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Scobie Malone #13
A Different Turf
In the gay community of Sydney, where "gay bashings" are a daily occurrence, someone has taken the law into their own hands and is eliminating the culprits. Detective Scobie Malone realizes that he is up against an intelligent, highly dangerous killer - both elusive and deadly.
- GenresCrimeProceduralFiction
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
6 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Jon Cleary
127 books24 followersAustralian 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)
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)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 15, 2022
A Different Turf is the 14th book in the police procedural series featuring Detective Inspector Scobie Malone. Set in Sydney, Australia in the mid-1990s, this particular episode shines a spotlight on the city’s gay and lesbian community. Consequently, it also challenges Malone’s attitudes.
One of the crimes that regularly require police attention is that of so-called gay bashing. In this case, a vigilante avenger has been appearing on the scene of an assault whilst it’s in progress and shot and killed one of the attackers. With at least 3 incidents reported, the case is turned over to Malone’s Homicide squad as a serial killer case.
Three murders also means there were 3 bashings and that means there were, in theory, plenty of witnesses at the scene. This means there are quite a few interviews to be conducted. In other words, good old fashioned police work. This is the slow grind of a police procedural which you accept because it means you’re gradually picking up clues that will help bring the case to a head.
Usually.
With this case, it progressed at glacial speed with each of the interviews really taking us nowhere. In fact, it’s only really when Scobie begins to receive phone calls from the killer that any type of progress is made. And that’s really only because he records the voice rather than the content of their exchanges.
What is patently obvious through the course of this investigation is that Scobie Malone is one of the most prejudiced characters I have come across in Australia crime literature. Women, gays, bisexuals, foreigners, aboriginals, the Olympic Games, mobile phones, you name it and he has a stance that is utterly out of step with the modern attitude. It could be argued it was representative of the majority of Australian men aged around 45 in the mid-90s but it certainly plays very poorly today.
There is a definite struggle in Malone’s mind as he fights to overcome these deep-seated prejudices that have, up until now, ruled his life. It’s only through this case that he begins to understand that a person’s sexual preference has no bearing on their value as a person. It’s a rocky road for him. He’s clearly got a lifetime of deep seated beliefs to overcome.
I could be tempted to continue reading the remaining books in the series if some sort of progress is made to transform the man from the misogynistic, bigoted, racist dinosaur he currently comes across as.
As a crime novel I found A Different Turf to be slow moving and it failed to hit any great heights. The usual insightful detective work that redeems Malone for all of his personal faults failed to make an appearance and, instead, relied on leads being handed to him on a plate. Even the ending, which had the potential of ending with a bang seemed to fizzle out with only a whimper. All in all, quite a tired affair.
One of the crimes that regularly require police attention is that of so-called gay bashing. In this case, a vigilante avenger has been appearing on the scene of an assault whilst it’s in progress and shot and killed one of the attackers. With at least 3 incidents reported, the case is turned over to Malone’s Homicide squad as a serial killer case.
Three murders also means there were 3 bashings and that means there were, in theory, plenty of witnesses at the scene. This means there are quite a few interviews to be conducted. In other words, good old fashioned police work. This is the slow grind of a police procedural which you accept because it means you’re gradually picking up clues that will help bring the case to a head.
Usually.
With this case, it progressed at glacial speed with each of the interviews really taking us nowhere. In fact, it’s only really when Scobie begins to receive phone calls from the killer that any type of progress is made. And that’s really only because he records the voice rather than the content of their exchanges.
What is patently obvious through the course of this investigation is that Scobie Malone is one of the most prejudiced characters I have come across in Australia crime literature. Women, gays, bisexuals, foreigners, aboriginals, the Olympic Games, mobile phones, you name it and he has a stance that is utterly out of step with the modern attitude. It could be argued it was representative of the majority of Australian men aged around 45 in the mid-90s but it certainly plays very poorly today.
There is a definite struggle in Malone’s mind as he fights to overcome these deep-seated prejudices that have, up until now, ruled his life. It’s only through this case that he begins to understand that a person’s sexual preference has no bearing on their value as a person. It’s a rocky road for him. He’s clearly got a lifetime of deep seated beliefs to overcome.
I could be tempted to continue reading the remaining books in the series if some sort of progress is made to transform the man from the misogynistic, bigoted, racist dinosaur he currently comes across as.
As a crime novel I found A Different Turf to be slow moving and it failed to hit any great heights. The usual insightful detective work that redeems Malone for all of his personal faults failed to make an appearance and, instead, relied on leads being handed to him on a plate. Even the ending, which had the potential of ending with a bang seemed to fizzle out with only a whimper. All in all, quite a tired affair.
August 21, 2015
This is the 13th or 14th Scobie Malone novel, depending on what list you happen to see. Scobie is an Australian detective Inspector and in this novel he’s forced to confront Issues of homosexuality, racism, sexism, and vigilantism. A man, claiming to represent a group of people, has contacted Scobie, taking responsibility for a series of vigilante-style killings of gay bashers. The investigation proves difficult as it forces issues within his own squad to the surface when he discovers the bi-sexuality of one of his detectives. The conflict feels a bit dated today, but Cleary handles them sensitively.
While I love the accent of the narrator and his multiple voices, I sometimes found the dialog a bit difficult to follow. Never mind, the intriguing relationship Scobie has with his wife Lisa and growing children (reminiscent of Commisario Brunetti’s family in Donna Leon’s series) makes the novels worth reading/listening to. Especially when you run across phrases like, “explaining the unbelievable to the incredulous,” and “navigating the shoals of a woman’s mind.”
Regretfully, Cleary died in 2010 and his books are not readily available, but are becoming more widely available especially in digital and audio formats. They are worth the effort to find them.
While I love the accent of the narrator and his multiple voices, I sometimes found the dialog a bit difficult to follow. Never mind, the intriguing relationship Scobie has with his wife Lisa and growing children (reminiscent of Commisario Brunetti’s family in Donna Leon’s series) makes the novels worth reading/listening to. Especially when you run across phrases like, “explaining the unbelievable to the incredulous,” and “navigating the shoals of a woman’s mind.”
Regretfully, Cleary died in 2010 and his books are not readily available, but are becoming more widely available especially in digital and audio formats. They are worth the effort to find them.
January 26, 2013
Jon Cleary's Scobie Malone series stands up well to comparison with Donna Leon's inspector Brunetti. Malone's investigations take place in Sydney rather than Venice, but Cleary paints the city, its politics, underworld, police culture just as vividly as Leon. Malone's family life enriches the texture. In this 1996 book, Cleary tackles contemporary attitudes to homosexuality convincingly, encouraging us to share Malone's near sympathy with the serial murderer of gay-bashers. Cleary's writing 'flows seamlessly' as one reviewer said. The pace is well maintained and the plot takes several unexpected turns. A good read.
August 27, 2024
I DO wish we could give 1/2 stars. Three is a bit low, but I don't think it was 4 material. I felt there were some inconsistencies, which HAS coloured my rating, but it was a pretty good story none the less.
March 5, 2011
Love all the characters which I have got to know from all the previous Scobie Malone Books. Never boring, never easy to figure out who did it. It is why I like the Susanna Gregory ones, I never have a clue!
August 15, 2016
Fantastic book! Loved it!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews