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Kylie Kendall Mysteries #2
The Kookaburra Gambit
Frustrated, transplanted Aussie Kylie Kendall mostly hangs out with her secretary and samples LA nightlife. Owning half a detective agency is boring when your partner won’t let you detect. But twins Alf and Chica Hartnidge, hosts of Australian hit children TV show The Oz Mob ask who smuggles opals into the U.S. inside their Kelvin Kookaburra plush toys, and murder follows.
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2005
4 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Claire McNab
47 books52 followersCLAIRE McNAB, 1940-2022
Claire McNab died on June 30, 2022, after a prolonged battle with Parkinson’s Disease. She also wrote under her real name, Claire Carmichael, an outpouring of children's literature, textbooks, self-help books, and plays. She became (and remains to this day) a renowned author of children’s books in Australia.
Claire McNab is the pseudonym of Claire Carmichael. She was born in 1940 in Melbourne, Australia. While pursuing a career as a high school teacher in Sydney, she began her writing career with comedy plays and textbooks. She left teaching in the mid-eighties to become a full-time writer. In her native Australia she is known for her self-help and children's books. She moved to Los Angeles in 1994 after falling in love with an American woman, and now teaches not-yet-published writers through the UCLA Writers' Extension Program. She is best known for three lesbian mystery series featuring Inspector Carol Ashton, Agent Denise Cleever and Detective Kylie Kendall. She is the recipient of the 2006 Alice B. Medal.
From the publisher's website: Claire McNab has written over 50 books and is known in her native Australia for crime fiction, children's novels, picture books, self-help, and English textbooks. Her first mystery, Lessons in Murder, was published in the U.S. in 1988. Now a Los Angeles resident, she teaches not-yet-published writers through the UCLA Extension Writers' Program. She is the author of three lesbian mystery series featuring Inspector Carol Ashton, Agent Denise Cleever and Detective Kylie Kendall. She has served as the president of Sisters in Crime and is a member of both the Mystery Writers of America and the Science Fiction Writers of America. She lives in Los Angeles and is working on the finale of the Carol Ashton series, Lethal Care.
Claire McNab died on June 30, 2022, after a prolonged battle with Parkinson’s Disease. She also wrote under her real name, Claire Carmichael, an outpouring of children's literature, textbooks, self-help books, and plays. She became (and remains to this day) a renowned author of children’s books in Australia.
Claire McNab is the pseudonym of Claire Carmichael. She was born in 1940 in Melbourne, Australia. While pursuing a career as a high school teacher in Sydney, she began her writing career with comedy plays and textbooks. She left teaching in the mid-eighties to become a full-time writer. In her native Australia she is known for her self-help and children's books. She moved to Los Angeles in 1994 after falling in love with an American woman, and now teaches not-yet-published writers through the UCLA Writers' Extension Program. She is best known for three lesbian mystery series featuring Inspector Carol Ashton, Agent Denise Cleever and Detective Kylie Kendall. She is the recipient of the 2006 Alice B. Medal.
From the publisher's website: Claire McNab has written over 50 books and is known in her native Australia for crime fiction, children's novels, picture books, self-help, and English textbooks. Her first mystery, Lessons in Murder, was published in the U.S. in 1988. Now a Los Angeles resident, she teaches not-yet-published writers through the UCLA Extension Writers' Program. She is the author of three lesbian mystery series featuring Inspector Carol Ashton, Agent Denise Cleever and Detective Kylie Kendall. She has served as the president of Sisters in Crime and is a member of both the Mystery Writers of America and the Science Fiction Writers of America. She lives in Los Angeles and is working on the finale of the Carol Ashton series, Lethal Care.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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June 18, 2020Only a week or two after solving the Wombat mystery, Kylie is visited by Alf and Chicka Hartridge, twin brothers from her old home town of Wolegudgerie. They have signed a contract with a highfalutin U.S. movie company for a film starring the Oz Mob—delightful children’s characters created by Alf and Chicka and based on native Australian animals. It seems, though, that someone is using the stuffed toy versions of the animals for no good and the brothers want Kylie to find out who.
I wanted very much to not like this book. For one thing, it is disgustingly formulaic—repeating many of the same themes from The Wombat Strategy. First of all, the clients just happen to be Australian. The bad guys are charismatic California gurus of some type. Kylie gets to go under cover and has to deal with family problems. She manages to uses every Australian expression imaginable. And then there is always Ariana—cold and aloof. Will Kylie get to second base?
But here’s the thing. When I went to my stack to pick out something new to read, I almost snatched at this one, despite the fact that I had two others already picked out. And despite whatever flaws it might have, I found myself smiling almost all the way through at Kylies adventures. How can this be? .Well, as to the formulaic thing—at least it is McNab’s personal formula and not something she gets from the best-seller list. She lets us know that what we liked in the first book will be echoed in this one. The charismatic gurus—both self-help and religious—do exist aplenty in California, so why shouldn’t she write about them? I am still annoyed by the plethora of Australia-isms, but the book would be much duller without at least most of them. And Kylie’s friendship with Ariana makes me turn the pages just as fast as anything else. A truly unique and fascinating relationship that McNab holds closely to her chest from book to book. Kylie’s undercover activities and family problems? Both plusses, and McNab’s penchant for Kylie’s frequent references to Private Investigation: The Complete Handbook is not only priceless, but useful to the plot and the tone.
Here’s the bottom line. The Kylie Kendal series is both a professionally written and professionally produced series—even the covers are interesting and the typefaces unusual without being clunky. Any book that makes you smile is worth a recommendation to others. Formulaic or not, it’s impossible for me to give this one less than a 4. It’s better than the first and I can’t wait to read the next.
Note: I read the first Alyson Books printing of this book.
Another Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel, along with information on over 930 other lesbian mysteries by over 310 authors.
I wanted very much to not like this book. For one thing, it is disgustingly formulaic—repeating many of the same themes from The Wombat Strategy. First of all, the clients just happen to be Australian. The bad guys are charismatic California gurus of some type. Kylie gets to go under cover and has to deal with family problems. She manages to uses every Australian expression imaginable. And then there is always Ariana—cold and aloof. Will Kylie get to second base?
But here’s the thing. When I went to my stack to pick out something new to read, I almost snatched at this one, despite the fact that I had two others already picked out. And despite whatever flaws it might have, I found myself smiling almost all the way through at Kylies adventures. How can this be? .Well, as to the formulaic thing—at least it is McNab’s personal formula and not something she gets from the best-seller list. She lets us know that what we liked in the first book will be echoed in this one. The charismatic gurus—both self-help and religious—do exist aplenty in California, so why shouldn’t she write about them? I am still annoyed by the plethora of Australia-isms, but the book would be much duller without at least most of them. And Kylie’s friendship with Ariana makes me turn the pages just as fast as anything else. A truly unique and fascinating relationship that McNab holds closely to her chest from book to book. Kylie’s undercover activities and family problems? Both plusses, and McNab’s penchant for Kylie’s frequent references to Private Investigation: The Complete Handbook is not only priceless, but useful to the plot and the tone.
Here’s the bottom line. The Kylie Kendal series is both a professionally written and professionally produced series—even the covers are interesting and the typefaces unusual without being clunky. Any book that makes you smile is worth a recommendation to others. Formulaic or not, it’s impossible for me to give this one less than a 4. It’s better than the first and I can’t wait to read the next.
Note: I read the first Alyson Books printing of this book.
Another Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel, along with information on over 930 other lesbian mysteries by over 310 authors.
September 3, 2018
Good follow up to The Wombat Stategy, the book that introduced Australian heroine Kylie Kendall, who moved to Los Angeles when her American father dies and leaves her the controlling interest in a private investigation agency. Kylie also finds herself attracted to the co-owner of the agency, Ariana, and the small town girl finds it hard to not mix pleasure with business as she tried to break into the private eye business.
The supporting cast of the agency, also introduced in the first book, supplies a lot of help to Kylie, and subplots, as the Aussie takes on her first case as the lead investigator. Twin brothers from Kylie's hometown area of Down Under arrive in L.A., looking to expand their hit puppet television show into the States. Problems arise when the brothers discover that someone is using plush toys of their characters imported into California are being used to smuggle opals, a scenario that could jeopardize a lucrative movie contract with a film company owner by a polarizing religious figure. Kylie's task is to discover who is smuggling the opals before the brothers are bankrupted.
Told from Kylie's point of view, the story moves along well and is refreshingly different due to her Australian idioms and her fish out of water status in the city of angels. It took just a couple of lazy summer days to go through this enjoyable mystery and I'm looking forward to the next installment. Recommended.
The supporting cast of the agency, also introduced in the first book, supplies a lot of help to Kylie, and subplots, as the Aussie takes on her first case as the lead investigator. Twin brothers from Kylie's hometown area of Down Under arrive in L.A., looking to expand their hit puppet television show into the States. Problems arise when the brothers discover that someone is using plush toys of their characters imported into California are being used to smuggle opals, a scenario that could jeopardize a lucrative movie contract with a film company owner by a polarizing religious figure. Kylie's task is to discover who is smuggling the opals before the brothers are bankrupted.
Told from Kylie's point of view, the story moves along well and is refreshingly different due to her Australian idioms and her fish out of water status in the city of angels. It took just a couple of lazy summer days to go through this enjoyable mystery and I'm looking forward to the next installment. Recommended.
May 18, 2021
"The Kookaburra Gambit" sees Kylie Kendall taking up where she left off in the series start "The Wombat Strategy". While this is a standalone it will be more enjoyable if you read the books in sequence.
Language differences continue to be both a highlight and a constant source of humour, while Kylie's romantic interest in the enigmatic and intensely private Ariana intensifies.
The mystery this time revolves around twins Alf and Chicka Hartridge who have signed a contract for a film about their children's characters, The Oz Mob. Unsurprisingly, they hail from Kylie's home town of Wollegudgerie.
Someone is setting the Hartridge's up for a fall, their contract has a morals clause, and they have discovered valuable opals hidden in a delivery of their Oz Mob plush toys. Of course the opals trace back to Wollegudgerie - talk about a small world.
It's up to Kylie to figure out who is behind the opal smuggling.
Humour alone would not carry the book so the off-the-shelf mystery adds just enough to carry it through to the end. Ultimately it is all about Kylie and the better for it.
Language differences continue to be both a highlight and a constant source of humour, while Kylie's romantic interest in the enigmatic and intensely private Ariana intensifies.
The mystery this time revolves around twins Alf and Chicka Hartridge who have signed a contract for a film about their children's characters, The Oz Mob. Unsurprisingly, they hail from Kylie's home town of Wollegudgerie.
Someone is setting the Hartridge's up for a fall, their contract has a morals clause, and they have discovered valuable opals hidden in a delivery of their Oz Mob plush toys. Of course the opals trace back to Wollegudgerie - talk about a small world.
It's up to Kylie to figure out who is behind the opal smuggling.
Humour alone would not carry the book so the off-the-shelf mystery adds just enough to carry it through to the end. Ultimately it is all about Kylie and the better for it.
April 23, 2023
Second book I've read by this author and second one in this series.
Kylie Kendall again goes undercover, this time playing the role of the girlfriend of a man - a twin. The twins have a successful kids show in Australia and are expanding in the USA. Why do they need Kylie to go undercover? Because the twins have made some stuffed animals to sell based on their kid's show puppets. They had them made in Australia and shipped to the US. Problem? The stuffed animals have stolen jewels stuffed into them. And their Hollywood contract has a morality clause that'd basically give a religious studio the rights to the twin's characters if they do something like have jewels found in their stuffed animals.
So: Kylie investigates while also trying to continue getting close/with the woman who runs her detective agency (Kylie picked up 51% of the company from her dead father, and Arianna Creeling owns the rest, so not a power-imbalance issue).
Interesting fun sequel.
Rating: 4.34
April 22 2023
Kylie Kendall again goes undercover, this time playing the role of the girlfriend of a man - a twin. The twins have a successful kids show in Australia and are expanding in the USA. Why do they need Kylie to go undercover? Because the twins have made some stuffed animals to sell based on their kid's show puppets. They had them made in Australia and shipped to the US. Problem? The stuffed animals have stolen jewels stuffed into them. And their Hollywood contract has a morality clause that'd basically give a religious studio the rights to the twin's characters if they do something like have jewels found in their stuffed animals.
So: Kylie investigates while also trying to continue getting close/with the woman who runs her detective agency (Kylie picked up 51% of the company from her dead father, and Arianna Creeling owns the rest, so not a power-imbalance issue).
Interesting fun sequel.
Rating: 4.34
April 22 2023
March 19, 2019
This is a new to me character from Claire McNab. I enjoyed the oddball characters and the premise of the story....Australian woman comes to Los Angeles to take over her recently deceased fathers private eye agency. Australian English is like a foreign language and learning to understanding it was part of the charm of this book.
November 22, 2019
Quirky and fun mystery.
April 5, 2017
It's okay.
-for a mystery, there's really not much mystery. quite predictable.
-many of the characters are one-dimensional, I don't care about them at all.
-at times can be obnoxiously australian. fair dinkum mate
-still, it's easy to read. Kylie is pretty charming there are some funny parts.
If you like unapologetic australian slang and don't mind predictable stories, this is the book for you.
-for a mystery, there's really not much mystery. quite predictable.
-many of the characters are one-dimensional, I don't care about them at all.
-at times can be obnoxiously australian. fair dinkum mate
-still, it's easy to read. Kylie is pretty charming there are some funny parts.
If you like unapologetic australian slang and don't mind predictable stories, this is the book for you.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews