My heart pumped hard and fast, fed by the jitter of adrenaline coursing through my veins. This was getting beyond a joke…Don't you just hate it when somebody tries to kill you and you don't know who or why?
There's a corpse in the freezer at Pacific Pastoral meat-packing works in Melbourne's outer suburbs. Trust Murray Whelan—minder, fixer and general dogsbody for the Minister for Industry—to sort this mess out.
With Stiff, his first novel, Shane Maloney not only created an iconic character, but transformed political intrigue into irresistible comedy.
About the Author
Shane Maloney is one of Australia’s most popular novelists. His award-winning and much loved Murray Whelan series—Stiff, The Brush-Off, Nice Try, The Big Ask, Something Fishy and Sucked In—is characterised by a strong sense of humour and an acute sense of Melbourne’s political and cultural nuances. He has been published in the UK, Germany, France, Britain, Japan, Finland and the U.S.
Industry Reviews
`Stiff is hilarious. Shane Maloney has a wicked tongue...He has a fine talent for observation and an excellent sense of taste...This book is tightly plotted and the ending is a surprise. It is a witty, controversial, intelligent book, both genuinely frightening and genuinely funny. A rare combination.' -- Kerry Greenwood * Herald Sun *
`Stiff is a murder mystery within a gritty political thriller, disguised as light comedy, all told with a remarkably deft touch...The dialogue is snappy throughout.' * Melbourne Weekly *
`Action packed...reminiscent of the best of Hammond Innes...Read it, you'll love it. We want more from Maloney.' * Courier Mail *
`A deft comedy...Murray Whelan steers a clapped-out Renault and a wonderful naivete...Maloney, like his hero, has a nice gruff way with language and an open and rapidly moving eye.' -- Graeme Blundell * Australian *
`Shane Maloney's debut novel Stiff...juxtaposes bursts of high drama against the hyper-normality of suburban life. Funny and gripping...' * Rolling Stone *
`Maloney is terrific, a writer who brings to the prose of pulp fiction the stateliness and beserkness of the best Australian comedy...he could be the Australian Chandler...[Stiff] may well become a cult book.' -- Peter Craven * Age *
`Deep and subtle verities...Maloney is a writer who seems to have been sitting on a thousand observations now unleashed.' * Sunday Age *
`The pure pleasure of Maloney's book lies in being plunged so thoroughly into the complicated byways of Australian politics...a fast-paced, fresh, unerringly funny book...Murray is a great creation, one that takes the wisecracking wise guy into a whole new realm.' * Houston Chronicle *
`Whelan is a born politico: a breezy, know-it-all wiseacre with a glad hand and a seductively confiding tone of voice.' * Seattle Times *
`Maloney pokes fun at almost everything, revelling in words that showcase ludicrous events and behaviour. And Murray as a caring but totally unhandy and terminally horny single (almost) parent only broadens the satire. A rewarding and entertaining read.'
* Library Journal *
