Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by jstilts
Death of a Lake by Arthur Upfield
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A really great entry in the Detective-Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte mystery series - possibly my favourite so far!
Bony is - as I prefer - is undercover again, posing as a horse breaker out on a sheep station where a lottery-winning station hand disappeared one night, allegedly out for a swim in the now fast-evaporating titular lake.
Filled with sharp observations on human behaviour, poetic passages and a few chapters set in a heatwave that will make any reader swear, Boney quietly watches, prods and pokes around to solve the mystery.
As I've mentioned in other reviews, this book has a few (though in this instance VERY few) moments that may offend due to the commonplace racist and sexist attitudes of the era it was written in. However, considering that era this is in fact a staggeringly progressive book for it's time to the point that some Australians would still find it too progressive today.
Highly recommended, and if you've never read a Boney book before this - it's is a great one to start with.
Bony is - as I prefer - is undercover again, posing as a horse breaker out on a sheep station where a lottery-winning station hand disappeared one night, allegedly out for a swim in the now fast-evaporating titular lake.
Filled with sharp observations on human behaviour, poetic passages and a few chapters set in a heatwave that will make any reader swear, Boney quietly watches, prods and pokes around to solve the mystery.
As I've mentioned in other reviews, this book has a few (though in this instance VERY few) moments that may offend due to the commonplace racist and sexist attitudes of the era it was written in. However, considering that era this is in fact a staggeringly progressive book for it's time to the point that some Australians would still find it too progressive today.
Highly recommended, and if you've never read a Boney book before this - it's is a great one to start with.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Grief