Dilemma

Scobie Malone #16

by Jon Cleary

Scobie Malone is called in on an easy case. Norma Glaze is found strangled in her bedroom and her husband, Ron, has disappeared. All evidence points toward the husband, so Malone puts the case aside. But the scene from the night before tells the real story, a one-night stand gone bad and a killer with a twisted claw of a right hand.

Four years later, Ron Glaze is on trial for murder, and the prosecution is brilliant young Tim Pierpont, a family man and friend to Malone, who also happens to have a twisted claw of a right hand. A witness comes forward, implicating Pierpont in the murder. Malone doesn't buy it, but could it really only be a coincidence? Herein begins Dilemma.

262 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Australian popular novelist, a natural storyteller, whose career as a writer extended over 60 years. Jon Cleary's books have sold some 8 million copies. Often the stories are set in exotic locations all over the world or in some interesting historical scene of the 20th century, such as the Nazi Berlin of 1936. Cleary also wrote perhaps the longest running homicide detective series of Australia. Its sympathetic protagonist, Inspector Scobie Malone, was introduced in The High Commissioner (1966). Degrees of Connection, published in 2003, was Scobie's 20th appearance. Although Cleary's books can be read as efficiently plotted entertainment, he occasionally touched psychological, social, and moral dilemmas inside the frame of high adventure.

Jon Stephen Cleary was born in Sydney, New South Wales, into a working class family as the eldest of seven children. When Clearly was only 10, his father Matthew was condemned to six months' imprisonment for stealing £5 from his baker's delivery bag, in an attempt have money to feed his family. Cleary's mother, Ida, was a fourth-generation Australian. From his parents Cleary inherited a strong sense of just and unjust and his belief in family values.

Cleary was educated at the Marist Brothers school in Randwick, New South Wales. After leaving school in 1932, at the age of fourteen, he spent the following 8 years out of work or in odd jobs, such as a commercial traveler and bush worker – "I had more jobs than I can now remember," he later said of the Depression years. Cleary's love of reading was sparked when he began to help his friend, who had a travelling library. His favorite writers included P.G. Wodehouse. Before the war Clearly became interested in the career of commercial artists, but he also wrote for amateur revues. In 1940 he joined the Australian Army and served in the Middle East and New Guinea. During these years Cleary started to write seriously, and by the war's end he had published several short stories in magazines. His radio play, Safe Horizon (1944), received a broadcasting award.

Cleary's These Small Glories (1945), a collection of short stories, was based on his experiences as a soldier in the Middle East. In 1946 Cleary married Joy Lucas, a Melbourne nurse, whom he had met on a sea voyage to England; they had two daughters. His first novel, You Can’t See Round Corners (1947), won the second prize in The Sydney Morning Herald’s novel contest. It was later made into a television serial and then into a feature film. The Graham Greene-ish story of a deserter who returns to Sydney showed Cleary's skill at describing his home city, its bars, and people living on the margin of society. Noteworthy, the book was edited by Greene himself, who worked for the publishing firm Eyre & Spottiswoode and who gave Cleary two advices: "One, never forget there are two people in a book; the writer and the reader. And the second one was he said, 'Write a thriller because it will teach you the art of narrative and it will teach you the uses of brevity.'" (In an interview by Ramona Koval, ABC Radio program, February 2006)

Reviews

[Sandy Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed yet another in the Scobie Malone series, but felt the police work was a little less procedural and a little more wait and hope with a bit of intuition thrown in, and so a little less interesting. Less character development of the main protagonists. One of the two plots was stronger than the other (a child kidnapping and murder).

[David Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good thing to read about your own town - everything is familiar.

[Pam Ela · Rating 3 out of 5]

detective story

[Mary]

Like the Australian setting and things I learn about the country. The story line is great. I like he puts his family first and how they are growing.

[Lorraine Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like his books.

[Carol Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are two unconnected mysteries here, the old case that seems wrapped up and the new one involving Lucybelle and her family. Both present dilemmas for Malone. In the Glaze case he comes to believe Glaze is not guilty, but his suspicious seem at best unprovable. In the Lucybelle case, those most upset about the Lucybelle's death may be the ones responsible, but were they sane at the time?

Every series has its own downfalls. One I've found in the Cleary's series is that too often the suspect is discovered early, no other possibilities exist and in the end it's right. One of the reasons I like this one is because the suspect in the Glaze case was found early and none other looked at, but it was maybe not the right solution, and Malone has to deal with the repercussions of that, of having an innocent man on trial.

There are clues, but the Malone books don't tend to be ones where you add up the clues and find the culprit. We're either told early and watch as Malone finally gets there or he gets there before us and the clues just support his suspicions. Not that it matters to me; generally I'm not one who strives to guess who the killer is.

The setting, Sydney right before the Olympics is interesting. It's different from old Australia as Cleary seems to lament, but still a step back in time for the modern reader/listener.

It's not a deep mystery, doesn't touch your heart, so to speak. Even if you have children, Lucybelle's fate doesn't really affect you, because her life and family are outside the norm, the air there is rarefied and yet rotten. But it's interesting and I do like Malone. He's trying to do the best he can and, unlike several fictional detectives I can think of, has the full support of his staff and his superior.

[Balthazar Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Homicide detective, Scobie Malone, is called in to help with a murder, but when the main suspect disappears the case goes onto the back burners. It sits there until the suspect is spotted four years later and apprehended. Of course the suspect says he is innocent, which Scobie doesn't believe. That is until a witness comes forward and makes a comment that changes everything for him and puts in a difficult situation.

Scobie is also involved in another case, a kidnap murder, which has nothing to do with the first case and at times feels like it is just padding. If the case never existed the story would still be better.

I feel there is a breakdown in the logic when blame is transferred from one to another, in both cases, as it comes down to an unexplained feeling. That is where this story is a bit of a let down. The ending is also a bit of let down but sometimes you can't always get what you want.

[Nabarun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another Cleary's Scobie Malone series. This is more of a police story, rather than a detective mystery. This book relates to two homicides, killer of the first murder is known upfront and the challenge is to collect enough evidence to charge the first murderer. The murderer is a respectable pillar of the society and it happened because of a moment's loss of control and anger. The second murder is of a child and the suspects are the parents. But it doesn't substantiate why and what led the detective inspector suspect the parents. The ending is quite touching though. Overall a good read, but Cleary has written better than this. I would give this a 3 out of 5.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jon Cleary is an Australian author. He writes whodunnits which are very entertaining.

[Roseann]

Smart mystery with a twist where the reader knows who one of the killers is from the beginning.