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Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte #22
The Bushman Who Came Back
A woman is slain and her young daughter has vanished deep in the Australian outback. It is up to Detective-Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte to discover whether Ole Fren Yorkey, a half-crazed wanderer, is a killer and solve this dangerous riddle. Only in the weird land of the willi-willi and the dread pointing bone can this dangerous riddle be solved.
188 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
18 people are currently reading
195 people want to read
About the author
Arthur W. Upfield
70 books111 followersAka Arthur Upfield
Arthur William Upfield (1 September 1890 – 13 February 1964) was an Australian writer, best known for his works of detective fiction featuring Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte ('Bony') of the Queensland Police Force, a half-caste Aborigine.
Born in England, Upfield moved to Australia in 1910 and fought with the Australian military during the First World War. Following his war service, he travelled extensively throughout Australia, obtaining a knowledge of Australian Aboriginal culture that would later be used extensively in his written works. In addition to his detective fiction, Upfield was also a member of the Australian Geological Society and was involved in numerous scientific expeditions. Upfield's works remained popular after his death, and in the 1970s were the basis for an Australian television series entitled "Boney".
Arthur William Upfield (1 September 1890 – 13 February 1964) was an Australian writer, best known for his works of detective fiction featuring Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte ('Bony') of the Queensland Police Force, a half-caste Aborigine.
Born in England, Upfield moved to Australia in 1910 and fought with the Australian military during the First World War. Following his war service, he travelled extensively throughout Australia, obtaining a knowledge of Australian Aboriginal culture that would later be used extensively in his written works. In addition to his detective fiction, Upfield was also a member of the Australian Geological Society and was involved in numerous scientific expeditions. Upfield's works remained popular after his death, and in the 1970s were the basis for an Australian television series entitled "Boney".
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 29, 2024
Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte is back in my reading life, this time in pursuit of a supposed killer and kidnapper in the Australian Outback. The wily detective is called in by the local station owner to solve the riddle, which has everyone pointing the hand of guilt in the same direction. Taking place around Lake Eyre, which becomes the largest lake in Australia when filled (which is rarely), Boney finds himself hindered by the nearby Indigenous tribe who seem to know far more than they should.
Here, in this land, to run was to crawl. In this land, the ancient legends were reality…
At the isolated Outback station (ranch), a woman who worked as the housekeeper is shot in the back. It takes place at the beginning of the book, so there is no guesswork needed as to the status of the victim. However, her little daughter is also missing, and everyone believes the killer and kidnapper is Ole Fren Yorky, a mysterious bushman who tends to disappear for weeks at a time in order to be with the local tribe. He also is an expert in the geography of Lake Eyre, a strange, depleted water source which can start filling up with water without warning. Anyone who mistakenly enters the Dingo dog tracks toward the center can end up being surrounded by a vast lake when the rain falls on the northern creeks. Could Yorky have taken the child there? And if the Indigenous tribe can’t find Yorky, who can?
Inspector Bonaparte is known as a half-breed, which is why he is called in to solve the puzzle. He smells a rat fairly quickly when he realizes the footprints made by Yorky are actually false. Something’s not right. And the chief of the nearby tribe is not answering questions, evading Boney whenever he can. The Inspector must rely upon his own instincts, or he will be the next shotgun victim.
I really became involved in this book, and I am NOT a lover of mysteries. This is the second Inspector Bonaparte novel I have read, and this one was really intriguing. Bonaparte is an Australian version of Hercule Poirot, sometimes a bit full of himself as he stays a step ahead of others. But this book has a good ensemble of characters, particularly with the Indigenous group. While the publication era of the 1950s shows a still-latent bias against the natives (called “abos” here), there is also a silent respect for their knowledge of the land, an intelligence that stretches back thousands of years thanks to the isolation of the continent itself.
But especially, I was intrigued by Lake Eyre, which, of course, must be a weird body of water because it’s centered in Australia. Once encompassing such a large area that it was a sea, the Lake dwindled as the land became more arid and can trap anyone who doesn’t know that northern rainstorms can fill the lake quickly. And the reader learns to understand the danger, as Boney describes the suddenly “mushy” ground changing. Walk too far into the center, believing you can walk right back out in a few days, and you may have signed your own death warrant as creeks overflow and flood the lake. In a time before drones and satellites, the innocent traveller would be unaware of potential danger, and this makes the book a page-turner. Leave it to Inspector Bonaparte to unravel the killer while leaving the reader guessing on their own.
Book Season = Summer (sudden willi-willis)
Here, in this land, to run was to crawl. In this land, the ancient legends were reality…
At the isolated Outback station (ranch), a woman who worked as the housekeeper is shot in the back. It takes place at the beginning of the book, so there is no guesswork needed as to the status of the victim. However, her little daughter is also missing, and everyone believes the killer and kidnapper is Ole Fren Yorky, a mysterious bushman who tends to disappear for weeks at a time in order to be with the local tribe. He also is an expert in the geography of Lake Eyre, a strange, depleted water source which can start filling up with water without warning. Anyone who mistakenly enters the Dingo dog tracks toward the center can end up being surrounded by a vast lake when the rain falls on the northern creeks. Could Yorky have taken the child there? And if the Indigenous tribe can’t find Yorky, who can?
Inspector Bonaparte is known as a half-breed, which is why he is called in to solve the puzzle. He smells a rat fairly quickly when he realizes the footprints made by Yorky are actually false. Something’s not right. And the chief of the nearby tribe is not answering questions, evading Boney whenever he can. The Inspector must rely upon his own instincts, or he will be the next shotgun victim.
I really became involved in this book, and I am NOT a lover of mysteries. This is the second Inspector Bonaparte novel I have read, and this one was really intriguing. Bonaparte is an Australian version of Hercule Poirot, sometimes a bit full of himself as he stays a step ahead of others. But this book has a good ensemble of characters, particularly with the Indigenous group. While the publication era of the 1950s shows a still-latent bias against the natives (called “abos” here), there is also a silent respect for their knowledge of the land, an intelligence that stretches back thousands of years thanks to the isolation of the continent itself.
But especially, I was intrigued by Lake Eyre, which, of course, must be a weird body of water because it’s centered in Australia. Once encompassing such a large area that it was a sea, the Lake dwindled as the land became more arid and can trap anyone who doesn’t know that northern rainstorms can fill the lake quickly. And the reader learns to understand the danger, as Boney describes the suddenly “mushy” ground changing. Walk too far into the center, believing you can walk right back out in a few days, and you may have signed your own death warrant as creeks overflow and flood the lake. In a time before drones and satellites, the innocent traveller would be unaware of potential danger, and this makes the book a page-turner. Leave it to Inspector Bonaparte to unravel the killer while leaving the reader guessing on their own.
Book Season = Summer (sudden willi-willis)
May 20, 2016
Arthur Upfield just has my number. In this mystery he delivers a great who-dun-it, a fascinating anthropological look at aborigine society circa 1950, full blooded white ranchers of the Australian frontier, and a knowledgeable account of the terrain which is wild and emerges as a character in its own right in this and many of his other books. I care about his characters more than most and they stay with me.
The aborogine characters are so well understood and rendered by Upfield that in understanding and sympathizing with them we come to understand their culture in a way a textbook could never achieve. When the chief of the local tribe, Canute, communicates pictures to his tribe through his didgeridoo we are given the account of it happening, not a self conscious discussion of is this myth or folklore but just an account of this is what occured. I find the meeting of cultures at this time interesting and can not imagine better and clearer eyes to see it through than Upfields' Add to that his sheer genius as a storyteller and you get me parceling out my remaining unread titles as one of his characters would stock way-stations across the desert outback.
