White Dog (Temple novel)

Last updated
White Dog
White Dog (Temple novel).jpg
First edition
Author Peter Temple
Language English
SeriesJack Irish series
Genre crime novel
Publisher Text Publishing, Australia
Publication date
2003
Publication place Australia
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages337
ISBN 1-877008-53-2
Preceded byIn the Evil Day 
Followed by The Broken Shore  

White Dog is a 2003 Australian novel by Peter Temple. [1] The fourth novel in the "Jack Irish" series, [2] it won the 2003 Ned Kelly Awards Best Novel for Crime Writing. [3]

Contents

Plot summary

A Melbourne property developer is murdered and his artist ex-girlfriend is the prime suspect. Jack Irish, a lone private investigator, comes in to investigate. In his investigation, he figures out quite the surprise.

Style and subject matter

Reviewer Hutchings describes the novel as "classic detective fiction" typified by its first-person narrative and "engagement with the city". [4] Hutchings also suggests that "the sense of times past" conveyed by Temple in this novel is central to other writers in this genre, such as Raymond Chandler whose hero, Philip Marlowe, is "an anachronistic knight-errant, a defender of past decencies". [4] He suggests that for Temple, along with the Australian crime writers Marele Day, Peter Corris and Cathy Cole, "the detective offers a link to a disappearing working-class, egalitarian Australia". [4]

As in all his Jack Irish novels, Australian Rules Football and horse racing feature in The White Dog.

Publishing history

After the novel's original publication by Text Publishing in 2003, [5] it was reprinted by Text in 2004, [6] 2014 [1] and 2018. [1]

In the United Kingdom it was published by Quercus in 2007, [1] and reprinted in 2012. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime fiction</span> Genre of fiction focusing on crime

Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, often a murder. Most crime drama focuses on criminal investigation and does not feature the courtroom. Suspense and mystery are key elements that are nearly ubiquitous to the genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damien Broderick</span> Australian writer

Damien Francis Broderick is an Australian science fiction and popular science writer and editor of some 74 books. His science fiction novel The Dreaming Dragons (1980) introduced the trope of the generation time machine, his The Judas Mandala (1982) contains the first appearance of the term "virtual reality" in science fiction, and his 1997 popular science book The Spike was the first to investigate the technological singularity in detail.

The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–1954), who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career (1901). She bequeathed her estate to fund this award. As of 2016, the award is valued at A$60,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Temple</span> Australian crime fiction writer

Peter Temple was an Australian crime fiction writer, mainly known for his Jack Irish novel series. He won several awards for his writing, including the Gold Dagger in 2007, the first for an Australian. He was also an international magazine and newspaper journalist and editor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerry Greenwood</span> Australian author and lawyer (born 1954)

Kerry Isabelle Greenwood is an Australian author and lawyer. She has written many plays and books, most notably a string of historical detective novels centred on the character of Phryne Fisher, which was adapted as the popular television series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. She writes mysteries, science-fiction, historical fiction, children's stories, and plays. Greenwood earned the Australian women's crime fiction Davitt Award in 2002 for her young adult novel The Three-Pronged Dagger.

<i>The Broken Shore</i> (novel) Book by Peter Temple

The Broken Shore (2005) is a Duncan Lawrie Dagger award-winning novel by Australian author Peter Temple.

<i>Bad Debts</i> 1996 novel by Peter Temple

Bad Debts (1996) is a Ned Kelly Award-winning novel by Australian author Peter Temple. This is the first novel in the author's Jack Irish series.

<i>Black Tide</i> (novel) 1999 novel by Peter Temple

Black Tide (1999) is a crime novel by Australian author Peter Temple. This is the second novel in the author's Jack Irish series.

<i>Dead Point</i> 2000 novel by Peter Temple

Dead Point (2000) is a Ned Kelly Award-winning novel by Australian author Peter Temple. This is the third novel in the author's Jack Irish series.

<i>Shooting Star</i> (Temple novel) Novel by Peter Temple

Shooting Star (1999) is a Ned Kelly Award-winning novel by Australian author Peter Temple.

<i>Death Delights</i> 2001 novel by Gabrielle Lord

Death Delights is a 2001 Ned Kelly Award-winning novel by the Australian author Gabrielle Lord.

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2007.

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2003.

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2010.

<i>Smoke and Mirrors</i> (novel) Book by Kel Robertson

Smoke and Mirrors is 2008 crime novel by Australian author Kel Robertson. It won the 2009 Ned Kelly Award for Best Fiction. It is the second novel in the author's series about Australian Chinese Federal Police detective Brad Chen.

Candice Fox is an Australian novelist, best known for her crime fiction. She has collaborated with James Patterson on several novels.

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1974.

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2018.

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1985.

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1997.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "White Dog by Peter Temple". Austlit. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  2. "Jack Irish series". Austlit. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  3. "Previous Winners: Best Fiction". Australian Crime Writers Association. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Peter Hutchings (2003, April 18) "A man alone with clues to times past" (Spectrum). Sydney Morning Herald p.20
  5. White Dog (Text) 2003. National Library of Australia. 2003. ISBN   9781877008535 . Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  6. White Dog (Text) 2004. National Library of Australia. 6 September 2004. ISBN   9781920885298 . Retrieved 22 June 2023.