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Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte #14
Les Vieux Garçons De Broken Hill
" Mince, le teint foncé, des yeux bleus incroyables, Napoléon Bonaparte, de la police de Brisbane, est un véritable Sherlock Holmes du bush australien. Normal, quand on sait que cet homme d'exception a du sang aborigène. À priori, plutôt un handicap pour un Australien, sauf que Napoléon Bonaparte en a fait une force. Champion de la détection olfactive, il peut suivre des jours durant un bandit à la trace dans les zones les plus désertiques du pays, sans le moindre repère... "
Marie-Claire
" Arthur Upfield, créateur du polar ethnographique, excelle à faire visiter l'Australie et ses différentes strates de peuplement. Il nous fait pénétrer dans les us et coutumes des aborigènes en créant son personnage de "privé", l'inspecteur Napoléon Bonaparte - pied de nez aux Anglais que cet Écossais n'aimait pas -, surnommé "Bony". "
Rouge
Marie-Claire
" Arthur Upfield, créateur du polar ethnographique, excelle à faire visiter l'Australie et ses différentes strates de peuplement. Il nous fait pénétrer dans les us et coutumes des aborigènes en créant son personnage de "privé", l'inspecteur Napoléon Bonaparte - pied de nez aux Anglais que cet Écossais n'aimait pas -, surnommé "Bony". "
Rouge
288 pages, Pocket Book
First published January 1, 1950
15 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
About the author
Arthur W. Upfield
74 books111 followersAka Arthur Upfield
Arthur William Upfield (1 September 1890 – 13 February 1964) was an Australian writer, best known for his works of detective fiction featuring Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte ('Bony') of the Queensland Police Force, a half-caste Aborigine.
Born in England, Upfield moved to Australia in 1910 and fought with the Australian military during the First World War. Following his war service, he travelled extensively throughout Australia, obtaining a knowledge of Australian Aboriginal culture that would later be used extensively in his written works. In addition to his detective fiction, Upfield was also a member of the Australian Geological Society and was involved in numerous scientific expeditions. Upfield's works remained popular after his death, and in the 1970s were the basis for an Australian television series entitled "Boney".
Arthur William Upfield (1 September 1890 – 13 February 1964) was an Australian writer, best known for his works of detective fiction featuring Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte ('Bony') of the Queensland Police Force, a half-caste Aborigine.
Born in England, Upfield moved to Australia in 1910 and fought with the Australian military during the First World War. Following his war service, he travelled extensively throughout Australia, obtaining a knowledge of Australian Aboriginal culture that would later be used extensively in his written works. In addition to his detective fiction, Upfield was also a member of the Australian Geological Society and was involved in numerous scientific expeditions. Upfield's works remained popular after his death, and in the 1970s were the basis for an Australian television series entitled "Boney".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
October 20, 2024
Written in the 1950’s (but seemingly timeless), this is the 14th book in the ‘Bony’ series by Australian author Arthur W Upfield, and the first I have read. Queensland detective inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, of white and indigenous extraction, on secondment to the New South Wales Police, is sent to the outback mining town of Broken Hill to investigate the poisonings of two elderly bachelors, bungled by the socially-inept Sydney DI Stillman.
Bony’s approach is to get along with local police and the Superintendent’s son (a journalist), charm potential witnesses, using psychology to prompt hidden memories, and his secret weapon: the skills of Sydney burglar Jimmy the Screwsman working undercover,
As murder mysteries go, this one kept me on my toes and I enjoyed the descriptions of clothing and the locales, with the backdrop and noise of the mining operations. This reader would have preferred a little more historic detail (presumably Menzies was long-serving PM), the brand of beer they drank, the name of the airline, etc. But that’s the author’s prerogative. Suffice to say I was impressed and will look out for other titles in the series, mostly available as ebooks.
Bony’s approach is to get along with local police and the Superintendent’s son (a journalist), charm potential witnesses, using psychology to prompt hidden memories, and his secret weapon: the skills of Sydney burglar Jimmy the Screwsman working undercover,
As murder mysteries go, this one kept me on my toes and I enjoyed the descriptions of clothing and the locales, with the backdrop and noise of the mining operations. This reader would have preferred a little more historic detail (presumably Menzies was long-serving PM), the brand of beer they drank, the name of the airline, etc. But that’s the author’s prerogative. Suffice to say I was impressed and will look out for other titles in the series, mostly available as ebooks.
February 25, 2016
The Bachelors of Broken Hill (1950) is the 14th mystery in Arthur W. Upfield's series which features Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte. It also finds Bony slightly out of his element--in the city rather than in the bush area and the sheep stations where he generally operates.
When the police force at Broken Hill are faced with two cyanide poisoning deaths which both they and an obnoxious, self-important inspector from Sydney are unable to solve, Bony asks to be "seconded" to the New South Wales Police Department to bring his expert skills to bear. A third poisoning occurs shortly after he begins his investigation and he begins to see a pattern. All three victims are older, single men. All three die in crowded, public places while drinking tea or beer. All three are very messy when at table. And witnesses recall a woman being near the victims shortly before they died--though there is some disagreement about her description. The one item they all agree on--she was carrying a very old-fashioned blue purse with red, drawstring straps.
Even though one death occurs after Bony arrives, most of the clues are old, the crime scenes have been tidied, and the witnesses have to be mollified after being mishandled by the policeman from Sydney. But Bony is used to following the most meager of trails and employing unorthodox measures to find his man...or woman as the case may be. He'll make use of a burglar on holiday, an amateur sketch artist, and a barkeeper-turned-taxi-man as well as convincing the local constabulary to turn a blind eye to a bit of benevolent burgling in the quest for justice. The first thing he'll have to determine--does she kill out of an unreasonable hatred for messy bachelors or is there method to her madness? Perhaps she's playing the trick of hiding one important death amongst the others. Once Bony discovers the answer to that conundrum and makes the connection to a murder by glass knife he's well on his way to capturing his killer.
It is always a delight to watch the unorthodox, half-Aboriginal, half-white detective operate. It is particularly fun to watch him one-up the obnoxious Inspector Stillman from Sydney. Bony's character is self-assured ("I always finish a race, always finalise the case I consent to take up.") as well as intelligent, and utterly charming. It doesn't take him long to have the shop girls, who so recently became anti-police under the questioning of Stillman, eating out of his hand and going out of there way to help him identify the mysterious woman who hovers near every murder.
In addition to the usual police procedural, this particular outing provides an interesting character study. Bony must first understand the character of the victims before he can begin to understand the character and psychology of the woman who kills them. The ending is a bit darker than the usual fare by Upfield--giving the reader a very intimate look at what could drive someone to kill in the manner portrayed in the book. A thoroughly good read.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
When the police force at Broken Hill are faced with two cyanide poisoning deaths which both they and an obnoxious, self-important inspector from Sydney are unable to solve, Bony asks to be "seconded" to the New South Wales Police Department to bring his expert skills to bear. A third poisoning occurs shortly after he begins his investigation and he begins to see a pattern. All three victims are older, single men. All three die in crowded, public places while drinking tea or beer. All three are very messy when at table. And witnesses recall a woman being near the victims shortly before they died--though there is some disagreement about her description. The one item they all agree on--she was carrying a very old-fashioned blue purse with red, drawstring straps.
Even though one death occurs after Bony arrives, most of the clues are old, the crime scenes have been tidied, and the witnesses have to be mollified after being mishandled by the policeman from Sydney. But Bony is used to following the most meager of trails and employing unorthodox measures to find his man...or woman as the case may be. He'll make use of a burglar on holiday, an amateur sketch artist, and a barkeeper-turned-taxi-man as well as convincing the local constabulary to turn a blind eye to a bit of benevolent burgling in the quest for justice. The first thing he'll have to determine--does she kill out of an unreasonable hatred for messy bachelors or is there method to her madness? Perhaps she's playing the trick of hiding one important death amongst the others. Once Bony discovers the answer to that conundrum and makes the connection to a murder by glass knife he's well on his way to capturing his killer.
