Upfield's stories about Detective-Inspector Bony are always interesting and well-crafted. This one was even more complicated, and therefore more interesting to me. Unfortunately, Bony neglects to tell us how he determined who Marcus is. Or did I miss that?

And with a house full of Australian police, who would have guessed at the person who finally brings Marcus' career to a close. I thought that was a nice touch.

I think one reason I enjoy these books so much is I have a deeper understanding of the Australia in this time period. As my mother was Australian and I went to school there in the mid-1950s, I feel more at ease with the locales, personalities and local color Upfield describes in his books than someone who didn't have my experiences. Yes, it's a big country, but I've read so much about it throughout my life I feel I lived there longer than I did.

Finally, while this is a long series of books, you really don't have to read them in order. Each case takes Bony to a different part of Australia and the other characters are always different. Of course, he makes reference to his wife and sons, and to his police superior, but they are never essential to the plots.

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