Five Ring Circus

Scobie Malone #15

by Jon Cleary

It's a special occasion Down Under -- the notoriously frugal Inspector Malone is taking his family to dinner at one of Sydney's finest Chinese restaurants. But their gala turns grisly when a masked assassin enters and guns down three men at a nearby table.

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Detective, Mystery, Australia

247 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Australian popular novelist, a natural storyteller, whose career as a writer extended over 60 years. Jon Cleary's books have sold some 8 million copies. Often the stories are set in exotic locations all over the world or in some interesting historical scene of the 20th century, such as the Nazi Berlin of 1936. Cleary also wrote perhaps the longest running homicide detective series of Australia. Its sympathetic protagonist, Inspector Scobie Malone, was introduced in The High Commissioner (1966). Degrees of Connection, published in 2003, was Scobie's 20th appearance. Although Cleary's books can be read as efficiently plotted entertainment, he occasionally touched psychological, social, and moral dilemmas inside the frame of high adventure.

Jon Stephen Cleary was born in Sydney, New South Wales, into a working class family as the eldest of seven children. When Clearly was only 10, his father Matthew was condemned to six months' imprisonment for stealing £5 from his baker's delivery bag, in an attempt have money to feed his family. Cleary's mother, Ida, was a fourth-generation Australian. From his parents Cleary inherited a strong sense of just and unjust and his belief in family values.

Cleary was educated at the Marist Brothers school in Randwick, New South Wales. After leaving school in 1932, at the age of fourteen, he spent the following 8 years out of work or in odd jobs, such as a commercial traveler and bush worker – "I had more jobs than I can now remember," he later said of the Depression years. Cleary's love of reading was sparked when he began to help his friend, who had a travelling library. His favorite writers included P.G. Wodehouse. Before the war Clearly became interested in the career of commercial artists, but he also wrote for amateur revues. In 1940 he joined the Australian Army and served in the Middle East and New Guinea. During these years Cleary started to write seriously, and by the war's end he had published several short stories in magazines. His radio play, Safe Horizon (1944), received a broadcasting award.

Cleary's These Small Glories (1945), a collection of short stories, was based on his experiences as a soldier in the Middle East. In 1946 Cleary married Joy Lucas, a Melbourne nurse, whom he had met on a sea voyage to England; they had two daughters. His first novel, You Can’t See Round Corners (1947), won the second prize in The Sydney Morning Herald’s novel contest. It was later made into a television serial and then into a feature film. The Graham Greene-ish story of a deserter who returns to Sydney showed Cleary's skill at describing his home city, its bars, and people living on the margin of society. Noteworthy, the book was edited by Greene himself, who worked for the publishing firm Eyre & Spottiswoode and who gave Cleary two advices: "One, never forget there are two people in a book; the writer and the reader. And the second one was he said, 'Write a thriller because it will teach you the art of narrative and it will teach you the uses of brevity.'" (In an interview by Ramona Koval, ABC Radio program, February 2006)

Reviews

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Scobie Malone novel we have read. And very pleased to have found him. Although his gruff exterior and “I am always right” attitude and his genial relationships with known villains, hardly seemed to fit with his adoring fatherly attitude to his grown up kids and his tender and considerate loving attitude to his wife. Still, I’m pleased to find a character with some decent humanity about him. And even more pleased to have found an Aussie detective.
There were many suspects for the crime and Malone investigated each one, finally working out who killed who and why. It was a bit complicated and I’m still not sure I understand why the table of business men were gunned down in the first place. But the characters and plot developments were interesting enough not to let the outcome truly worry me too much.
It was much more believable than James Bond.
I hope more of Scobie is on audio book for future travels.

[Sandy Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic Scobie Malone police procedural from Sydney great, Jon Cleary, centred on Chinese investment in a Sydney tower development for the Sydney Olympics.

Reading these Cleary novels over 25 years later is like opening a time capsule to the Sydney of my youth and young adulthood.

Also appreciate a detective who faithfully loves his wife and kids.

My copy was a great score from a nearby street library. I’m aiming to find every one in the series if I can.

[Carol Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Scobie Malone mysteries. He's a good character, an honest, hard-working detective.

I've been a bit critical about some of the Malone novels before because the suspect is settled on too early, with not really enough clues and the rest of the book is about how Scobie finally gets his man. This was not one of those. There are more than enough suspects, but even at that I did not even come close to seeing who was the actual killer(s) or why. In some ways the solution was out of left field, in others it fit perfectly. It's like there were so many possible threads to the mystery, between the finances and corrupt officials and Chinese interference that it was hard to pick the right one, for us and for the investigators. I mean that in a good way.

You can read my whole review on my blog, Carol's Notebook.

[Nabarun · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second novel by Cleary in the Scobie Malone series. Backdrop of this novel is multiple homicides in 96-97 in Sydney's Chinatown. Has a deep connection of the rivalry going on between the Olympic bidding between Sydney and Beijing. Again a very tightly gripped homicide story, where lots of Chinese connections and money laundering getting exposed. Languid in style and fast-paced, definitely a good read. Makes it enjoyable with all the local references in Sydney.