Endpeace

Scobie Malone #14

by Jon Cleary

For Inspector Scobie Malone, a dinner party at the Sydney estate of Sir Harry and Lady Phillipa Huxwood, the fabulously wealthy heads of a publishing empire, proves to be an evening charged with tension between the Huxwoods and their squabbling children and grandchildren. The Huxwoods' own personal slice of the Sydney skyline - the Chronicle - is up for sale, and the family peace - if it ever existed - is about to be shattered by murder. During the night, Sir Harry is shot dead in his own bed, and his blood could be on the hands of anyone with a stake in the Huxwood dynasty. Malone finds himself stepping into a frayed and damaged family fabric, seeking the thread that will lead to the killer. His investigation begins with the opulent Malmaison House, where Lady Phillipa presides over the sprawling Huxwood family and staff - a veritable viper's nest, covered by the sweet scent of roses, blooming en masse in a garden to rival the Empress Josephine's. Malone uncovers the stuff of headlines: a forgotten love affair; the wealthy business elite versus an excriminal on the make; a family dogfight over potential fify-million-dollar handouts; and a silence that has lasted twenty-five years. Amid unwanted interference from higher-ups and the attention attracted by this high-profile case, Malone is under pressure to come up with the true story, once and for all. The accusing finger points in all directions - and the resolution reminds us that duty and blood alone do not make peace in families.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction

264 pages, Hardcover

First published July 23, 1997

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

[Damo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 14th book in the Scobie Malone series finds the NSW Detective Inspector in the affluent suburb of Vaucluse investigating a murder. Media tycoon Sir Harry Huxwood has been shot in the head while asleep in his bed.

This particular murder investigation is an exercise in ensuring feathers aren’t ruffled, toes and trodden on and noses aren’t put out of joint. When dealing with billionaires who have friends at the very top end of town, asking the wrong questions at the wrong time can result in a posting to Tibooburra in the far north west of New South Wales. At least, that’s the way Scobie can see things going.

The Huxwood family is rich beyond belief, owning a media empire that includes a major daily newspaper as well as other related interests. But the family is also divided over whether they should sell the company. And the family is quite large with adult children and their partners all living on the family estate. They were there the night Sir Henry was killed making them all suspects.

Scobie, along with Detective Sergeant Russ Clements begin their investigation by interviewing members of the family. But even this is hampered by the fact that Assistant Commissioner Bill Zanuch arrives on the scene to ‘observe’. The man likes to get in good with the rich and famous and, as a friend of the Huxwoods could be more of a hindrance than a help. Certainly, he begins by shielding Lady Phillipa Huxwood, the dead man’s wife, from being interviewed. It’s clear, this is going to be tough going.

A day later Scobie’s attention is taken by a shooting outside the home of former mobster Jack Aldwych. It turns out a company connected to Aldwych is making a takeover bid for Huxwood Press. This surely can’t be a coincidence so Malone is now convinced both shootings are related to the sale of the company.

From early on Scobie believes he has found the person who pulled the trigger but he needs evidence and he also needs to find out who organised the hit. This will prove to be a difficult thing to do due to the family clout, but, rather than step back, he decides to wade all the way in and step on some toes to try to rattle something loose. It seems to be a typical Malone approach.

The whole rift within a media mogul family thing rings very familiar reading this in 2022 because it has a real Succession feel to it and I found myself making numerous comparisons. The changing face of new reporting and audience readership, the family ownership and the head of the household at odds with his family over business decisions. It’s all there.

Typical of many police procedurals, the case builds slowly as we first get to know the suspects - and there are a lot of them! We slowly pick up snippets from each person to confirm that just about all of them could have had a reason for wanting Henry dead. It’s only right towards the final few pages that we see any real action so that the investigation can be brought to an uneasy conclusion.

My feeling as I closed the final page of Endpeace was that this is a crime novel that would mainly appeal to longtime readers of the Scobie Malone fans. We get an update on the lives of the main characters, which is nice, but the main body of the story is a fairly uninspiring murder investigation.

[scherzo♫ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Portrays the nasty in dynasty

[Andrew Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well told yarn of privilege with darkness that keeps a solid pace from both ends.

[David Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is quaint to read of a time when people had pagers and borrowed fixed telephones to make calls.

[Nabarun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another Scobie Malone story from Cleary, this time the target is one of Sydney's newspaper tycoon and the mystery lies within the household of the Huxwood dynasty who owns the newspaper. Its a deep dive into the complex world of power that a newspaper yields and also shows the way the old and the new generations think. A good read, starts a little slow in the beginning. But typical Cleary novel when Scobie Malone as the Detective Inspector of NSW police is awesome!