Library's review
Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte arrives in the tiny outpost of Merino as he usually enters these stories: Undercover as a half-caste itinerant "swagman" or itinerant worker. He contrives to get himself arrested as prelude to confiding his true identity to the local police sergeant, telling him
Bony's usual method is to wander around talking to everyone, taking their measure and looking for the deadly "sting-ray" among the human fish he collects in his net. As he says, referencing an earlier book in the series, "It is not very exciting work. It is not comparable, for instance, to angling for swordfish." There aren't many fish for Bony to sweep up in his net, with a population of 120 people scattered over a 9,000-square mile region, but it still takes time to pinpoint the culprit.
The mystery itself is a cut above the average in this series, except for the ultimate motivation of the killer. Bony's whimsical relationship with the police sergeant's young daughter is charming. And as always, Upfield paints a picture of the Australian outback that makes me feel as if I've been there. Here it's a geological feature called the Walls of China, a great sand dune formed long ago by the action of the ever-present wind.
A solid entry in a solid series.
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he has arrived to investigate the recent murder of a local stockman.Bony's usual method is to wander around talking to everyone, taking their measure and looking for the deadly "sting-ray" among the human fish he collects in his net. As he says, referencing an earlier book in the series, "It is not very exciting work. It is not comparable, for instance, to angling for swordfish." There aren't many fish for Bony to sweep up in his net, with a population of 120 people scattered over a 9,000-square mile region, but it still takes time to pinpoint the culprit.
The mystery itself is a cut above the average in this series, except for the ultimate motivation of the killer. Bony's whimsical relationship with the police sergeant's young daughter is charming. And as always, Upfield paints a picture of the Australian outback that makes me feel as if I've been there. Here it's a geological feature called the Walls of China, a great sand dune formed long ago by the action of the ever-present wind.
A solid entry in a solid series.
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Description
An Inspector Bonaparte Mystery. In an isolated hut not far from the sleepy country town of Merino, stockman George Kendall is found dead and it looks very much like murder. Six weeks later, when the murderer is still at large, another stockman turns up in the township and, as a first move, provokes the local sergeant to lock him up. This particular stockman is Detective-Inspector Napolean Bonaparte, and theres method in his seeming madness. While serving a semi-detention sentence and being made to paint the police station, he wears the best of all possible disguises for a policeman on the trail of a ruthless and single-minded killer.
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Original publication date
1945