It is always a delight to watch the unorthodox, half-Aboriginal, half-white detective operate. It is particularly fun to watch him one-up the obnoxious Inspector Stillman from Sydney. Bony's character is self-assured ("I always finish a race, always finalise the case I consent to take up.") as well as intelligent, and utterly charming. It doesn't take him long to have the shop girls, who so recently became anti-police under the questioning of Stillman, eating out of his hand and going out of there way to help him identify the mysterious woman who hovers near every murder.
In addition to the usual police procedural, this particular outing provides an interesting character study. Bony must first understand the character of the victims before he can begin to understand the character and psychology of the woman who kills them. The ending is a bit darker than the usual fare by Upfield--giving the reader a very intimate look at what could drive someone to kill in the manner portrayed in the book. A thoroughly good read.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
February 13, 2013
Writing his novels in the 1930s through the 1950s, Upfield is a man of his times, using the cadences and norms of his time. I can’t help but cringe when 'Bony,' as the protagonist calls himself, pronounces himself unique, “standing midway between the white and black races, having all the virtues of the white race and very few vices of the black race.” Sure, he's deliberately disarming his audience, but it comes at a high price.
Reluctant as I am to let something like that slide, I read on, and I’m glad I did because Bony is a wonderful protagonist, greatly loved by his author. And it became clear, the more I read, that Upfield was drawing the reader to understand that it was Bony’s aboriginal culture and mindset that made him effective, made him brilliant.
“I am naturally impatient of red tape and regulations which are apt to bring on gastric trouble,” Bony tells his audience in The Bachelors of Broken Hill. “I never hurry in my hunt for a murderer, but I never delay my approach.”
As he moves throughout the Australian outback, Boney routinely encounters resistance from police and civilians alike who are taken aback by this anomaly, this “half-caste” in the the language of the books and the time. But it’s this distance, this otherness, that makes Bony effective. He approaches phenomena from a slightly different viewpoint than everyone else, including the killers he tracks and inevitably finds.
At the end of the book, the reader is both impressed and charmed. And that is Upfield’s gift - you can’t help but like Bony. Writing at a time and place when race was a difficult concept (and when and where has it ever not been?) Upfield broke some barriers with a powerful gentle narrative that resonates even today.
Reluctant as I am to let something like that slide, I read on, and I’m glad I did because Bony is a wonderful protagonist, greatly loved by his author. And it became clear, the more I read, that Upfield was drawing the reader to understand that it was Bony’s aboriginal culture and mindset that made him effective, made him brilliant.
“I am naturally impatient of red tape and regulations which are apt to bring on gastric trouble,” Bony tells his audience in The Bachelors of Broken Hill. “I never hurry in my hunt for a murderer, but I never delay my approach.”
As he moves throughout the Australian outback, Boney routinely encounters resistance from police and civilians alike who are taken aback by this anomaly, this “half-caste” in the the language of the books and the time. But it’s this distance, this otherness, that makes Bony effective. He approaches phenomena from a slightly different viewpoint than everyone else, including the killers he tracks and inevitably finds.
At the end of the book, the reader is both impressed and charmed. And that is Upfield’s gift - you can’t help but like Bony. Writing at a time and place when race was a difficult concept (and when and where has it ever not been?) Upfield broke some barriers with a powerful gentle narrative that resonates even today.
Read
May 11, 2019Excellent and clever book - by an author whoselife was interesing - and actualy linked to a murdercase through a copy cat killer using one of his plots to commit a 'foul deed; ( Look up the 190's Murchison Muders)
November 21, 2017
A good read for an airplane ride. Interesting storyline, loved the time period (post war late 1940s) and generally enjoyed trying to figure out “who dun it.”
November 30, 2014
"A baby's dummy. I seen the thing, I tell you. Pale brown rubber teat like beer. I hate 'em. Never give my kids them filthy things. Poor little mites. They trail all over the floor, with the cat playing with 'em and the dog licking 'em. And then the fond mother picking it up and stuffing it back into the little rosebud of a mouth--flies, dirt, spit, and all. The only thing a baby should have to suck is a good big clean mutton bone. No meat on it, of course--not at the start" (98-9).
June 13, 2017
For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
August 31, 2018
Not his best but OK
January 13, 2022
Kind of odd writing style, a little jerky. Seemed to have a lot of disconnected bits thrown in, like cats.
October 2, 2024
Several people of my acquaintance are quite taken by this series, I read one, and I was a little put off by the "noble savage" persona of our main protagonist. My partner's mother, who loves this series, gave me this book to read because she said it was the first in the series, and now that I have come to review it, I see that it is in fact the 14th. So any clues as to how Bony got started will not be revealed in this, the 14th book in the series.
If you like Bony, there's no reason you won't like this book. Generally I like mysteries set before DNA and fingerprinting. Later mysteries are more often thrillers with lots of violence and gore because the whodunit aspect has been replaced by "can we get a blood sample?" and the splatter pattern and so forth. But in the case, as a mixed race person myself, I found it grating every time the author described Bony has been so great, cultured, genteel, all the good things etc., on account of being half white, and yet so mysterious, so full of animal-like instinctive knowledge, because of his Black side, and yes, the author does, often, compare humans to animals who use their instinct. Arthur Upfield, for some reason I can't understand, doesn't realize that learning to track like that takes years of experience and hands on training, it's not born in the blood. It's not instinctive. There were memory methods the aborigines used to map the desert in their heads, their elders had knowledge the whites didn't value when they killed aborigines and destroyed their way of life, and those methods were sophisticated even though they weren't written down.
That issue I have with the author presenting Bony as almost mystical is both the reason I was a little repelled and why the people I know who love this series love it. They WANT to believe that the happy natives are more happy because they're more like animals and less like people, which strikes me as creepy. Just because you don't know aborigine history doesn't mean there wasn't any. . .
The second reason I rated this book kind of low, is because I read a lot of mysteries by lots of authors, of every persuasion, and I felt story itself was kind of meandering and dull. These bachelors keep getting killed and thanks to Bony a sketch artist makes a picture of the person nobody saw, that struck me as too far out. Without spoilers I will say the reveal didn't merit the crimes
If you like Bony, there's no reason you won't like this book. Generally I like mysteries set before DNA and fingerprinting. Later mysteries are more often thrillers with lots of violence and gore because the whodunit aspect has been replaced by "can we get a blood sample?" and the splatter pattern and so forth. But in the case, as a mixed race person myself, I found it grating every time the author described Bony has been so great, cultured, genteel, all the good things etc., on account of being half white, and yet so mysterious, so full of animal-like instinctive knowledge, because of his Black side, and yes, the author does, often, compare humans to animals who use their instinct. Arthur Upfield, for some reason I can't understand, doesn't realize that learning to track like that takes years of experience and hands on training, it's not born in the blood. It's not instinctive. There were memory methods the aborigines used to map the desert in their heads, their elders had knowledge the whites didn't value when they killed aborigines and destroyed their way of life, and those methods were sophisticated even though they weren't written down.
That issue I have with the author presenting Bony as almost mystical is both the reason I was a little repelled and why the people I know who love this series love it. They WANT to believe that the happy natives are more happy because they're more like animals and less like people, which strikes me as creepy. Just because you don't know aborigine history doesn't mean there wasn't any. . .
The second reason I rated this book kind of low, is because I read a lot of mysteries by lots of authors, of every persuasion, and I felt story itself was kind of meandering and dull. These bachelors keep getting killed and thanks to Bony a sketch artist makes a picture of the person nobody saw, that struck me as too far out. Without spoilers I will say the reveal didn't merit the crimes
August 7, 2023
3.5 stars
I came across this writer in one of those book newsletters that I get in my email inbox. It was on a list of top/most known/famous Australian mystery series.
I've never heard of this writer, the character or the series.
Unfortunately, because it is older, my library only has 3 of the books so I was unable to start w/#1.
Therefore, I didn't get a lot of sense of the character Inspector Bonatparte (aka Bony). There wasn't much past a brief physical description and few throw away sentences.
What this new reader does get is that Bony is very clever, well respected in his field, fairly well liked but doesn't have patience for ineptitude in fellow cops. He also doesn't always listen to his superiors and at times rebels.
Sound familiar? When I read a bit about the writer, I learned that Sherlock was an inspiration and you can see that in the Bony character.
Alright, enough babble...onto the actual review.
I thought the story moved quickly and I didn't get bored as I have at times reading other older detective books. The mystery is an intriguing one.
Several bachelors are being poisoned. The case is going nowhere for the locals so Bony is called in to help.
In the first few pages, it becomes obvious that the killer is a woman to the reader & Bony.
But what is the motive? What woman? Those are the questions that we try to solve along with our hero Detective.
Lots of interesting characters. Lots of clues along the way.
quote that sums up Bony:
"If by a quarter to four we are not supplied with refreshment, Crome, we go out to a cafe. Without morning and afternoon tea, the civil servant cannot be civil. When a civil servant snarls at me, I say, silently of course; 'What, no tea?'"
Overall, I liked it and was glad I've become aware of a worthwhile older series.
Some of the other books are available in e-book format thru my library so I may try to read some of those.
I came across this writer in one of those book newsletters that I get in my email inbox. It was on a list of top/most known/famous Australian mystery series.
I've never heard of this writer, the character or the series.
Unfortunately, because it is older, my library only has 3 of the books so I was unable to start w/#1.
Therefore, I didn't get a lot of sense of the character Inspector Bonatparte (aka Bony). There wasn't much past a brief physical description and few throw away sentences.
What this new reader does get is that Bony is very clever, well respected in his field, fairly well liked but doesn't have patience for ineptitude in fellow cops. He also doesn't always listen to his superiors and at times rebels.
Sound familiar? When I read a bit about the writer, I learned that Sherlock was an inspiration and you can see that in the Bony character.
Alright, enough babble...onto the actual review.
I thought the story moved quickly and I didn't get bored as I have at times reading other older detective books. The mystery is an intriguing one.
Several bachelors are being poisoned. The case is going nowhere for the locals so Bony is called in to help.
In the first few pages, it becomes obvious that the killer is a woman to the reader & Bony.
But what is the motive? What woman? Those are the questions that we try to solve along with our hero Detective.
Lots of interesting characters. Lots of clues along the way.
quote that sums up Bony:
"If by a quarter to four we are not supplied with refreshment, Crome, we go out to a cafe. Without morning and afternoon tea, the civil servant cannot be civil. When a civil servant snarls at me, I say, silently of course; 'What, no tea?'"
Overall, I liked it and was glad I've become aware of a worthwhile older series.
Some of the other books are available in e-book format thru my library so I may try to read some of those.
March 2, 2023
There is absolutely zero "bushcraft" in this instalment, and very little (thank goodness) of the "inner white/black conflict" drone. Boney's mixed heritage is only mentioned once in passing, and Upfield places the rather racist comments about "young Aborigine men going bush because it calls them" in the mouth or the mind of a single police officer, giving the impression that it might be just him. The only typical Upfield linguistical weirdness this time is his consistent use of the phrase "he tossed (whatever) into the wpb" instead of "waste paper basket." I guess the reader is just supposed to know, but I've never encountered that particular abbreviation in narration before. In dialogue, perhaps, but only in the mouths of ex-RAF.
Everyone seems to accept Boney at face value, and the women are delighted by his blue eyes. I guess.
The story itself is straightforward police work until the end, when Upfield suddenly remembers that he set up the serial killer as insane, and decides to pack in as much weirdness as possible in the final pages. Some of the crazy details don't really fit without some explanation, which isn't really given.
I do have a couple of quibbles, particularly regarding those sketches of a person no one can really remember; how would they be useful in identifying a given person? Also, how many cats did that woman have in the beginning? Because that's a huge amount of meat.
But a pleasant enough evening read, with no real gore to upset the delicate minded.
Everyone seems to accept Boney at face value, and the women are delighted by his blue eyes. I guess.
The story itself is straightforward police work until the end, when Upfield suddenly remembers that he set up the serial killer as insane, and decides to pack in as much weirdness as possible in the final pages. Some of the crazy details don't really fit without some explanation, which isn't really given.
I do have a couple of quibbles, particularly regarding those sketches of a person no one can really remember; how would they be useful in identifying a given person? Also, how many cats did that woman have in the beginning? Because that's a huge amount of meat.
But a pleasant enough evening read, with no real gore to upset the delicate minded.
March 30, 2024
Dans la petite ville minière de Broken Hill en Nouvelle Galles du Sud , Australie, un paisible commerçant est empoisonné à l'arsenic. Ce premier meurtre est suivi d'un deuxième et l'enquête de police piétine devant l'absence d'indices sinon que ces hommes d'âge mûr sont tous deux célibataires et , si l'on en croit les tâches sur leurs vêtements, assez peu soigneux ! C'est un peu mince…
Alors que la police locale échoue à résoudre l'affaire et qu'on ne peut exclure un nouveau crime, Brisbane envoie sur place son enquêteur fétiche, Napoléon Bonaparte alias Boni, qui avec flegme, diplomatie , intuition (et l'aide peu orthodoxe d'un cambrioleur indic !) va mener tranquillement son enquête .
J'avais lu qu'Upfield était l'un des pères des polars ethnologiques et que son enquêteur, le fameux Bony, d'origine aborigène , permettait de découvrir le territoire australien. Un peu déçue donc de ne pas voir vraiment ce qu'apportait l'origine du détective ni de rentrer plus avant dans sa culture. Malgré tout , le personnage est sympathique, l'intrigue policière bien menée et la fin assez réussie.
Je retenterai un autre épisode pour mieux cerner le Sherlock Holmes australien !
Alors que la police locale échoue à résoudre l'affaire et qu'on ne peut exclure un nouveau crime, Brisbane envoie sur place son enquêteur fétiche, Napoléon Bonaparte alias Boni, qui avec flegme, diplomatie , intuition (et l'aide peu orthodoxe d'un cambrioleur indic !) va mener tranquillement son enquête .
J'avais lu qu'Upfield était l'un des pères des polars ethnologiques et que son enquêteur, le fameux Bony, d'origine aborigène , permettait de découvrir le territoire australien. Un peu déçue donc de ne pas voir vraiment ce qu'apportait l'origine du détective ni de rentrer plus avant dans sa culture. Malgré tout , le personnage est sympathique, l'intrigue policière bien menée et la fin assez réussie.
Je retenterai un autre épisode pour mieux cerner le Sherlock Holmes australien !
July 14, 2024
This is a rather quirky, amusing, Australian mystery, first published in 1950, before Australia made its shift to metric, so we read about miles, yards, etc. The mystery will eventually be solved by half-Aborigine Queensland investigator Napoleon Bonaparte, who finds himself in Broken Hill, NSW, where someone has poisoned an elderly, rather slovenly man — and there seems to have been a mysterious female in the vicinity when the murder occurred.
As “Bony” begins his investigation, he is at the decided disadvantage of following another inept investigator who has messed up the investigation and alienated the locals, but Bony is managing to charm the local populace and begins to make progress. However, a second, and then a third murder take place, and the circumstances, while similar, are very confusing…till Bony persuades a burglar and a journalist to help out.
As “Bony” begins his investigation, he is at the decided disadvantage of following another inept investigator who has messed up the investigation and alienated the locals, but Bony is managing to charm the local populace and begins to make progress. However, a second, and then a third murder take place, and the circumstances, while similar, are very confusing…till Bony persuades a burglar and a journalist to help out.
August 9, 2019
Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte mysteries are a challenge to those quick to judge past racial views. Yes, comments about Bony's half aboriginal inheritance can be seen racist, yet there are comments by Bony that he must solve the murder because one failure by him will outweigh his successes, whereas a white man's success will outweigh his failures--thus, "I always finish a race, always finalise the case I consent to take up" and "I dare not fail, for failure would mean the murder of the one thing which keeps me from the camps of the aborigines" indicate more insight into his character. The mystery itself is one of the outlandish of the Agatha Christie type with two insane murderers at work.
