The Afterlife of Harry Playford

Stephen Minter #2

by Steven Carroll

From acclaimed writer Steven Carroll, comes the second in his new series of post-war literary crime novels featuring Detective Sergeant Stephen Minter.


'What does a pile of clothes left on a deserted beach tell you? It's a cold midwinter Monday. Seaweed and shells litter the flat expanse of sand. There is a light wind, the sea more disgruntled than choppy, the tide out. And there amongst it, the neat pile of clothes. Almost like a coded message waiting to be deciphered.'

Queenscliff, Victoria, 1951: A man has disappeared, leaving only a pile of neatly folded clothes on a beach. Missing, presumed drowned. But for Detective Sergeant Stephen Minter, newly emigrated from England, it's far from an open-and-shut case. Because this is no ordinary man. Harry Playford is a successful politician, a charming man who is a rising ministerial star, a possible contender for the top job, who leaves behind a beautiful wife - and a mistress. There could be a simple explanation. But, these murky days of the Cold War, in a time of rising mistrust and suspicion, spies and espionage, Stephen can't throw off his feeling that something's definitely not right. About the whole business.

From one of Australia's finest, most critically acclaimed writers, The Afterlife of Harry Playford is an absorbing, poignant and moving novel of hard choices and past mistakes.

Praise for the first Detective Sergeant Stephen Minter novel, Death of a Foreign Gentleman:

'A riff on the novels of the golden age of detective fiction ... A novel of remarkable poise, which marries its weighty concerns and deeply felt sensibility to a playful delight in the very real pleasures of the genre it so deftly inhabits' The Age

'An impressive start to a new series' The Australian

Genres: Crime

263 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2026

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that drew me in with the elegance of the writing and pacing. An intelligent thoughtful mystery and an unusual detective. I enjoyed the previous, and first novel, in this series and may they continue. 4.5 stars

[Eva Robey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Steven Carroll and enjoyed it very much. The sort of book I want to keep reading.
I want to make special mention of the inclusion of “enemy alien camps” because most people don’t know what they were or that they existed in England and Australia. 4.5 stars

[Peter Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading Death of a foreign gentleman I was really looking forward to this book. In fact, I bumped it up my "to read" list just to get started on it.

Oh! What a mistake!

The Afterlife… is in three parts.

Part one is the disappearance of a prominent Australian politician and the subsequent police investigation. This is typical police procedural stuff but rather well written in my opinion. However, the plot is based on the actual disappearance of a real Australian politician - Harold Holt - which is why we have the references to Chinese submarines and mermaids. There are also other similarities to real cases where folded clothes for found on a beach. So the plot is not original and is in fact a copy from real life events.

Part two is a strange psycho-evaluation of a mental change that the missing politician (Harry Playford) might or might not have gone through which caused him to totally reevaluate his life. This part takes several chapters. If you are going to read The afterlife… then you can skip this whole part of the book and you won't miss much.

Part three is a totally unconvincing wind-up of the plot where we may, or may not, have reached a conclusion to the disappearance of Harry Playford.

If you're thinking of reading this book; my advice is don't! There are many better books you can spend your valuable time reading than this one.

Such a shame, Death of a foreign gentleman was a very good read. This book is not!

Regards,
Peter

PS: I was so annoyed by this book that I have come back and added this to my original review. I think that you could just read the "Part 1" of this book and you would quite enjoy it. There would be no resolution of Harry Playford's disappearance but there wasn't any for Harrold Holt. So if you do want to give this book a go, don't bother with the second half!
So! Has that calmed my annoyance at this book? No! Not really! But I've picked Murder at the Matterhorn by T.A. Williams for my next read. That should help!

[Caren · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a long-time fan of Steven Carroll, I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and strong characterisation within the novel. However, this 2nd of his Detective Stephen Minter series left me confused. Parts 1 & 2 were clear and absorbing, as I would expect from this accomplished writer. However, I found that Part 3 and the Epilogue seemed far-fetched and disconnected, concluding that "something's definitely not right. About the whole business."

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very simple read...was Harold Holt's death the starting point for this book???
I felt the it started well and became less so as the book progressed.
Not a as good as the first.
Read a review by someone who commented she thought it great there was a reference to 'eneny alien camps' saying few didnot know about it ??? Who those ignorant of history???

[Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most disappointing: shallow, stereotyped characters; repetitive, formulaic prose; flimsy, plodding plot. A poor transposition of the Harold Holt narrative.
RM

[Michael Hastings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part police procedural, part reflection on identity, neither particularly satisfying. It's an enjoyable read with a final third that doesn't amount to terribly much.

[Mike Taverner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this - good background/history to old stomping ground. Good story line - a bit like Harold Holt disappearance except that we think Harry re-emerged - don't we?