Death of an Old Goat

I am biased in that I'm a sucker for detectives stories in an academic setting and for witty detective stories. In "Death of an Old Goat" Robert Barnard gives me both these elements as well as a satisfying plot. There's a wonderful cast of ignoble characters including nasty back-biting academics, ignorant prejudiced graziers (sheep barons), and Inspector Royle who at one point declares he doesn't have to catch THE murderer, just A murderer. Imagine RCMP Sgt Dudley Dooright with his moral compass reversed 180 degrees and his IQ halved -- that's Inspector Royle.

I confess to not being a reader of crime fiction, but I agree with others that the mystery takes second place to the satirical portrayals of the characters and what they reveal about Australian life. The mystery itself is puzzling but hardly suspenseful, and the solution to the crime is anti-climatic -- until the splendid kicker of the final paragraph. Mordant and hilarious.

This book is an extremely funny satire. It also gives a very close up and personal look at University life "down under". And the fun doesn't stop right up until the very last words. Barnard pokes fun at all kinds of golden age mystery writers, and his Royle creation is absolutely wonderful. I wonder were the cops in the Australia outback as bad as this in 1974? Read this book for a good laugh, and the mystery isn't bad either.