The Lake Frome Monster

By: Arthur W. Upfield

Narrated by: Peter Hosking

When Eric Maidstone was found dead near Bore Ten, just west of the Dingo-proof Fence, the first thought of those who discovered his body was that he might have been attacked by the rogue camel known as the Lake Frome Monster. But camels don't carry guns, and Maidstone had a bullet-hole in his chest... which put the monster in the clear. So who did kill this young man? It was up to Bony, disguised as a worker on the Fence, to find out.©2013 William Upfield. Published in association with ETT Imprint (P)2013 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"Napoleon Bonaparte, my best detective." (The Daily Express)

"Utterly Absorbing." (The Sunday Sun)

"Highly Entertaining." (The Glasgow Herald)

A Great Upfield Story

One of Arthur Upfield's best Books.
Bony works in disguise on the Dingo fence in Australia
to track a murderer.

Short, well read, and geographically-challenged!

First off, as a South Australian, I have to point out that I was mystified by the idea of someone working along on a fence on the border between New South Wales and my home-state, and yet somehow confronting a 'Lake Frome Monster' and being near 'Lake Frome Station'. Um, do you reckon? Google 'Lake Frome South Australia map' and you'll see why this troubles me.

However, Upfield's novels usually have something of the fantastic about them, and compared to planes that land themselves after the pilot has bailed out or people driven to murder by their thwarted addiction to staring into windmills this geographic anomaly is pretty mild!

In fact, the plot's relatively straightforward, the solution surprisingly plausible, and the dated 'isms' (sexism, racism) pleasantly constrained.

So go ahead, but be aware this won't while away the long drive to, say, Broken Hill. This, the unfinished novel, completed from his notes after Upfield's death is, perhaps not surprisingly, brief.

As usual, Peter Hosking reads beautifully.