Shane Maloney

Deeply enjoyable Aussie crime novel; a high 4 stars.

I had never previously read Shane Maloney, and that was clearly to my discredit! Murray Whelan, a down-on-his-luck State political fixer finds himself caught up in political, personal, and criminal drama when he finds himself investigating a corruption case that involves at least one dead body.

I've never been a big fan of "hard-boiled" crime novels. Perhaps because I grew up on the golden-age cosy crimes of Christie, or perhaps because of negative early experiences (cf the Claudia Valentine books). But it's fair to say the wit and pace of Maloney's writing has drawn me back to this world. Or perhaps it's that I'm now a Melbourne-based political worker with a useless personal life and a sense for the macabre? Maybe Murray Whelan is my spirit animal. Here, Murray attends his local branch meeting, and this experience hasn't changed in twenty years (will it ever?):

"Thirteen attendances and fifteen apologies out of sixty-seven members on the books. It was the usual crowd - true believers, unreconstructed Whitlamites, reliable booth captains, handers out of how-to-vote cards, knife-sharpeners, has-beens and wannabees. Laurie's son Barry, a forty-seven-year-old bachelor draftsman at the State Electricity Commission took the minutes on a concertina pile of computer paper salvaged from the SEC recycle bin."

Good times.… (more)

A light but pleasant end to this classic Aussie detective series. For those of us whose key interests are politics, history, Australian life, and perpetual sarcasm, Maloney was one of the best.

Around the year 2010, Maloney indicated that he was working on a seventh and final Murray Whelan novel. Alas, the trail went cold; it has never appeared. I recently emailed Maloney and he was kind enough to reply. Although I won't share his correspondence, it does sound as if Murray has grimaced his last. Like the real Australian Labor Party of which he is such a loyal member, his glory days are far behind him.… (more)