Wings above the Diamantina

Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte #3

by Arthur W. Upfield

ISBN 0330234188.

The discovery of a stolen red monoplane on the dry, flat bottom of Emu Lake meant many things for different folks. For Elizabeth Nettlefold, the chance to nurse its strangely ill occupant meant renewed purpose in life. For Dr Knowles, brilliant physician and town drunk, it meant the revival of a romantic dream. For some it meant a murder plan gone awry, and for Bonaparte, it meant one of the toughest cases of his career.

Genres: Mystery, Australia, Fiction, Crime, Detective, Classics, Historical

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

Aka Arthur Upfield

Arthur William Upfield (1 September 1890 – 13 February 1964) was an Australian writer, best known for his works of detective fiction featuring Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte ('Bony') of the Queensland Police Force, a half-caste Aborigine.

Born in England, Upfield moved to Australia in 1910 and fought with the Australian military during the First World War. Following his war service, he travelled extensively throughout Australia, obtaining a knowledge of Australian Aboriginal culture that would later be used extensively in his written works. In addition to his detective fiction, Upfield was also a member of the Australian Geological Society and was involved in numerous scientific expeditions. Upfield's works remained popular after his death, and in the 1970s were the basis for an Australian television series entitled "Boney".

Reviews

[Phrynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book three in the Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte series.

The Diamantina of the title is a river but when this book opens it is just a vast, dry riverbed. A monoplane is discovered there, the pilot mysteriously gone, and the female passenger still strapped in her seat totally paralysed and unable to speak. This is certainly going to be a tough case for Bony to solve.

Written in the 1930's and set in outback Australia the history lesson the reader can enjoy is just as entertaining as the clever mystery. Bony is a tremendous character and so is his more traditional mentor, Illawandi, who plays a most important role in the story. I can see this is going to be another great series for me to enjoy. Thirty more books to go. Bliss.

[Carol, She's so Novel ꧁꧂ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had wanted to read an Upfield for a while - not enough to purchase a kindle copy, but enough to look for when I was in op/secondhand bookshops. I remembered the old 'Boney' TV series, which featured a white NZ actor, James Laurenson, who lived in the UK. Even in these times, this casting was quite controversial, but I was too young to understand this.

After reading this novel I'm certainly glad I didn't pay for a copy!

An airplane is found in the remote Queensland outback, abandoned except for a drugged & unconscious young woman. Nettlefold & his daughter, Elizabeth take the woman back to their home.

Other than the local police making the decision to call in Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, a half aboriginal detective, this is the last action that makes any sense in this book!

The racism didn't bother me so much as I am not convinced that British born Upfield was racist himself (someone more familiar with Upfield's other work is welcome to correct me!) Rather Upfield seemed to be relating & trying to make sense of the racist world he found. This went on waaay too long near the start of the book. A publican mentioning he wasn't allowed to serve First Nations people (although serving 'Bony' was fine) later in the book was far more subtle rather than the hit-you-over-the-head style of writing used for most of the book.

There were other things. A doctor consuming (even more) alcohol before flying a plane to see a patient. Possible in the 1930s I guess. This would have been seen as rugged individualism possibly. Shudder.

Not moving such an ill patient to a hospital when someone clearly wanted her dead & she herself was dying.

The most farcical romance I have ever read in my life - & I read many instalove books when I was younger!

There is also the not playing fair with the solution to this mystery.

The first half of the book, racism aside, was a 3★ read - even reached 3.5★ at times for the character of Bony & descriptions of the local landscape. These are the only things stopping this book becoming a 1★, as the book really fell apart at the end.

The only book of Upfield's I'll still be looking for is The Sands of Windee. Apparently Upfield talked to acquaintances when he was working out the murder method for this book - & one of the acquaintances was inspired to murder three men. Upfield was a witness in the case.

Intriguing.

[Dillwynia Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This Boney mystery is set in western Queensland and very much describes my current countryside - sand dunes and dry river beds lined with river gums or coolabahs. I wanted that right then as this was an audiobook as I toured eastern US in the fall; the complete opposite. Hearing an Aussie accent amongst all the American ones kept me grounded.

Not a strong plot and the denouement isn't satisfactory; it bordered onto one of Christie's favourite themes of forgotten identity - something that works even less in a sparsely populated area than in England. In the Outback, EVERYBODY knows both you & the previous 3 generations.