June 13, 2022
I thought this was a solid mystery. I enjoy this kind of book. Bony is an amazing and fascinating hero. I love his background of being half Aborigine and half white. He is an amazing tracker and has a great understanding of nature and of man. He is smart and kind. The only critique I have is that in one part it seemed dated when the author spoke of another Aboriginal tracker. It just seemed a bit stilted. Other than that, it was a sweet read and a bit reminiscent of Tony Hillerman's series of Leaphorn and Chee or Alexander McCall Smith's Ladies' Detective Agency. I love both series and am happy to read a new one. I will definitely read more of these.
June 7, 2017
Two old bachelors, both untidy in their personal appearance, have been poisoned in Broken Hill, in front of witnesses. Bony, having been seconded from Queensland due to the failure of a Sydney tec' to solve the case, sets about in his usual style to solve the case. It's taken a long time to find this novel, and once again I've convinced that's due to the great story which one feels compelled to consume in one sitting. No doubt in my mind that this is a winner.
May 12, 2019
My first foray into this series (couldn't start at the beginning because my library only has a couple of the books). I quite enjoyed it. Upfield's prose is eminently readable (though of course dated), his detective is interesting, and I love the Australian setting.
Looking forward to trying out more of the series.
Looking forward to trying out more of the series.
July 8, 2021
Another book by Upfield and it sure didn't disappoint. Set in Broken Hill, NSW, Inspector Bonaparte is sent to investigate a series of Murders. Male Bachelors that were poisoned with Cyanide. Each time a strange woman was on the scene, leaving no trace or evidence.
It takes all Bonaparte's skill to solve the case. How the Murder's are done is genius!
It takes all Bonaparte's skill to solve the case. How the Murder's are done is genius!
December 11, 2018
If you are a fan of mysterys, try out Arthur Upfield series. His Police Inspector in Austrailia "Napoleon Bonaparte" takes a bit of getting used to but are fascinating good reads. The Author has long since passed but am so glad I stumbled upon his books.
January 29, 2021
A psychologically deranged killer makes for a different theme in this novel. The cast of characters is representative of a prosperous mining city rather than a bush station and it is interesting to see how Upfield moves them through the plot.
February 19, 2023
As with several of the preceding books in the series, Boney continues to rely less on his native talents and those of his aboriginal upbringing to solve murder mysteries. I'll continue the series to see if he "gets back home."
August 2, 2024
bad bad bad!
alright boys, you know how im the best detective ever right? so listen and do everything i tell you to and compliment me on being the best detective ever literally all the time 😈 also, i wont explain or actually do any detective work except asking people questions, pronto? 😈😈🙏🙏
alright boys, you know how im the best detective ever right? so listen and do everything i tell you to and compliment me on being the best detective ever literally all the time 😈 also, i wont explain or actually do any detective work except asking people questions, pronto? 😈😈🙏🙏
February 8, 2026
An entertaining tale as we join Bony in the outback city of Broken Hill. Summoned to discover a poisoner terrorising the citizenry, Bony makes use of burglar Jimmy Nimmo's skills, gets journalist Luke Pavier on side, & befriends all & sundry, police, witnesses & suspects alike. The ending was a bit weird, but madness will out, I suppose.
January 11, 2018
Easy read loved that it was just a good mystery
April 16, 2018
Intriguing murder mystery and history of broken hill.
August 4, 2020
Inspector Bonaparte, known as Bony, a half-caste, half-aboriginal, solves crimes in Australia. Copyrighted in 1950, an old detective classic.
August 20, 2020
I don't read much mystery, but these among the "cozy" sub-genre are often entertaining. I found this one at The Library Coffee Shop and thought it looked interesting. A fast, enjoyable read.
November 7, 2021
Well written and an interesting tale. Character development is a bit lacking, granted this is many books into the series. Enjoyable nonetheless.
January 18, 2022
A weird one, but good suspense.
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