The Chalon Heads

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The Chalon Heads
Author Barry Maitland
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
GenreNovel
Publisher Allen and Unwin
Publication date
1999
Media typePrint
Pages326 pp.
Awards2000 Barry Award finalist
ISBN 1865080470
Preceded byAll My Enemies 
Followed bySilvermeadow 

The Chalon Heads is a 1999 crime novel by the Australian author Barry Maitland. [1]

Contents

It was the fourth novel in the author's Brock and Kola series of novels. [2]

Synopsis

The young wife of ex-criminal Sammy Startling has been kidnapped and the ransom note was decorated with Chalon Head stamps of the young Queen Victoria. These stamps are both rare and valuable and detectives Kathy Killa and David Brock go to Cabot's philately store to meet Startling and investigate the crime.

Publishing history

After its initial publication in Australia by Allen and Unwin in 1999, [1] it was reprinted as follows:

The novel was also translated into Russian in 2008. [2]

Epigraph

Critical reception

A reviewer in The Canberra Tmes noted: "This is a very carefully crafted crime novel that is rich in detail and interesting minor characters. The plotting is suitably serpentine and Maitland keeps us on our toes with some very unexpected turns. The plot unfolds at a good pace, helped along by a couple of well-staged chase scenes and a particularly grisly discovery...Stamp collectors will also probably find the philatelic detail interesting and there is even an Australian angle in the form of the three Chalon Head stamps from Van Diemen's Land which are central to the plot...Overall The Chalon Heads is very good, although Brock lacks the distinctive edge to make him, and the series, stand out from the rest of the very good British police novels that are around." [7]

Stuart Coupe in The Sydney Morning Herald was very enthusiastic about the novel: "The Chalon heads is significantly better than almost all the police procedural novels I've read in recent years, with Maitland displaying an impressive and convincing grasp of the machinations and motivations of working police officers, their strengths, weaknesses and foibles. This novel is right up there with the best contemporary crime fiction and, with Allen & Unwin in Australia and Orion Books in Britain as Mailtand's new publishers, one can but hope the author gains the increased international recognition he so clearly deserves." [8]

Awards

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "The Chalon Heads by Barry Maitland (A&U, 1999)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Austlit — The Chalon Heads by Barry Maitland". Austlit. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  3. ↑ "The Chalon Heads by Barry Maitland (A&U, 2000)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  4. ↑ "The Chalon Heads by Barry Maitland (Orion, 2000)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  5. ↑ "The Chalon Heads by Barry Maitland (A&U, 2007)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  6. ↑ "The Chalon Heads by Barry Maitland (Felony & Mayhem Press)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  7. ↑ ""Shifting Cities"". The Canberra Times, 29 May 1999. ProQuest   1012309461 . Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  8. ↑ "". "". Sydney Morning Herald, 26 June 1999. ProQuest   2527738792 . Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  9. ↑ ""Barry Awards"". Stop, You're Killing me. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
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