All the Tears in China by Sulari Gentill

All the Tears in China by Sulari Gentill ISBN-13: 9781925700053 Paperback: 378 pages Publisher: Pantera Press Released: Jan. 21, 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Shanghai in 1935 is a 20th century Babylon, an expatriate playground where fortunes are made and lost, where East and West collide, and the stakes include life itself. Into this cultural melting pot, Rowland Sinclair arrives 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. A brutal murder makes that difficult.

As suspicion falls on him, Rowland enters a desperate bid to find answers in a city ruled by taipans and tycoons, where politics and vice are entwined with commerce, and where the only people he can truly trust are an artist, a poet and a free-spirited sculptress.


My Review:
All the Tears in China is a mystery set in 1935 in Australia and Shanghai. This is the ninth novel in a series. This story referred back to events that happened in previous books, but it can be read as a standalone novel. This book did not spoil the whodunits of the previous mysteries. The main characters were interesting, caring people. Interesting historical details were woven into the the story.

Rowland Sinclair is sent to Shanghai to represent the family in a wool deal with the Japanese. He supposed to keep good relations while not committing to any deal. Of course, he's not willing to play nice with the Japanese once he realizes they're friends with the Germans. They don't take his attitude well. Also, someone makes it look like Rowland murdered a Russian woman who claimed to be one of the royal family in exile. He has to clear his name of murder before returning home.

He and his friends search for clues as to who may have wanted to kill the woman. They pass the information they find on to the detective, who clearly wants to put him in jail. Rowland's life is in danger, so they must solve the mystery as soon as possible. I strongly suspected two people of being the murderer, and it became clear which it was by that character's behavior at the end. The main characters took a little longer to figure it out. Of course, it ends with an exciting, suspenseful race to save Rowland's life.

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, suspenseful 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.