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A Pufferfish Mystery #1
Pig's Head
There are good cops, there are bad cops ... and there is Pufferfish, aka Detective Inspector Franz Heineken.
Pufferfish, (Contusus brevicandus): Body moderately short, pectorals rounded. Slow swimmer. Scavenger in the mud, at home in the murky shallows, where is roots out and feeds on detritus. Inflatable body able to bloat and even explode under extreme provocation.
A severed head rolls out of the rubbish in a crowded Tasmanian caravan park, and the hunt is one for the killers ... and for their victim, a man no-one seems to miss, a man no-one wants to know.
As Pufferfish digs deeper, he runs straight up against mainland law and order ... and the smell of corruption grows.
Pufferfish, (Contusus brevicandus): Body moderately short, pectorals rounded. Slow swimmer. Scavenger in the mud, at home in the murky shallows, where is roots out and feeds on detritus. Inflatable body able to bloat and even explode under extreme provocation.
A severed head rolls out of the rubbish in a crowded Tasmanian caravan park, and the hunt is one for the killers ... and for their victim, a man no-one seems to miss, a man no-one wants to know.
As Pufferfish digs deeper, he runs straight up against mainland law and order ... and the smell of corruption grows.
269 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
3 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
David Owen
20 books16 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
David Owen was born in Zimbabwe in 1956 and grew up in Malawi and Swaziland. He completed his education in South Africa and then spent some years working in London. He migrated to Australia in 1986. A past editor of Island magazine, he writes fiction and nonfiction. He is now settled in Tasmania.
David Owen was born in Zimbabwe in 1956 and grew up in Malawi and Swaziland. He completed his education in South Africa and then spent some years working in London. He migrated to Australia in 1986. A past editor of Island magazine, he writes fiction and nonfiction. He is now settled in Tasmania.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 17, 2025
Gritty and darkly humorous. A great read.
November 3, 2024
A corpseless head is found in a Tasmanian caravan park and Detective Inspector Franz Heineken of the Tasmanian Police is in charge of investigating the crime and identifying the victim. His nickname is 'Pufferfish', not that anyone calls him that to his face. Franz is a quirky individual with a dry humour, and his own way of doing things. He's a likeable character and a thorough police officer despite his oddities.
As Franz digs deeper into this crime, his determination to get to the bottom of the case and identify the victim starts upsetting a number of senior officers on the mainland who want the investigation to go away for their own reasons. But Franz refuses to let it go despite the increasing suggestion of corruption lurking beneath the case.
Pig's Head is the first in a series of 9 novels by Tasmanian author David Owen. A thoroughly enjoyable detective story set in the beautiful state of Tasmania. It's not a long book (that's always refreshing from my perspective!), detailed in police procedure with an unconventional detective at its core. I will definitely be reading the rest of this series!
As Franz digs deeper into this crime, his determination to get to the bottom of the case and identify the victim starts upsetting a number of senior officers on the mainland who want the investigation to go away for their own reasons. But Franz refuses to let it go despite the increasing suggestion of corruption lurking beneath the case.
Pig's Head is the first in a series of 9 novels by Tasmanian author David Owen. A thoroughly enjoyable detective story set in the beautiful state of Tasmania. It's not a long book (that's always refreshing from my perspective!), detailed in police procedure with an unconventional detective at its core. I will definitely be reading the rest of this series!
February 7, 2020
Wasn't really expecting to like it - but then I'm a fan of fast-talking detective fiction, and this was a pretty good example of it. Unfortunately there were small parts when the limitations of the medium meant it was uncomfortably explanatory: "Why should we do this?" "Because proper police procedure says we should" "Right!"
February 14, 2024
An idiosyncratic detective who plays by his own rules while observing those around him. Pithy, wry, dry and fun.
September 7, 2022
This is a rare breed indeed, not for the fact that it's a police procedural, for there's any number of those kicking around the place. No, it's the setting that is unusual and for that alone I was very keen to check Pig's Head by David Owen out. This is a mystery set in Tasmania, the Apple Isle, not well represented as far as crime novels go and I must say I was more than impressed with a cleverly contrived mystery investigated by a repulsive yet strangely endearing character known as Pufferfish.
Detective Inspector Franz Heineken of the Tasmanian Police Force takes perverse pleasure in his nickname of Pufferfish and the ugly connotations it evokes. As he describes himself:
He realises that the brown suit he wears so badly is to no-one's taste and even goes as far as to tell us that he "likes being unliked, being regarded as a repulsive sort".
He's the kind of detective who loves the dirty work involved with investigating a homicide, delving deeply into the distressing details and coming out the other side with an answer.
But back to his nickname - Pufferfish. An ugly, poisonous scavenger known to bloat in times of distress. Heineken assures us it's an apt description and gladly lets us know that his fellow police officers aren't game to call him the name to his face. Oddly, I was immediately drawn to such a refreshingly candid character, complete with his bluntness, crudity and single minded determination to solve the case, particularly if it makes his immediate superior, Chief Superintendent Walter d'Hayt (whom he describes thusly as "smooth. Imagine if you will running your fingers lightly along a shiny, fresh, moist slug.") look bad.
Heineken is called into action when a man's head is found in a rubbish bin in a caravan park on the state's east coast. The Chief Commissioner, Grif Hunt, wants a quick result on the investigation and knows that the Pufferfish is the man for the job. The confidence of Hunt is not shared by d'Hayt and the antagonism gradually builds throughout the book supplying a steady source of amusement owing largely to Heineken's efforts in besting his boss.
As it will turn out, the case of the found head (or the missing body, depending on which way you want to look at it) will span 3 states and expose a grimy underbelly in at least one police force. The investigation proves to involve an intriguing web that tangles into an ongoing investigation into a major drug ring. Despite attempts made to shut his investigation down, Heineken proves that determination and sheer bloody-mindedness counts for a lot in successful police work.
It's the determination of Heineken that moves the story along at such a tremendous rate as he quickly catches a sniff of a trail and jumps right onto it. Shades of the marshals on the trail of Dr Richard Kimball from The Fugitive creep into the figure of Franz Heineken as he hunts his suspects. Unfortunately, all of that comes to an end when the stoppers are placed on him by the complication that his case may somehow affect an ongoing major drug operation.
This is an extremely enjoyable police procedural mystery that is told in a rather airy fashion from the point of view of Heineken. His particular take on most situations is just skewed enough to have you scratching your head, but not so far gone that you worry about the man, making him a strangely likable fellow. His treatment of a couple of junior detectives, expected to jump when he crooks a finger at them, typifies his gruff persona.
The Tasmanian missing head murder becomes an interstate corruption scandal involving a major drug smuggling operation. In the background we are also confronted by a brutal inter-office battle, quite possibly the blossoming of a very unexpected romance and one very clever homicide cop. There's enough here to make any crime reader more than happy.
David Owen is a rare talent and has not enjoyed the accolades afforded other Australian authors. It looks as though he will go down as one of those authors whose books were greatly under-appreciated, with the early entries in the "Pufferfish" series now out of print and very difficult to find. This is a crying shame because Pig's Head is a darn good novel and Franz Heineken is one of the most refreshing protagonists I have come across. If you can get your hands on a copy it will be well worth the trouble.
https://crimefictionhq.com/pigs-head-...
Detective Inspector Franz Heineken of the Tasmanian Police Force takes perverse pleasure in his nickname of Pufferfish and the ugly connotations it evokes. As he describes himself:
'An insular bastard: that about sums me up…Many would say – on either side of the law – that I’m in fact an utter, total bastard.’
He realises that the brown suit he wears so badly is to no-one's taste and even goes as far as to tell us that he "likes being unliked, being regarded as a repulsive sort".
He's the kind of detective who loves the dirty work involved with investigating a homicide, delving deeply into the distressing details and coming out the other side with an answer.
But back to his nickname - Pufferfish. An ugly, poisonous scavenger known to bloat in times of distress. Heineken assures us it's an apt description and gladly lets us know that his fellow police officers aren't game to call him the name to his face. Oddly, I was immediately drawn to such a refreshingly candid character, complete with his bluntness, crudity and single minded determination to solve the case, particularly if it makes his immediate superior, Chief Superintendent Walter d'Hayt (whom he describes thusly as "smooth. Imagine if you will running your fingers lightly along a shiny, fresh, moist slug.") look bad.
Heineken is called into action when a man's head is found in a rubbish bin in a caravan park on the state's east coast. The Chief Commissioner, Grif Hunt, wants a quick result on the investigation and knows that the Pufferfish is the man for the job. The confidence of Hunt is not shared by d'Hayt and the antagonism gradually builds throughout the book supplying a steady source of amusement owing largely to Heineken's efforts in besting his boss.
As it will turn out, the case of the found head (or the missing body, depending on which way you want to look at it) will span 3 states and expose a grimy underbelly in at least one police force. The investigation proves to involve an intriguing web that tangles into an ongoing investigation into a major drug ring. Despite attempts made to shut his investigation down, Heineken proves that determination and sheer bloody-mindedness counts for a lot in successful police work.
It's the determination of Heineken that moves the story along at such a tremendous rate as he quickly catches a sniff of a trail and jumps right onto it. Shades of the marshals on the trail of Dr Richard Kimball from The Fugitive creep into the figure of Franz Heineken as he hunts his suspects. Unfortunately, all of that comes to an end when the stoppers are placed on him by the complication that his case may somehow affect an ongoing major drug operation.
This is an extremely enjoyable police procedural mystery that is told in a rather airy fashion from the point of view of Heineken. His particular take on most situations is just skewed enough to have you scratching your head, but not so far gone that you worry about the man, making him a strangely likable fellow. His treatment of a couple of junior detectives, expected to jump when he crooks a finger at them, typifies his gruff persona.
The Tasmanian missing head murder becomes an interstate corruption scandal involving a major drug smuggling operation. In the background we are also confronted by a brutal inter-office battle, quite possibly the blossoming of a very unexpected romance and one very clever homicide cop. There's enough here to make any crime reader more than happy.
David Owen is a rare talent and has not enjoyed the accolades afforded other Australian authors. It looks as though he will go down as one of those authors whose books were greatly under-appreciated, with the early entries in the "Pufferfish" series now out of print and very difficult to find. This is a crying shame because Pig's Head is a darn good novel and Franz Heineken is one of the most refreshing protagonists I have come across. If you can get your hands on a copy it will be well worth the trouble.
https://crimefictionhq.com/pigs-head-...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews