One of the most exciting announcements of 2014 concerning classic mystery novels came to us from Australia, where the family of the late Arthur W. Upfield is in the process of re-releasing and re-publishing all of Upfield's work, including 29 mysteries featuring Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte. This is going to give me the opportunity to write about more of Bony's appearances - something I had been reluctant to do while the books were out of print.
So let me start today with one of my favorites: Man of Two Tribes
Man of Two Tribes begins with the disappearance of a woman named Myra Thomas. She had been accused of killing her husband, but a jury had acquitted her of murder. Now, Myra Thomas herself had gone missing. She was last seen on board a train that crossed the Nullarbor Plain, a vast desert wasteland in southern Australia. A search along the train line and in the few small villages where the train had stopped turned up no clues.
Six months later, Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte got off a train and began another search for Myra Thomas, setting out across the enormous and dangerous plain with only the company of two camels and a dog. He is puzzled by what appear to be efforts to throw him off the trail – to send him searching in the wrong direction. But when he eventually does find out what has happened…well, that introduces some elements that even Bony had not expected. That includes a murder, of course, and a group of possible suspects – all of whom had murdered someone earlier in their lives. And, ultimately, Bony will have to help them all make their way – on foot – across literally hundreds of miles of the Nullarbor Plain…and the plain itself may be the greatest threat to their survival and their sanity.
If you're familiar with Bony - and, as all his friends call him that, you and I may do so as well - you know that he is half-White, half-Aborigine and has inherited critical skills from both his parents. He will need both those sets of skills to survive in this book.
I really welcome the decision to re-release these books. So far, they have been released in hard-cover (at a not-unreasonable price), but they are also available in a variety of e-book formats at less than half the price. I can't recommend them highly enough. And Man of Two Tribes, even though it's relatively late in the series, is an excellent starting place.
The 2015 Bingo Challenge
I have already mentioned that I am participating in the 2015 Vintage Mystery Bingo challenge. The Bingo card has 36 squares to be filled by reading a book appropriate to each square's instructions. Man of Two Tribes is my entry for the square (second row, second column) that calls for a book with a number or quantity in the title. We're off and running!
So good to hear that the 'Bony' novels will be re-released! That's a treasure trove of stories, Les, and I'm glad you've highlighted one of them.
Posted by: Margot Kinberg | January 05, 2015 at 07:16 AM
It's a first rate series, Margot, and I do plan to review more of them as we move ahead.
Posted by: Les Blatt | January 05, 2015 at 11:39 AM
One down, Les! And a good one to start with. I really enjoy the Bony stories--haven't read this one yet. Good to hear they're being re-released--although I'll still be looking for vintage copies. It's good that new readers will be able to find him.
Posted by: Bev Hankins | January 05, 2015 at 07:30 PM
Bev, I really think you would enjoy this one. Not only is Bony at his best in the outback and the wilderness of the Nullarbor Plain, his discoveries as he searches for the missing woman are really unforeseen and his reaction...well, pure Bony.
Posted by: Les Blatt | January 05, 2015 at 09:06 PM
Great news that Bony is being reprinted! I've only read a handful of them, but MAN OF TWO TRIBES was one of the favorites. It shares some surprising plot similarities with Ellery Queen's AND ON THE EIGHTH DAY, except that Upfield and Queen approached those similarities from completely different directions.
CAKE IN THE HAT BOX is still my favorite and recommend it without hesitation.
Posted by: Tom Cat | January 06, 2015 at 08:02 AM
Agreed, Tom Cat. "Cake in the Hat Box" is another very good one. So is "The Mystery of Swordfish Reef," which has some interesting similarities to "Man of Two Tribes." And another favorite is "The Clue of the New Shoe." Most of the books, in fact, are terrific; Bony is a fascinating character. I must admit I hadn't thought of the similarities to the Queen book, but it's been a long time since I read that one...sigh...may be time for another re-read...
Posted by: Les Blatt | January 06, 2015 at 08:56 AM