Cirrus@Austlit

'In 1932, the RMS Aquitania embodies all that is gracious and refined, in a world gripped by crisis and doubt. Returning home on the luxury liner after months abroad, Rowland Sinclair and his companions 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. The elegant atmosphere on board is charged with tension but civility prevails... until people start to die. Then things get a bit awkward.

'And Rowland Sinclair finds himself unwittingly in the centre of it all. "I'm afraid, Sinclair has a habit of being in the wrong place every possible time. I would think twice about standing next to him." "God forbid, Rowland, you should return home without some sort of scandal... leading some kind of insane cult!".(Trove)

'In early 1933, Rowland Sinclair and his companions are ensconced in the superlative luxury of The Hydro Majestic - Medlow Bath, where trouble seems distant indeed.

'And then Harry Simpson vanishes.

'Croquet and pre-dinner cocktails are abandoned for the High Country where Rowland hunts for Simpson with a determination that is as mysterious as the disappearance itself. Stockmen, gangsters and a belligerent writer all gather to the fray, as the investigation becomes embroiled with a much darker conspiracy.' (From the publisher's website.)

'It's 1933, and the political landscape of Europe is darkening.

'Eric Campbell, the man who would be Australia's Führer, is on a fascist tour of the Continent, meeting dictators over cocktails and seeking allegiances in a common cause. Yet the Australian way of life is not undefended. Old enemies have united to undermine Campbell's ambitions. The clandestine armies of the Establishment have once again mobilised to thwart any friendship with the Third Reich.

'But when their man in Munich is killed, desperate measures are necessary.

'Now Rowland Sinclair must travel to Germany to defend Australian democracy from the relentless march of Fascism. Amidst the goosestepping euphoria of a rising Nazi movement, Rowland encounters those who will change the course of history. In a world of spies, murderers and despotic madmen, he can trust no-one but an artist, a poet and a brazen sculptress.' (From the publisher's website.)

'After narrowly escaping Nazi terror, Rowland Sinclair and his companions land in London, believing they are safe.

'But they are wrong.

'A bizarre murder plunges the hapless Australians into a queer world of British aristocracy, Fascist Blackshirts, illicit love, scandal and spies.

'A world where gentlemen are not always what they are dressed up to be.' (Publisher's blurb)

'The black sheep of a wealthy grazier dynasty, gentleman artist Rowland Sinclair often takes matters into his own hands. When the matter is murder, there are consequences.

'For nearly fourteen years, Rowland has tried to forget, but now the past has returned.

'A newly-discovered gun casts light on a family secret long kept... a murder the Sinclairs would prefer stayed unsolved.

'As old wounds tear open, the dogged loyalty of Rowland's inappropriate companions is all that stands between him and the consequences of a brutal murder... one he simply failed to mention.' (Publication summary)

'When Rowland Sinclair is invited to take his yellow Mercedes onto the Maroubra Speedway, renamed the Killer Track for the lives it has claimed, he agrees without caution or reserve.

'But then people start to die.

'The body of a journalist covering the race is found in a House of Horrors, an English blueblood with Blackshirt affiliations is killed on the race track. and it seems that someone has Rowland in their sights.

'A strange young reporter preoccupied with black magic, a mysterious vagabond, an up-and-coming actor by the name of Flynn, and ruthless bookmakers all add mayhem to the mix.

'With danger presenting at every turn, and the brakes long since disengaged, Rowland Sinclair hurtles towards disaster with an artist, a poet and brazen sculptress along for the ride.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Volunteering his services as a pilot to fly renowned international peace advocate Egon Kisch between Fremantle and Melbourne, Rowland is unaware how hard Australia 's new attorney-general will fight to keep the raging reporter off Australian soil.

'In this, it seems, the government is not alone, as clandestine right-wing militias reconstitute into deadly strike forces.

'A disgraced minister, an unidentified corpse and an old flame all bring their own special bedlam. Once again Rowland Sinclair stands against the unthinkable, with an artist, a poet and a brazen sculptress by his side.' (Synopsis)

'Shanghai 1935. An expatriate playground where fortunes are made and lost, where East and West collide, and the stakes include life itself. Rowland Sinclair arrives into this cultural melting pot, from Sydney to represent his brother at international wool negotiations. The black sheep of the family, Rowland is under strict instructions to commit to nothing . . . but a brutal murder makes that impossible.

'All the Tears in China throws a classic murder mystery into a glitzy, glamorous, tawdry and dangerous world, entrancing both new and old readers.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When his friend Daniel Cartwright dies and names Rowland as his executor, Rowland must divert his plans to return home to Australia and travel to America. Daniel was vastly wealthy but appears to have disinherited his family in favour of a man called James Meredith, whom no one can find. Rowland and his troupe of friends embark on a journey that takes them through New York, Warwick and Baltimore as they track down answers to the questions that surround Daniel's death and the mysterious disappearance of James Meredith.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.