This should be read only if you are an ardent fan of Upfield and want to have all of his novels under your belt. It is most certainly not a good one to start with - even though the characters are varied and interesting.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elizabeth Nettlefold and her father John make a startling discovery while out on a tour of inspection of the land her father manages as a cattle breeder. Resting on the dry lake bed of Emu lake is a shiny red monoplane. There are no footprints leading away from the plane and at first it appears that the plane must have landed itself. On closer inspection, they find a young woman strapped into the front cockpit (away from the controls). She is unconscious and they have no success in bringing her to. Their first thought is to get her back to the house and call a doctor. Then Mr. Nettlefold plans to return with the local police sergeant to investigate further.

When the doctor arrives the woman opens her eyes but she cannot move and cannot speak. He's not sure whether she has had some awful shock or if she has been poisoned, but he does the best he can for her immediately and will call in a specialist to help with the diagnosis. Elizabeth Nettlefold volunteers to act as nurse. Recently she has been bored with life on the cattle station and she feels like caring for the unknown woman has given her a new purpose in life.

Her father and Sergeant Cox set out for the plane early the next only to discover that the aircraft has been demolished by fire. Cox is dismayed to learn that the Nettlefolds didn't think to check the plane for the young woman's belongings--now they may never know who she is. The sergeant knows his limits and immediately calls for assistance from Brisbane. And they send their best man for unusual crimes in the back country--Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte. But with so few clues, Bony will have his work cut out for him if he's to discover the woman's identity and that of her attempted murderer before the villain can finish the job.

Upfield, as per usual, gives the reader a fine sense of place (and my edition even includes a nice map so we can orient ourselves as necessary. He regularly has characters discussing distances which lets us know just how far away the important locales are from one another and he also gives great descriptions of the Australian landscape. Bony manages to keep his unbroken record of solved mysteries--though it is a close thing for a while. I will say that I was a bit surprised that the solution to the young woman's paralysis didn't occur to him sooner. I was pretty certain I knew (in general--not specifically) what the cause was and was proved right. There are subtle clues that will allow the observant reader to get there as well.

Even with that point, this stands up as a pretty good mystery. I did think it just a bit long in the middle--Bony takes an awful long time in reaching the "aha" moment. And there was no way we were going to know the woman's identity before Bony tells us in the grand finale. But it is entertaining to watch Bony at work even when we might think he's being a little slow on the uptake.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am changing my rating from 3 to 4 stars after this reread (June 2016). I know that I have read this book before (something I can't say about all the books on my shelves!) but even now I am finished, it was like I was reading it for the first time. A bit surprising as I thought that I knew all of this series well!

This is an early entry in the Inspector Bonaparte series (1936) and Upfield hadn't quite gotten to his best work yet - relying on Bony's friend and mentor Illawalli to save the day is a bit of a 'cheat' but didn't detract from my enjoyment. I admire how well Upfield shows us enough of Bony's thought process that the reader feels like he is solving it along with the Inspector yet doesn't make it obvious.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always an enjoyable read, with Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte - “Boney” - stumped by a paralysed woman - criminal? victim? witness? - unable to talk to shed any light on the matter of a stolen and abandoned plane which then caught alight, destroying any evidence on board. It’s always amusing to read Boney’s high opinion of himself (admittedly it is warranted).

This is an entertaining series to listen to and I’m looking forward to listening to the fourth.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a teen, I was inspired and enthralled by Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte (Bony). So much so, I read all of his books I could get my hands on. I think my especial favourite was The Devil's Steps. I was intrigued by Bony, a character living between two cultures, an indigenous Australian with bush knowledge navigating the white man's world with aplomb and on his own terms. I also loved Upfield's ingenious plots which often relied on bush knowledge. To my mind, Bony is up there with Inspector Poirot or Miss Marple or even the great Holmes himself. So, it evoked some nostalgia when I saw a copy of Wings Above the Diamantina in the local library.

This is the third book in the series (not that you need to read them in order) and I don't recall reading it before. It begins with a mystery - a stolen red World War I plane discovered by the pastoralist and his daughter on a dry lakebed, with a mute and paralysed woman strapped in the passenger seat, no sign of a pilot or tracks leading from the plane. How did the young woman get there, why is she paralysed, and can they find the cause, and, therefore hopefully the cure, in time? When answers seem slow in coming, Inspector Bonaparte is called in and he sets about unravelling the mystery.

So, I'm not a big fan anymore of the omniscient narrator, though that is the style of the era (this book was published in 1936) and the narrative is a touch ponderous at times. Upfield uses a couple of terms (such as half-caste, or lubra) that probably wouldn't be PC today but were in common use at the time. And then he is writing forty years before the vote was given to the original inhabitants and custodians of Australia and the dismantling of the White Australia Policy and he writes respectfully of Bony and of the other aboriginal characters, acknowledges the prejudice against them and their innate intelligence and abilities.

I enjoyed this particular book - both for the mystery, for the use of bush craft and aboriginal knowledge, and for the way the setting and the weather plays a huge role in the story - on the Diamantina River, in the Channel Country of western Queensland - not so far from where I grew up in Mt Isa. I found the characters interesting, even captivating. The mystery itself was an fascinating conundrum, with clues and red herrings along the way leading to a nail-biting finish and reasonable and rather romantic resolution.

Maybe it's time to read (or re-read) a few more Bony mysteries.

[Karen GoatKeeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of a series about Detective Napoleon Bonaparte. No, not the French Napoleon. This Bonaparte lives in Australia. He is a half caste - half white, half aborigine. The books were written in the early 1900's so they remind me of Holmes.
The unique thing in these books are the settings. Bony is sent to tackle the tough cases wherever they happen in Australia so each book is placed in a different part of the country. The setting is immensely important in each book influencing the action even determining some of the action.
Wings Above the Diamantina begins with a monoplane landing in a fallow pasture. The plane has no pilot, only a paralyzed passenger with no identification. Someone wants this woman dead. Why? Who is she? Bony must hurry as she is gradually dying from the paralyzing drug. And the rains are coming bringing the floods with them. Everyone has an alibi but one must be false. Which?
The story is good. The setting is interesting. The book is an enjoyable read.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bony improves with further acquaintance. His author seems to have got over his own racial issues, regarding both blacks and whites, in a great measure. He has stopped describing Bony as "childlike" and comparing the two halves of his genes and their supposed effects on his intelligence, which helped a great deal. However, Upfield still uses verbs oddly--no one leaves a room, they "pass from" it, or "pass to the hallway." Couldn't they just walk in or out? Someone leaves an air plane "per parachute", and people speak "per telephone" as well--a turn of phrase I've never seen anywhere else in 53 years of voracious reading in three languages.

The mystery itself was intriguing, and the desperate race against the storm well paced. I could do without the recap chapter at the end--all tell, no show--but it seems to be the norm even today. And why not let the girl tell her own story? But these are minor quibbles. On to volume four!

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wings above the Diamantina by Arthur W. Upfield is the 3rd book in the Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte series. A stolen red monoplane is found at the bottom of the dry Emu lake in the middle of an outback property in Queensland with a young woman strapped into the passenger seat, alive but paralysed and unable to speak. This gives Elizabeth Nettlefield, the daughter of the property owner, a purpose as she tries to nurse the young woman through her illness, with the help of the doctor flown in from the town. It is determined that the woman has been poisoned and when a further attempt is made on her life and the plane destroyed, Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte known as Bony is sent in from the Queensland police force to investigate. This book was originally published in 1936 and gives a picture of the remote Australian country with vast stations with Aboriginal workers and stockmen at the time. Bony is a half-caste with an Aboriginal mother and white father, with a good education and acts as a link between the cultures. He is able to use his aboriginal tracking skills to gather clues and has a good reputation with both cultures. Although rather dated, it is still an excellent mystery, and an Australian historical classic.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first book by Arthur Upfield that I ever read, and that was 20 years ago. It is the third book, chronologically, in a series, but was enchanting enough to get me seeking out all the other books Upfield wrote featuring a half-cast Australian detective, Napoleon Bonaparte (named after the famous Frenchman, but more affectionately called "Bony" by his friends). Although many of the Bony mysteries are set in New South Wales or Queensland, they eventually will take you to many areas of the country. The real-life experiences of the author during his many years experience living in Australia no doubt created a stockpile of interesting things to write about, interesting characters, and puzzling mysteries to be figured out. If the reading of Wings Above the Diamantina doesn't send you looking for a map to see where there might be a river that fans out into so many channels that it's 60 miles wide, well then you are probably satisfied with merely the Crocodile Dundee and kangaroo image of the vast continent and will miss out on much that could be experienced in reading more of this series.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the writing is old fashioned and sometimes not great, I like Bony a little more with each book. He reminds me a little of Sherlock Holmes with his mysterious deductions and of Hercule Poirot with his high opinion of himself. And of course, there's Australia!

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars, really. A most enjoyable read, although it got muddled about 3/4 through (or at least I did)!

