Mr. Jelly’s Business
by Arthur W. Upfield (Angus & Robertson, 1937)
audiobook read by Peter Hosking (Bolinda, 2012)
Bony seems more vigorous in his investigations here than elsewhere, and is portrayed with flaws and failings to counterbalance his abilities (and most of all, pride). Though the dialogue tends toward the stilted side of formal, the characters nevertheless prove distinctly Australian.
Sinister Stones (reissued as Cake in the Hat Box)
by Arthur W. Upfield (Doubleday, 1954)
audiobook read by Peter Hosking (Bolinda, 2018)
Though the murder investigation is somewhat nebulous, the story remains notable for the extreme remoteness of its Western Australian setting, and for its historical depiction of cattle station life—and particularly the relationships between Aboriginal and white folk—in the mid-20th Century.