Babylon South

By: Jon Cleary

Narrated by: Shaun Grindell

In 1966 Sire Walter Springfellow, head of Australian intelligence, vanished mysteriously and without a trace. As a young constable, Scobie Malone investigated the disappearance. Years later some bones are found up in the hills which are presumed to be Sir Walter’s, and Detective Inspector Malone finds himself back on the case. His first task is to break the news to Venetia Springfellow, Sir Walter’s glamorous widow, whose ruthless ambition has made the Springfellow Corporation a hugely successful company.

Then comes news that there has been another death in the family, and one of the Springfellows is to be charged with murder. The Police Commissioner turns out to have every reason for talking a close interest in the case, but emotional involvement results in his putting unfair pressure on Scobie Malone. Always a straight cop and a decent man, Malone finds his divided loyalties extremely troubling.

©1990 Sundowner Productions Pty., Ltd. (P)2013 AudioGO

Critic reviews

"A mystery chock-a-block with Aussie color." ( Publishers Weekly)

"The ever-readable Cleary is, as always, ingratiating, with wry police/con humor and sturdy plotting. Smooth and steady reading." ( Kirkus Reviews)

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Where does Babylon South rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Liked the book and the story, but Shaun Grindell ruined it for me, read the book like it was a children's nursery story, is this guy even Australian??

How could the performance have been better?

Have some one else narrate the book

Another great book in series

Another great read in the series. Good story and fantastic narration distinguishing between all the characters

Great story, bad narration

What would have made Babylon South better?

A better narrator. why use a New Zealander to narrate and Australian book? The accents and pronounciations are all wrong.

What other book might you compare Babylon South to and why?

Any of the Robert G Barrett books. Good local knowledge and police procedure

What didn’t you like about Shaun Grindell’s performance?

Shallow, wrong accent. multimple mispronounciations which just made me wince

Any additional comments?

I loved the story but just wanted the torment of the poor narration to end.