Reviews
A delightful, cerebral novel featuring a crime writer who grows dangerously enamored with her main character. As the interplay between creator and created reaches Russian-nesting-doll complexity, it forces us to question the nature of fiction itself., This is an elegant exploration of the creative process, as well as a strong defense of the crime-fiction genre, as Gentill illustrates the crossing of lines between imagination and reality. Rich with insights that can add pleasure to the reading of crime fiction., Crossing the Lines is a book that smiles and offers cake while it thinks. Sulari Gentill delivers ideas and narrative entertainment, and it's a bonus that her novel is also sub-acidly satirical., Crossing the Lines is a new entry in a small sub-genre of metafiction in which we not only see writers at their craft but also see lines between reality and fiction blend so far that the fourth wall is just a distant speck in the rearview mirror., In this intriguing and unusual tale, a stunning departure from Gentill's period mysteries ( Give the Devil His Due , 2015, etc.), the question is not whodunit but who's real and who's a figment of someone's vivid imagination., While the vintage Down Under settings might make this debut, which was short-listed for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best First Book, comparable to Kerry Greenwood's Melbourne-based Phryne Fisher 1920s mysteries, Gentill works in historical events that add verisimilitude to her story.... Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for bringing another award-winning Australian crime writer to U.S. shores. Her witty hero will delight traditional mystery buffs., Fans of postmodern fiction will enjoy this departure from Gentill's 1930s series ( Miles Off Course , etc.). It's an exploration, as one character puts it, of "an author's relationship with her protagonist, an examination of the tenuous line between belief and reality, imagination and self, and what happens when that line is crossed.", " Crossing the Lines was a pure delight, a swift yet psychologically complex read, cleverly conceived and brilliantly executed. " - Dean Koontz, New York Times bestselling author, Fans of postmodern fiction will enjoy this departure from Gentill's 1930s series ( Miles Off Course , etc.). It's an exploration, as one character puts it, of 'an author's relationship with her protagonist, an examination of the tenuous line between belief and reality, imagination and self, and what happens when that line is crossed.', A tour de force! Crossing the Lines is a brilliant blend of mystery, gut-wrenching psychological suspense and literary storytelling. The novel stands as a shining (and refreshing) example of meta-fiction at its best--witty and wry, stylish and a joy to read., I thoroughly enjoyed the glamour of the ocean voyage, the warmth and wit among the friends, and yet all the time, simmering beneath the surface, was the real and savage violence, waiting to erupt. The 1930s are a marvelous period. We know what lies ahead! This is beautifully drawn, with all its fragile hope and looming tragedy., As one for whom certain story lines and characters have become as real as life itself, Crossing the Lines was a pure delight, a swift yet psychologically complex read, cleverly conceived and brilliantly executed.