Daren
An early book from the Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte series from Arthur Upfield, published in 1938. This is number 6 in the series, and the fifth book I have read (not being read in order).
I have decided to plant the following on author and character in each of my 'Bony' reviews as background: - Upfield is an interesting writer, British by birth, emigrated to Australia at the age of twenty. He fought in the Australian Army in WWI. Following the war he travelled extensively in Australia working with stock and farming and developed an understanding of the Aboriginal culture which was to inform much of his writing. His 'Bony' character is a Detective Inspector in the Queensland Police Force, and is of mixed parentage - his mother an Aboriginal and his father white. It is rare to have a mixed race Aboriginal character held in high regard, and protagonist of a series of books.
In this book Bony is sent to a remote Queensland outback to a station where a worker has been missing for 5 months. In bad weather, station worker Jack Anderson was out riding fences but went missing, his horse returning without him. He was not a well liked man, cruel, and with a fierce temper, but despite extensive searching, not trace was found, so foul play was assumed. Eventually Bony is sent to investigate - given two weeks, which he immediately says is inadequate, expecting to take months to resolve.
Using his investigative skills, mixed with his understanding of human nature (Aboriginal and white man) he begins the time consuming task of searching for clues a long time after the event. There are those who know more than they will let on, and those who work actively against his investigation, but what is it they are covering up?
As obvious from the name of the novel, the local Aboriginal tribe resent Bony's intrusion, and 'point the bone' at him in a ritual to cause his death through a curse. I am not too sure about the accuracy of the description of this, having not heard much about mental telepathy by Aboriginals, but it is an interesting turn in the novel where he literally becomes too unwell to progress his case.
Another feature of the book, the rabbit migration, leaves me skeptical of the accuracy of the book. I wasn't able to find another reference to this phenomenon when I looked...
I wont spoil the twists and turns for other readers, but this was another interesting book in the series, albeit a little longer than the others I have read.
3 stars.
An early book from the Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte series from Arthur Upfield, published in 1938. This is number 6 in the series, and the fifth book I have read (not being read in order).
I have decided to plant the following on author and character in each of my 'Bony' reviews as background: - Upfield is an interesting writer, British by birth, emigrated to Australia at the age of twenty. He fought in the Australian Army in WWI. Following the war he travelled extensively in Australia working with stock and farming and developed an understanding of the Aboriginal culture which was to inform much of his writing. His 'Bony' character is a Detective Inspector in the Queensland Police Force, and is of mixed parentage - his mother an Aboriginal and his father white. It is rare to have a mixed race Aboriginal character held in high regard, and protagonist of a series of books.
In this book Bony is sent to a remote Queensland outback to a station where a worker has been missing for 5 months. In bad weather, station worker Jack Anderson was out riding fences but went missing, his horse returning without him. He was not a well liked man, cruel, and with a fierce temper, but despite extensive searching, not trace was found, so foul play was assumed. Eventually Bony is sent to investigate - given two weeks, which he immediately says is inadequate, expecting to take months to resolve.
Using his investigative skills, mixed with his understanding of human nature (Aboriginal and white man) he begins the time consuming task of searching for clues a long time after the event. There are those who know more than they will let on, and those who work actively against his investigation, but what is it they are covering up?
As obvious from the name of the novel, the local Aboriginal tribe resent Bony's intrusion, and 'point the bone' at him in a ritual to cause his death through a curse. I am not too sure about the accuracy of the description of this, having not heard much about mental telepathy by Aboriginals, but it is an interesting turn in the novel where he literally becomes too unwell to progress his case.
Another feature of the book, the rabbit migration, leaves me skeptical of the accuracy of the book. I wasn't able to find another reference to this phenomenon when I looked...
I wont spoil the twists and turns for other readers, but this was another interesting book in the series, albeit a little longer than the others I have read.
3 stars.