Bleak Spring

Starred review from February 28, 1994
With his latest Scobie Malone case, after Dark Summer , Cleary confirms his standing as Australia's Ed McBain. Cleary's novels, like McBain's 87th Precinct series, are model procedurals whose casts of colorful characters and intricate plots are webbed with a fine dry humor: ``A good deal of police detection is taken up with thinking and discussion, which are often indistinguishable from malingering.'' Inspector Malone of the Sydney PD is in charge of investigating the murder of Will Rockne, a suburban lawyer shot to death in a parking lot. Olive, the flighty widow, seems to be taking things calmly, closely supported by glamorous Queen's Counsel Angela Bodalle. When $5 million is found in Rockne's safe, the case takes on a new cast. Some shady bankers, a flashy bookmaker, a menacing Russian and a lowlife car thief play parts in the puzzle, whose dark secrets, once revealed, spin out to damage quite a few lives, some innocent. Cleary's sure grip on the brisk plot is equaled by his grasp of psychological motivations. This is first-rate storytelling.

Inspector Scobie Malone is called to investigate the death of a parent with whom he has just endured a tedious school fundraiser. Smug lawyer Will Rockne has been shot to death in his car. Cleary's intense, often amusing, mystery gives Christian Rodska ample opportunity to demonstrate his talents and amaze us with a range of Australian accents, which are a little daunting but never unclear. We "see" the variety of characters: cops and criminals; foreigners and local folks; men and women. His softened voice never undermines the impact of a feminine line. Most poignant is his rendering of the children, who strive to understand the terrible events of the story. S.B.S. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine