Paving the New Road by Sulari Gentill

Paving the New Road by Sulari Gentill ISBN-13: 9781464206917 Paperback Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press Released: Jan. 2, 2018

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from NetGalley:
It's 1933. Rowland Sinclair is the bohemian younger son of the wealthy, influential, conservative clan headed by his powerful brother, Wilfred.

New Guard leader Eric Campbell is traveling to Germany to meet members of the Reichstag and, he hopes, Hitler. Old enemies have united to undermine Campbell's ambitions. The Old Guard has a man serving as Campbell's interpreter, but he needs backup since their man in Munich, Peter Bothwell, has been killed. Rowly's mission is to derail Campbell and, while at it, investigate Bothwell's death. Rowley's unconventional housemates, the poet (Jewish), the painter (Communist), and the sculptress (unpredictable), insist on coming along to watch his back. It's not your expected spy ring.

Their cover, aside from false passports, is buying art - at the Old Guard's expense. In Munich the friends pursue their joint missions while growing increasingly horrified at the goose-stepping euphoria, cruel acts, and book burnings of the rising Nazi movement. Yet they meet decent Germans like the tailor Alois Richter who's pursuing contracts for Nazi uniforms against rival Hugo Boss, and brave Albert Göring, Hermann's younger brother. And two besotted women: Unity Mitford, who stakes out the Osteria Bavaria every day at eleven a.m. intent on meeting her idol Hitler; and a photographer called Eva Braun, a rather ordinary young woman who's besotted with a man she calls Mr. Wolf.


My Review:
Paving the New Road is a historical suspense novel set in the spring of 1933 in Australia and Germany. This is the fourth book in the series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, but this story did spoil some suspenseful events in the previous stories.

As Hitler rises in power in Germany, Australia has its own threat in Eric Campbell. He's in Germany trying to get support and ideas from the Nazis, and one of the Australian spies sent to disrupt Campbell's plans turns up dead. Rowly agrees to take the spy's place, and his quirky friends insist on going with him. But first they have to survive the airplane trip to get there! Once there, they work together to disrupt Campbell's plans, look into the suspicious death, pretend to be art dealers buying modern art, and run into famous people. The suspense came from the danger of torture and death from the Nazis (and others), but there was also a "we might as well have fun while we do it" humor to it all.

There was some bad language (if you're American) to a fair amount of bad language (if you count British/Australia bad words). There were no sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting and exciting novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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