In a conversation earlier this year, Gentill told me about the opportunities for both the reader and the author. She said, “the reader is engaged in that whole process of discovering and uncovering who made the dead body. In the excitement of that, you can actually have a conversation with them about other things as well. I quite love that about my fiction because crime fiction isn’t just about the murder, it’s often about something else as well.” Her books explore a multitude of issues ranging from mental health to the rise of fascism. When asked about the importance of crime fiction, Gentill said, “Crime writers are tackling bigger questions about society’s influence and society’s responsibility for crime and for murder in particular. I think that is a really important and useful discussion. I think it’s a way that the genre can really contribute to the understanding of the world.” Want more postmodern mysteries? Check out this list I wrote in 2020. For folks who want to read more about Australia, check this Rioter’s list of books set there!
