's blurb is a good hook complete with a little name-dropping. Like all of her historical mysteries, Iwas totally drawn in and I LOVED IT!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )