In a prize-winning thriller by an Australian novelist, Murray Whelan, an advisor to the minister of culture, puzzles out the death of a disgruntled young artist and the rise of a wealthy art lover.

The Brush-Off

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Maloney, Shane

Mystery

Arcade Publishing

A thrilling new mystery for Australia's Murray Whelan finds the wisecracking, and sometimes rather unwilling, sleuth up to his neck in sleazy union politics, planted drugs, neo-fascists, and a good deal of other imminent dangers. 10,000 first printing.

Stiff

Nice Try: A Murray Whelan Mystery (Murray Whelan Thrillers)

Reluctant sleuth and adviser to the minister for Water Supply and the Arts, Murray Whelan becomes caught up in the madness involving the selection of a site for the next Summer Olympics, after a young athlete turns up dead, a crime that leads to a dramatic confrontation with an aborigine activist, a psychopath, a beautiful aerobics instructor, and Dr. Phillipa Verstak.

Nice Try: A Murray Whelan Mystery

Wisecracking sleuth Murray Whelan finds himself up to his ears in trouble as he confronts the disappearance of his son, the loss of his job with transport minister Angelo Agnelli, conflict with a corrupt truckers' union and an Italian self-help organization, and the demands of his former fling, Heather.

The Big Ask: A Murray Whelan Mystery

In a prize-winning thriller by an Australian novelist, Murray Whelan, an advisor to the minister of culture, puzzles out the death of a disgruntled young artist and the rise of a wealthy art lover. Reprint.

The Brush-Off: A Murray Whelan Mystery

Murray Whelan finds himself up to his neck in sleazy union politics, planted drugs, neo-fascists, and a good deal of other imminent dangers.

Nice Try

A first rate, funny, tightly plotted thriller.

The Brush Off: A Murray Whelan Mystery

Literature & Fiction

Humor & Satire

Murray Whelan is the political advisor to the newly appointed minister of culture, Angelo (Tell me, Murray, what are the Arts?”) Agnelli, and he’s hanging on to his job by his toenails. On his first day, the disgruntled young artist Marcus Taylor is found dead, drowned in the ornamental moat outside the National Gallery. The police rule it a suicide, or perhaps an accident, but Murray is not so sure. Besides, this ugly incident occurred on Agnelli’s watch, so the heat is on. A born detective despite himself, Murray digs, and the deeper he goes, the more puzzling the mystery becomes. Who is this other painter, Victor Szabo, also dead, unknown in his lifetime and now the darling of the art world, with works fetching crazy pricesfunded in part by the government? And what about suave businessman and art maven Lloyd Eastlake, who is whispering financial sweet nothings in Angelo Agnelli’s ear? A first-rate, funny, tightly plotted thriller with the verve of Get Shorty and Striptease, The Brush-Off brings us a Down Under we hardly knew: with political scamming and art fraud, ruthless culture vultures, silky bureaucrats, and scheming self-made millionairesall brought together by a streetwise, sharp-tongued political advisor who has a knack for stumbling onto murder. His crash course in culture teaches him one thing for certain: when you dabble with death, there’s nothing abstract about a loaded gun. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fictionnovels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

United States

Arcade

Don’t you just hate it when someone tries to kill you and you don’t know why? Single father Murray Whelan thinks the life of a parent and political operative is complicated enough. His ex is staking out the moral high ground for a custody battle, and rumors of an early election are starting to fly in the upper echelons of Australia’s Labor party. When a Turk is found snap-frozen in a local meat plant, Murray cops the job to head off possible fallout for his boss, Charlene Wills, a member of Parliament and the Minister for Industry. But the meat industry smells decidedly fishy when Murray starts asking too many questions. Suddenly things are spinning fatally out of control as he finds himself the object of an elaborate intimidation plot: drugs planted under the bed, fascist funeral rites, a killer car, and bloodsucking parasites. That’s when red-hot Ayisha, the Turkish Welfare League’s answer to activism, knocks on his door. Stiff brings back the wisecracking ace of reluctant detectives in a mystery that is fast, furious, and very, very funny. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fictionnovels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Stiff: A Murray Whelan Mystery

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Maloney, Shane. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Maloney, Shane

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Maloney, Shane. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Brush-Off

Stiff

Nice Try: A Murray Whelan Mystery

The Big Ask: A Murray Whelan Mystery

The Brush-Off: A Murray Whelan Mystery

Stiff

Nice Try

The Brush Off: A Murray Whelan Mystery

The Brush-Off: A Murray Whelan Mystery

Stiff: A Murray Whelan Mystery