Murder Down Under
For readers who thought they'd exhausted the list of Golden Age  mystery writers, Australian author Arthur Upfield (1888-1964) is often a  pleasant surprise. The tales of Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte (or Bony,  as he is known) offer all of the major pleasures of Christie, Tey, and  Doyle; but Upfield's works also carry the freshness of his island continent setting and of his "half-caste" hero. Bony, born of an aborigine mother  and a white father, is a genius of criminal science and also a classic gentleman. Suave and always impeccably dressed (except, of course, when  in disguise), he solves mysteries through patience. As he often repeats to John Muir--one of the many young men he tutors: "Never race Time. Make  Time an ally, for Time is the greatest detective that ever was or ever will  be." Through Bony, Upfield's progressive series frequently explores the foundations of Australian race prejudices and defies them with  Bonaparte's genial wit and disarming smile.InMurder Down Underthe detective is on holiday in western Australia but inevitably winds up with a working vacation, this time assisting young Sergeant Muir. Farmer George Loftus has disappeared,  and his car was found smashed along the world's longest fence in the wheat  town of Burracoppin. The days before Loftus's disappearance are filled with  clues that point to Leonard Wallace, owner of the Burracoppin Hotel. Loftus  had given Wallace a ride from Perth back to the hotel, and the pair had  shared drinks in the bar before driving off together at 1 a.m.--shortly before  the disappearance. Wallace claims that the two had argued and that he had  left the car well before the accident. Now, Bony must parse truth and  fiction in his inimitable style. Along the way, however, he meets the bizarre Mr. Jelly, an amateur criminologist who collects portraits of murders and  who may have some insights into the case.Murder Down Underis a  true classic: a rich world of quirky characters and fascinating scenery  built around a complex and satisfying puzzle. Other adventures of Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte:The Bone Is Pointed,The Bachelors of Broken Hill, andThe Mystery of Swordfish Reef.--Patrick O'Kelley