In the past 12 years, I've reread this gem 4 times - and look forward to the next time. The leading characters are superbly portrayed, as the good guys try to protect a deceased scientist's uncanny system that predicts Aussie weather, 12 months in advance.. The manuscripts are protected by two binge drinkers, both in their eighties, both with colorful cattle drover backgrounds. A key aspect of the plot: Upfield offers colorful insights into the differing psychological nightmare/illusions associated with various types of liquor - and gets these distinctions into the unraveling of the plot.. The central old-timer comes across much like the old geezer prospector in Treasure of Sierra Madre. Plus: Bony's wily ability to outsmart his police-bosses is top-rate here. Don't miss this one!

Death of a Swagman was written in the mid point of Arthur Upfields career and shows in his attention to detail and his ability to capture the feling of Australian country towns in the early part of our century. The story is a good detective novel in its own right with plenty of plots and action and red herrings. Bony's relationship with Rose Marie is used as a strong pivot point throughout the novel giving a useful viewpoint of the running of the town from a child's perspective. The advantage of this book over other bony novels is the character development of the subjects. This gives a depth and humanity which remains after the story is finished. The narrative of the swagmans lifestyle and its mythology is addressed here with great detail and provides a refreshing glimpse of a bygone era.

J'ai lu et relu ce livre. Voici un livre prenant qui m'a donné envie de lire les autres livres d'Upfield.

The Winds of Evil is Arthur Upfield at his best. We have Detective-Inspector Napolean Bonaparte using his bush skills and his brain. We have a plot where it isn't obvious "whodunnit". And we have the benefit of Upfield's gift for describing the town, the surroundings, and the winds of evil themselves, as evidenced in the opening pages. This is definitely my favourite so far of all of the Arthur Upfield books that I've read.

I enjoy reading this series.Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte ("Bony") leaves the bush to investigate a murder that occurred several months before at sea. Deprived of his usual bushmaster skills he must rely on others to read the sign of the sea. A solid mystery. You experience big game fishing with him as he solves the crime.

I've been reading Arthur Upfield's "Bony" mysteries for several years now, hunting them down as I can, as they were written in the late 40's and 50's. ...the books are absolutely awesome in their sense of the place that is Australia, the character delineations and the incredible world of "the tracker," someone who can read "the story of the bush" to tell what happened. In all of these mysteries, I've never figured it out before Bony did. The pace of the stories is slow, even languid, but the books are very well written, and full of information about a place most of us will never visit, and its culture. Sometimes Bony goes undercover, as he does here, and these are my favorites. "Bony" is Napolean Bonaparte, the detective: a half aborigine, half white man. He's smarter than anybody, and while he sounds like a pain in the neck, in the book his manners are smooth and charming. There is nothing vulgar (except drunkenness) in any of these books. I find them fascinating, and enthralling. Mystery at Swordfish Reef is one of my favorites.

Another Upfield success. Detection and Aussie "Abo" insight is the perfect match. An older series that needs to be brought back to press in a complete set.

This is a classic Upfield mystery, although Upfield's not at his best here. Bonarparte is sent to a bustling mining town, but doesn't do much of his usual bushman's work. Upfield portrays the life in this town well, but the murderer's motive is pretty weak this time.

Arthur Upfield's Bony books are a wonderful mixture of Australian life, natural history, and subtle humor. The Bachelors of Broken Hill is typical of his stories, though it is set in a remote mining town as opposed to his usual outback settings. Everyone where I live who reads one book reads them all. We pass copies back and forth as many are out of print and reread them aloud to each other. I keep a map of Australia handy to follow each story and have visited some of the places mentioned in his books. He brings alive a sense of intellectual curiousity as you follow Bony's clues to put enough evidence together for an iron clad verdict.

A generation ago Upfield wrote a series of books about his Australian detective hero, a half-Aborigine police detecitve named Napoleon Bonaparte. A brilliant, mystical, and fragile character with an understanding of both the white man and aboriginal culture, all the books are readable, although they do vary widely in plausibility.

This is the best one I've read. It's high summer in the outback, and there's a murder at an isolated station near an intermittent lake that's about to evaporate in the deadly heat. Everyone at the station house suspects and resents each other, feelings which grow and grow as the book builds and builds. It's a dangerous place for a detective in disguise.

But the best part of the book isn't the mystery. Upfield's greatest talent was in describing the natural life of his Australia, he can bring the beauty, mystery, and power of an overwhelming land vividly to life. As the tension in the house grows and the danger increases, the temperature soars to 120 degrees and above, the lake outside dies by inches, the water level sinking by feet per day, acres of lake vanishing, the wildlife fleeing or dying. It's a hard trick to put this much nature in a book without being heavy-handed or having it come accross as bad metaphors, but it's very successful here. The lake is the star, the people merely provide a story. Way cool!

I greatly enjoyed this book. The half-Caucasian, half-aborigine Detective Inspector Napolean Bonaparte (Bony to his friends) becomes involved in this case hoping he's found the perfect murder. A man named Marks visits Windee Station then vanishes. The local police assume he was lost in the bush but Bony has reason to think differently. This mystery is populated with a host of interesting outback characters, aborigines, blackmailers, secondary mysteries, and an awe-inspiring fire. The vision of 1930's Australia is exotic to us in this day and age, yet presented with complete understanding. It is worth noting that Bony and his contemporaries are well aware of his biracial status and some of the language used may bother some. The original copyright of this story is over 60 years ago though, and Mr. Upfield's heart and intentions are in the right place.

Set in Queensland, Bony's home state, the novel focuses on the disparity of character between 2 sisters and their brother. One sister is tougher than the majority of stockmen, the other as refined as the ladies of leisure in a city mansion. The brother is a virtual prisoner maintained in a purile state yet has great strength. They live with the housekeeper isolated on an island in a lagoon on which Venom House stands. Upfield uses the house's savage history to support his contention that the sins of the ancestors can be visited upon the living and Bony has to battle with his aboriginal fear of darkness to solve the succession of murders. The normal characters of solid local policeman and reliable bushman appear but this time the pretty "squatters" daughter expriences a quite different role.

Superb. You feel surrounded by the weird landscapes, aborigines, and odd characters of the outback. Builds up suspense. BRAVO!