A solid read. Inevitably, a work like this reads somewhat like the thesis or research project that it was. Not every section would be engaging for someone just wanting to learn about crime fiction in Australia, since many works are rushed through or referenced primarily to hammer home a particular thematic point. But as a piece of research during that great period in the 1980s and 1990s when Australian historians were at their best in discovering our cultural past, this is a worthy one. Knight is open about the fact that much of this was new research at the time. He occasionally uncovers books that have not been mentioned in the core 20th century texts on Australian lit, and he recognises that future researchers will no doubt find more stories in the genre. And for that we can always be thankful. ( )