This is the first book I've read by this author, of whom I had never heard before seeing 5 of his books at Goodwill. I then saw one at another store the next day and decided it was a sign! I liked that it was set in Australia, and in Queensland -- where the Nevil Shute book I just finished (A Place Like Alice) was also set.

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third installment of the series

Once again, it is Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, known to most as Bony, to the rescue. This is the third installment of this series by Arthur Upfield, and it begins with a very strange occurrence. An airplane lands and there is no pilot; just a girl who is unconscious. There are no footprints anywhere, so it seems that the plane has just dropped out of the sky with its passenger. The young woman is quickly taken in by the Nettlefold family, where she remains unconscious, sliding toward death. Bony must solve the mystery of who she is, how she got there, and what type of drug is causing her illness before she dies.

I like these books, although I must say that modern readers may find Upfield's depiction of the local Australian aborigines somewhat racist. I am okay with it since he writes within the context of a time when racism was the reality and whites felt superior (not that I think that's right; I just understand that it was the times), but some may find it offensive. Other than that caveat, I love these books for their look at the raw Australian outback of the 1930s.

recommended

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unidentified young woman is found paralyzed in an airplane abandoned in the Outback, with no footprints to show that a pilot was ever in the plane. Who drugged her and why, are questions puzzling enough to engage the attention of Inspector Bonaparte. Life at the cattle station where she is being nursed now revolves around the inhabitants' sympathy for this young woman. Normally Bony's biggest asset as a detective is his patience, but if he works at his own pace, "Miss M.M." will die, and that would devastate all who know her except for one missing pilot.

Upfield skillfully engages the reader's empathy for the main characters. In addition, I cringe for her every time her amateur nurses open her eyes for her and leave them open for minutes at a time. I don't think it occurred to Upfield to wonder if she would be blind from dried-up eyes if she ever regained her movement.

Outback Australia is always one of Upfield's greatest characters. In this case the most urgent and awesome action takes place over a dry watercourse, just as the rain starts flooding down from the mountains.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The bush often gets 'em in the end. You take a black or a half-caste, and you put him to college or teach him a trade, but the time may come when he'll leave it all to bolt back to the bush. Some of them can't long resist the urge to go on walkabout."
"Perhaps they are happier on walkabout?"
"Of course," Loveacre instantly concurred. "They haven't got the curse of Adam laid on 'em like the white man. You can't tell me that it's natural for a man to slave in a factory, or on a road, or in an office. It is not natural for man to work. That the white man does is just because he's always been greedy for power over his fellows. Many blacks never have worked. They have never had to work and they can't see the sense of working. Blessed if I can see the sense of it, either. I know well enough that were I a half-caste I wouldn't work when I could go on walkabout and dig up a yam or catch a fish when I wanted to eat" (151-152).

[Math · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled with this novel initially as I found the dialogue very forced and artificial. In fact, I almost abandoned it completely during the first chapter. However, I'm glad I stuck with it. Upfield is an accomplished writer. There are plenty of plot outlines and insights in other reviews, so I won't dwell on anything that’s already been said. However, what I enjoyed most is Upfield's skill in describing the landscape. It's as necessary to the novel as it's central character. Arguably, it is the central character. For those interested in crime novels that evoke a strong sense of place, where the landscape is ever-present, this is definitely one to try.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur Upfield is starting to get into his stride in this novel. The account of life in the Australian bush in the first half of the 20th century has fascinated me ever since I first read these books many years ago. We treat them as historical fiction and find some of the racial attitudes regrettable, though no doubt true of the time.

[Sue Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third in the Bony series and the best so far, as Upfield refines his chief character and writing skills. An unknown woman is found paralysed in a stolen plane on a dry lake in the Channel country. Who is she, what had been done to her and why is the plane blown up the night after? Bony is in a race against time to both solve the crime and save the woman's life.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Bony's home state of Queensland, this presents a mysteriously ill lady retrieved from an aircraft which somehow landed in one piece with no one at the controls. Many interesting characters and humorous interludes keep the reader's interest in what is a relatively lengthy novel and one of Upfield's best, which is saying something!

[Deb Whittam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book where Upfield demonstrated the fallibility of Bony neatly and by doing so made the character even more appealing. I love these books because they have a truly Australian feel to them and are plausible resolution as well. Highly recommend to anyone who loves a great mystery.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Upfield's mysteries, originally written in the '30s-60's, feature an Australian aborigine as a detective. I love the style this is written in, and would like to read more.

[NebulousGloom (FK) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another quality mystery with a very very interesting Australian setting. Definitely worth reading.

[Norma Druid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since this was first published in the '20s, you will notice the old-fashioned technology. Don't let it put you off.

[JoAnn Ainsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Enjoyed it to the end. Very much the flavor of ‘60’s Australia.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Chelsea Lawer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good old Boney. Australian bush in the olden days. I love it

[John Sheahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm - another really good read - lots of twists - a couple of extravagant stretches in deductions perhaps.
Commentary on being black again thick, both in the lines and between them.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wings Above the Diamantina by Arthur W. Upfield is the 3rd book of the Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte "Bony" mystery series set in late 1920s Queensland Australia. Half-caste (English/aborigine) "Bony" is called upon to solve a perplexing mystery, in hopes he can save a life.

Coolibah station manager Nettleford and his daughter Elizabeth are startled to find a red monoplane landed at (dry) Emu Lake. Far more startling is its passenger, a young woman, alive, barely breathing, completely unresponsive.

Elizabeth's seemingly purposeless, hopeless life on the station now has purpose: nurse the woman back to health. Dr. Knowles (Golden Dawn town doctor, notorious drunk) pilots his own plane to Coolibah, bringing Sergeant Cox, town policeman. Knowles is struck by the victim's beauty. She's identical to his sweetheart killed by a wartime bomb a decade ago. Medically, he's at a loss. Her voluntary muscles don't respond to any treatment. However she seems to be aware. How frustrating to be aware and paralyzed.

Nettleford returns to the site of the red plane with Sergeant Cox, to find charred, burnt-out wreckage. No footprints, no clues. Airplane safety authorities determine the fire was caused by nitroglycerine.

When "Bony" arrives, he's quite satisfied that the case will be a worthy challenge, a test of his supreme skills as a detective (surpassed only by his confidence in never having failed to finalize a case). He sets about interviewing everyone on the station, from the whites in charge, to the jackaroos and boss stockman, to the aborigine station crew. He considers everyone a suspect, which affronts many. They react first to him as a half-caste, only later sensing his ability.

Bony goes walkabout with the aborigines to determine (with his careful attention to minutiae) how the plane was fired, why, and who did it. He knows who's guilty, but has no proof - yet - to arrest and convict. Meanwhile the young woman is failing fast. Bony calls upon his longtime friend Chief Illiwalli, to be fetched from far across Australia. Due to the urgency, he must be flown to Coolibah. Mother Nature interferes, with a colossal sandstorm. After the storm, Illiwalli is missing.

After Bony rescues Illiwalli from his kidnappers, Mother Nature steps in again - blocking their way with a flood. Queensland countryside is described in dramatic detail, explaining vast distances and landforms to be traversed, as well as frighteningly powerful weather.

At the end, Bony recaps all the facts he discovered while sleuthing, a la Hercule Poirot. Happy endings all around (except for the guilty parties of course). Bony is less arrogant in this story than in the previous two (a welcome change).

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

MarionJL Babelio
J'aime beaucoup les romans d'Arthur Upfield, que ce soit l'ambiance, l'humour ou les personnages. J'aime surtout le cadre des récits : le bush australien dans toute son immensité au début du XXème siècle (ici en 1921). On se retrouve dans des ambiances de Far West avec des cow-boys, du racisme (pas contre les indiens mais contre les aborigènes qu'on n'a pas le droit de servir dans les bars par exemple), des espaces immenses à coloniser et à dompter et des personnages haut en couleur.

C'est le troisième opus écrit par Upfield et on découvre encore Bony et surtout sa formidable capacité d'analyse et son mépris des règles (de la bureaucratie).

On découvre surtout l'immensité de l'Australie avec ses problèmes météorologiques : inondation du Diamantina (même principe que pour les oueds), nuage et tempête de sable, manque d'eau ; la dangerosité de ses animaux et la rudesse des hommes. Pour moi, l'intrigue était en arrière plan de ce formidable cadre (d'ailleurs, elle est un peu tirée par les cheveux) et l'intérêt de la lecture réside dans la rencontre avec la nonchalance De Bony, le courage du commandant Loveacre, la déprime du Dr Knowles ou l'immense sagesse d'Illiwari.

C'est une de mes séries chouchous, avec ses belles couvertures représentant des œuvres aborigènes et cette plongée dans l'Australie intérieure du début du siècle dernier. La description est particulièrement vivace car elle est tirée de l'expérience d'Upfield, qui a exercé tous les métiers dans cet environnement.