while all the men at an Australian cattle station (ranch) are out at work, somebody shoots the pleasant housekeeper dead and apparently abducts her widely adored 7 year old daughter, THe local Aborigines are away on a ritual but seem to be involved. Bony is called in with his gift for dealing with both white and Aboriginal people.. This is the kind of outback mystery which made the reputation of the Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte series, as interesting for its local color as for the mystery itself.. This was probably one of the first Inspector Bonaparte stories I read, as it was in my parents collection within 3 years of publication when I was a teenager and readig many of their mysteries. ( )

Inspector Bonaparte, half Aborigone, half white, is able to use influnce with Aboriginals to solve murder of a station cook and the abduction of her young daughter. He also intervenes in the affairs of the tribe and the love life of a young couple. The mystery is somewhat slow moving, but once he gets a vital clue Bony moves swiftly to discover the killer and attempt to rescue the girl. The language and attitudes are those of the 50s, including a somewhat ambiguious attitude toward the lives of the native peoples and their relationships with white settlers. It is hard for a contemporary reader to get past the inherant racism in the story, although the author appears to have admired and respected aspects of Aboriginal character.