The aborogine characters are so well understood and rendered by Upfield that in understanding and sympathizing with them we come to understand their culture in a way a textbook could never achieve. When the chief of the local tribe, Canute, communicates pictures to his tribe through his didgeridoo we are given the account of it happening, not a self conscious discussion of is this myth or folklore but just an account of this is what occured. I find the meeting of cultures at this time interesting and can not imagine better and clearer eyes to see it through than Upfields' Add to that his sheer genius as a storyteller and you get me parceling out my remaining unread titles as one of his characters would stock way-stations across the desert outback.
October 11, 2023
Four and a half stars.
Another excellent story from Upfield. Bony is called in to investigate the murder of an outback station housekeeper and the abduction of her seven year old daughter.
The descriptions of the terrain and the dried up lake in particular are brilliant as ever. The interaction between Bony and aboriginal people involved shows Upfields' interest in and admiration of the indigenous Australians.
I would have given it five stars if the ending was a bit less predictable but nevertheless very highly recommended.
Another excellent story from Upfield. Bony is called in to investigate the murder of an outback station housekeeper and the abduction of her seven year old daughter.
The descriptions of the terrain and the dried up lake in particular are brilliant as ever. The interaction between Bony and aboriginal people involved shows Upfields' interest in and admiration of the indigenous Australians.
I would have given it five stars if the ending was a bit less predictable but nevertheless very highly recommended.
April 26, 2012
Bony Buys A Woman, also published under the title The Bushman Who Came Back, is the 22nd novel in the Bony series by Arthur Upfield. Some five weeks after Mrs Bell, the housekeeper on Mount Eden station, is found murdered, and her much–loved daughter, Linda, apparently abducted, Bony arrives to investigate. Footprints and sightings seem to indicate that Ole Fren Yorky, who has also disappeared, is the culprit, and the local aboriginal trackers have come up blank. In this excellent murder mystery, Upfield touches on smoke signals, hiding inside willi willis, dijeridoo songs, Kurdaitcha shoes, the importance of churinga stones and pointing bones in Aborigine culture and he even has Bony using dingo paths to cross to the centre of Lake Eyre. Bony’s long list of possible suspects, which include the station owner, his stockmen, close neighbours and the local aborigines, is eventually whittled down by logic and clever deduction. As always, Bony constructs and smokes many “alleged” cigarettes (heroes didn’t die of cancer in those days). I would have liked to know if Bony told his wife the whole story of this case (including the buying of the woman) when he got home. Another great Upfield read.
April 10, 2018
After a couple of "cold-war", semi-espionage novels, Upfield is back on form with a murder on the shores of Lake Eyre.
One morning four hands and the boss leave Mount Eden homestead to go about their business, leaving the housekeeper and her daughter in charge. When they return the housekeeper is lying in the yard, shot dead, and her daughter is missing. So is the old boundary rider whom the boss had met returning from a bender in town. The pair seem to have vanished into thin air. Even the local aborigines can't find them.
Enter Bony.
One morning four hands and the boss leave Mount Eden homestead to go about their business, leaving the housekeeper and her daughter in charge. When they return the housekeeper is lying in the yard, shot dead, and her daughter is missing. So is the old boundary rider whom the boss had met returning from a bender in town. The pair seem to have vanished into thin air. Even the local aborigines can't find them.
Enter Bony.
March 5, 2016
In THE BUSHMAN WHO CAME BACK, the rescue of a seven-year-old girl is more important than pinpointing a murderer. The small communities of Outback Australia contribute hugely to the delights of Inspector Bonaparte's investigations. The astounding Lake Eyre is a living member of that community, providing a sinister atmosphere and freezingly suspenseful ending.
April 28, 2016
"Canute, King of the remnants of a past civilisation, had the game sewn up. Not for him a crown wobbling on an uneasy head. Not for him financial worries, domestic worries, nor the problem of 'keeping up with the Joneses.' Like his ancestors, Canute knew all the secrets of living without heart disease or stomach ulcers" (133).
June 7, 2017
A woman is killed on a property near Lake Eyre in South Australia, and her 7 year-old daughter has vanished. Yorky, one of the locals has disappeared and is under suspicion. As always, interesting and enjoyable but not up there with the best Bony mysteries.
November 22, 2024
An enjoyable Bony mystery, if not quite as entrancing as a few others I've read. I did find myself fascinated by the filling of Lake Eyre from the northern rivers, from the underground mud upwards, with those slight shivers of movement almost like a mirage. Very easy reading & quite riveting in the details of place, time & culture: the murder & kidnapping are almost insignificant by comparison, although Bony's methods are always intriguing. Bony is very much like an outback Poirot: a little pompous & self-satisfied; very much a romantic, particularly regarding young lovers; clever & intelligent; &, he always gets his man. 3.5★
August 28, 2019
Solid detective story with the added bonus of insight into the geology of Australia and the culture of Aborigines.
March 27, 2020
2.5 - a lesser one. Not so much a story of detection as of entrapment. And I wasn't gripped by the painting of the outback or the interplay between man and beast - Upfield's trademark fortes.
September 7, 2020
Another marvelous mystery and description of life in the outback many years ago.
January 27, 2022
I have read this novel but it was published under another title,Bony buys a Woman,i think,sometime since i read it and is probably a little dated but remember it as being quite good.
September 21, 2023
A murder, a kidnapping, and an exploration of Aborigine culture.
January 23, 2025
Engrossing, this was a wonderful mystery. Of course it is totally un-PC, but as it was written in 1957, that can partially be excused.
February 27, 2017
I have only been able to get my hands on three other "Bony" books, but am definitely looking for more! In this story, though all human characters were good, the most fascinating role was played by Lake Eyre. Before this book, I had never heard of Australia's Lake Eyre. Upfield's dramatic description at the climax of the story led me to seek out more information about the geographical phenomenon.
April 10, 2015
I excitedly picked one of Upfields book out in a used book store in Pioneer Square (Seattle). The bookstore itself is enchanting with it's floor to ceiling books, brick walls, pictures that have been hung for decades and even the purveyor who refuses to "get with the times," and still uses an old cash register. When I asked him about Upfield he got very excited and said that all his work was now out of print so his wife searches high and low to keep them stocked with as many as possible. He saw what I had chosen and said, "No no no. Not for your first one." He then picked out the Bushman Who Came Back. I wish I was as excited about the book and story as I was about the bookstore. The book fell flat for me. It was well written enough, and the protagonist, "Bony" Napoleon Bonaparte was interesting due to the fact that he is 1/2 Aborigine and 1/2 White- and straddles both worlds as a detective. But the interest ended there for me. Even though it was a short read I couldn't wait to finish it. The character development didn't go deep enough for my taste, and I just couldn't relate to much. The good news is I read 7/8 of it in one day.
March 6, 2018
Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte rides into town as a traveling horse breaker. His true mission is the solution of three murders that happened in the town in the last few months.
The town is run by old Melody Sam. Nat becomes his yardman. From this base of operations, Bony begins checking out the murders.
Set in 1930's Australia, the characters and plot revolve around the outback setting. The local aborigine tribe plays a major role. The book is like going on a visit to this part of Australia.
This book, like the others in the series, is an easy reading cozy murder mystery. What sets it apart is the setting and the characters.
The town is run by old Melody Sam. Nat becomes his yardman. From this base of operations, Bony begins checking out the murders.
Set in 1930's Australia, the characters and plot revolve around the outback setting. The local aborigine tribe plays a major role. The book is like going on a visit to this part of Australia.
This book, like the others in the series, is an easy reading cozy murder mystery. What sets it apart is the setting and the characters.
June 1, 2015
Enjoyable. Lovely descriptions of Aussie bush
February 16, 2016
Bony tracks the murderer of a woman and the woman's missing seven year old daughter.
June 15, 2019
Atmospheric.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews