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'The first Murray Whelan adventure
'The fiddle at the Pacific Pastoral meat-packing works was a nice little earner for all concerned until Herb Gardiner reported finding a body in number 3 chiller. An accident, of course, but just the excuse a devious political operator might grab to stir up trouble with the unions.
'Enter Murray Whelan, minder, fixer and general dogsbody for the Minister of Industry. Between playing of party factions and pursuing the kohl-eyed Ayisha, it’s all in a day’s work for Murray to hose down the situation at Pacific Pastoral.
'Then the lairy V8 turns up. And after that, it gets personal. Because don’t you just hate it when somebody tries to kill you and you don’t know who or why?' (Publication summary)
Adaptations
-
form
y
Stiff
( dir. John Clarke
)
Australia
:
Ruby Entertainment
Huntaway Films
Seven Network
,
2004
Z1123378
2004
single work
film/TV
crime
humour
'A body found in the freezer of the Meatworks in Murray's boss Agnelli's electorate causes panic in the ranks. Agnelli sees it as a Machiavellian plot by his political rivals to stir up trouble with the unions and precipitate his demise.'
Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 5/4/2013)
Notes
-
Dedication: For Christine, my kind of funding body.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
Untitled
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Lifted Brow , no. 14 2012; (p. 25)
— Review of Stiff 1994 single work novel -
Melbourne by the Book
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 12 August 2012; (p. 8-9) -
Crime Scenes : The Importance of Place in Australian Crime Fiction
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Journeying and Journalling : Creative and Critical Meditations on Travel Writing 2010; (p. 204-213) 'There are eight million stories about crime fiction. And this is one of them. There are two main ways in which writers use place in crime fiction. The first way is to use place to help create a certain mood and atmosphere. The second way is to use the geographical or physical features of a place imaginatively as a plot device. Sometimes the journeys that are made by characters in crime fiction serve to remind us as readers of these two major devices. Although historically a lot of Australian crime fiction has not focused on place in terms of setting, this is changing as Australia continues to change. (Author's introduction, 204)
-
Untitled
2004-2005
single work
review
— Appears in: Mystery Readers Journal , Winter vol. 20 no. 4 2004-2005; (p. 44)
— Review of Stiff 1994 single work novel ; The Brush-Off 1996 single work novel ; Nice Try 1998 single work novel ; The Big Ask 2000 single work novel ; Something Fishy 2002 single work novel -
'Something Brand New on the Skyline' : Renovating the City in Contemporary Australian Detective Fiction
2000
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Writing and the City : Refereed Proceedings of the 1999 Conference Held at the New South Wales Writers' Centre Sydney 2-6 July 1999 2000; (p. 101-107)
-
Untitled
2004-2005
single work
review
— Appears in: Mystery Readers Journal , Winter vol. 20 no. 4 2004-2005; (p. 44)
— Review of Stiff 1994 single work novel ; The Brush-Off 1996 single work novel ; Nice Try 1998 single work novel ; The Big Ask 2000 single work novel ; Something Fishy 2002 single work novel -
Untitled
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Lifted Brow , no. 14 2012; (p. 25)
— Review of Stiff 1994 single work novel -
Despite Rumours, Renaissance is Alive and Well
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 20 August 1994; (p. 11A)
— Review of Pig's Head 1994 single work novel ; A Mortality Tale 1994 single work novel ; Stiff 1994 single work novel ; Reprisal 1994 single work novel -
Crime Novels Show Depth of Local Talent
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 20 August 1994; (p. C10)
— Review of Reprisal 1994 single work novel ; Stiff 1994 single work novel -
Is There Any Justice? Not in the Literary Underworld
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 10 July 1994; (p. 8)
— Review of More Deaths Than One 1994 single work novel ; Stiff 1994 single work novel -
Untitled
1994
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian , 6 July 1994; (p. 28) -
Crime Scenes : The Importance of Place in Australian Crime Fiction
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Journeying and Journalling : Creative and Critical Meditations on Travel Writing 2010; (p. 204-213) 'There are eight million stories about crime fiction. And this is one of them. There are two main ways in which writers use place in crime fiction. The first way is to use place to help create a certain mood and atmosphere. The second way is to use the geographical or physical features of a place imaginatively as a plot device. Sometimes the journeys that are made by characters in crime fiction serve to remind us as readers of these two major devices. Although historically a lot of Australian crime fiction has not focused on place in terms of setting, this is changing as Australia continues to change. (Author's introduction, 204)
-
Melbourne by the Book
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 12 August 2012; (p. 8-9) -
Northern Disclosure
1994
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 3 July 1994; (p. 7) -
'Something Brand New on the Skyline' : Renovating the City in Contemporary Australian Detective Fiction
2000
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Writing and the City : Refereed Proceedings of the 1999 Conference Held at the New South Wales Writers' Centre Sydney 2-6 July 1999 2000; (p. 101-107)
- Melbourne - North, Melbourne, Victoria,