The Big Ask

Murray Whelan #4

by Shane Maloney

With an election looming, a homicide cop on his heels, adultery in the air and a gun buried in his backyard, political minder and spin-meister Murray Whelan is in for a frenzied few days. Ordered to infiltrate the toughest union in the country, the worlds of politics and crime are about to collide in a taut thriller full of humour.

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Australia, Mystery, Detective, Humor, Literature

Paperback

First published May 9, 2001

About the author

Shane Maloney (born 1953) is an Australian novelist, based in Melbourne, best known for his crime fiction novels. He is a graduate of the Australian National University.

Maloney has written non-fiction and journalistic essays, but is best known for his six crime fiction novels - in the "hard-boiled" sub-genre - featuring Murray Whelan, a Labour party functionary working for a Victorian state political member, who finds himself investigating crimes linked to his job. The series (1994 - 2007) is popular for its wit and its portrayal of Melbourne's political and social culture. The novels are set slightly earlier than written, during the late 1980s when Labour was in power at both a federal and state level. The first two novels, "Stiff" and "The Brush-Off", were adapted into TV movies starring David Wenham in 2004.

"The Brush-Off" won the Ned Kelly Award for Crime Fiction in 1997. In 2009, Maloney received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Crime Writers Association of Australia.

Reviews

[Peter Anderson]

Four down and two to go!

Shane Maloney's romps about the escapades of Murray Whelan are simply great fun.

And what makes it even more entertaining for me is that Murray and I share the same political persuasion 😁😆🤔🤭😬

You can't take these books to serious and I don't know how they read to a reader outside Australia - me might look a bit odd.

This whole series is highly recommended.

Stay safe,
Peter

[Rick Yeowart]

Shane Maloney manages to make the tedium of trade unions and their politics fun.
The story moves fast, probably too fast, a lot happpens on a small time, there’s no real depth, but it’s a fun read.

It’s not The Wire season 2, but it might make for an ok coronation street storyline over a few weeks of telly.

It’s a bit of escapism and isn’t offensively bad in anyway.

It would make a good holiday read for a bloke

[Peter Holz]

This was an enormously enjoyable read, full of lively characters, crisp, witty dialogue and an absolutely superb turn of phrase (the traffic thicker than a National Party voter). There were enough balls in the air to keep it interesting, but not too many for my poor brain to keep up with the machinations. Certainly not "as unreadable as a Patrick White novel."

[Rosalind]

Hilarious political satire very much set in Melbourne. Murray Whelan #4 sees him embroiled in a union related murder and running for preselection against his Minister for Transport employer. Political machinations abound. Unique wit in every line, one of the funniest writers I have ever read.

[Andrew Mcdonald]

I like all of these, but not the best one.

[Jarmby]

Not as sharp and witty as the predecessors in this series
Murray Whelan manages to deal with too much too readily to make it credible enough for the readerto be captured in the story

[W. Austin]

excellent material on raising funds from individuals for ministry

[Glenys Parslow]

Shane Maloney and Murray Whelan are both dear to my heart. Too close to reality for comfort. Hilarious portrayal of leftie politics, union agitators and standover tactics. Probably enhances the reading experience if you hail from Melbourne and your idealistic political hopes are already somewhat bruised. However, I am certain these political currents are universal so any reader will appreciate the humour. I have all the Murray Whelan novels and treasure every one.
Love the disclaimer:"The author of this book, its setting and its characters are entirely fictitious. There is no such place as Melbourne. The Australian Labor Party exists only in the imagination of its memebrs"

[Bobby Burns]

Wonderfully authentic characterisation of inner city Melbourne and the machinery of ALP/Union operations. Amusing observations and one-liners. Gritty when it needed to be. Come back Murray, there's plenty of work left to be done.

[Felicity]

In this book, we see the introduction of Red--Whelan's son--who is a character we grow to love in the later Murray Whelan mysteries. This one's funny, like the others, but not as funny...

[PattyMacDotComma]

Fun. Nice to read a kind of classic Aussie mystery novel. Malone is always reliable.

[John]

Did not finish it, just didn't get into it.

[Al Stoess]

I enjoy Maloney. There are other books of his I have not read.

[MsFolio *]

A good read.

[Stephanie]

Funny, but light as a feather.

[Bill]

I'm a fan of Murray's adventures but this instalment is the best so far in terms of being a thriller.
I really didn't want it put it down, itching to find out what happened next.