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Scobie Malone #2
Helga's Web
Set in Sydney, Australia, where a young girl is involved in blackmail, Detective-Sergeant Malone reaches Helga too late to warn her about her dangerous game. She has already received her final pay-off. The author also wrote "Gunscope" and "The Sundowners".
- GenresDetective
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1970
1 person is currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Jon Cleary
128 books24 followersAustralian popular novelist, a natural storyteller, whose career as a writer extended over 60 years. Jon Cleary's books have sold some 8 million copies. Often the stories are set in exotic locations all over the world or in some interesting historical scene of the 20th century, such as the Nazi Berlin of 1936. Cleary also wrote perhaps the longest running homicide detective series of Australia. Its sympathetic protagonist, Inspector Scobie Malone, was introduced in The High Commissioner (1966). Degrees of Connection, published in 2003, was Scobie's 20th appearance. Although Cleary's books can be read as efficiently plotted entertainment, he occasionally touched psychological, social, and moral dilemmas inside the frame of high adventure.
Jon Stephen Cleary was born in Sydney, New South Wales, into a working class family as the eldest of seven children. When Clearly was only 10, his father Matthew was condemned to six months' imprisonment for stealing £5 from his baker's delivery bag, in an attempt have money to feed his family. Cleary's mother, Ida, was a fourth-generation Australian. From his parents Cleary inherited a strong sense of just and unjust and his belief in family values.
Cleary was educated at the Marist Brothers school in Randwick, New South Wales. After leaving school in 1932, at the age of fourteen, he spent the following 8 years out of work or in odd jobs, such as a commercial traveler and bush worker – "I had more jobs than I can now remember," he later said of the Depression years. Cleary's love of reading was sparked when he began to help his friend, who had a travelling library. His favorite writers included P.G. Wodehouse. Before the war Clearly became interested in the career of commercial artists, but he also wrote for amateur revues. In 1940 he joined the Australian Army and served in the Middle East and New Guinea. During these years Cleary started to write seriously, and by the war's end he had published several short stories in magazines. His radio play, Safe Horizon (1944), received a broadcasting award.
Cleary's These Small Glories (1945), a collection of short stories, was based on his experiences as a soldier in the Middle East. In 1946 Cleary married Joy Lucas, a Melbourne nurse, whom he had met on a sea voyage to England; they had two daughters. His first novel, You Can’t See Round Corners (1947), won the second prize in The Sydney Morning Herald’s novel contest. It was later made into a television serial and then into a feature film. The Graham Greene-ish story of a deserter who returns to Sydney showed Cleary's skill at describing his home city, its bars, and people living on the margin of society. Noteworthy, the book was edited by Greene himself, who worked for the publishing firm Eyre & Spottiswoode and who gave Cleary two advices: "One, never forget there are two people in a book; the writer and the reader. And the second one was he said, 'Write a thriller because it will teach you the art of narrative and it will teach you the uses of brevity.'" (In an interview by Ramona Koval, ABC Radio program, February 2006)
Jon Stephen Cleary was born in Sydney, New South Wales, into a working class family as the eldest of seven children. When Clearly was only 10, his father Matthew was condemned to six months' imprisonment for stealing £5 from his baker's delivery bag, in an attempt have money to feed his family. Cleary's mother, Ida, was a fourth-generation Australian. From his parents Cleary inherited a strong sense of just and unjust and his belief in family values.
Cleary was educated at the Marist Brothers school in Randwick, New South Wales. After leaving school in 1932, at the age of fourteen, he spent the following 8 years out of work or in odd jobs, such as a commercial traveler and bush worker – "I had more jobs than I can now remember," he later said of the Depression years. Cleary's love of reading was sparked when he began to help his friend, who had a travelling library. His favorite writers included P.G. Wodehouse. Before the war Clearly became interested in the career of commercial artists, but he also wrote for amateur revues. In 1940 he joined the Australian Army and served in the Middle East and New Guinea. During these years Cleary started to write seriously, and by the war's end he had published several short stories in magazines. His radio play, Safe Horizon (1944), received a broadcasting award.
Cleary's These Small Glories (1945), a collection of short stories, was based on his experiences as a soldier in the Middle East. In 1946 Cleary married Joy Lucas, a Melbourne nurse, whom he had met on a sea voyage to England; they had two daughters. His first novel, You Can’t See Round Corners (1947), won the second prize in The Sydney Morning Herald’s novel contest. It was later made into a television serial and then into a feature film. The Graham Greene-ish story of a deserter who returns to Sydney showed Cleary's skill at describing his home city, its bars, and people living on the margin of society. Noteworthy, the book was edited by Greene himself, who worked for the publishing firm Eyre & Spottiswoode and who gave Cleary two advices: "One, never forget there are two people in a book; the writer and the reader. And the second one was he said, 'Write a thriller because it will teach you the art of narrative and it will teach you the uses of brevity.'" (In an interview by Ramona Koval, ABC Radio program, February 2006)
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 6, 2022
Helga’s Web is the second book in the Scobie Malone series following The High Commissioner in which Detective Sergeant Scobie Malone of the New South Wales Police Force was first introduced to us. Although it is the second of the series, it is the first case that he works on his home turf of Sydney. Consequently we learn a lot more about Malone, his family and colleagues and his relationship with them all than we did before during the course of his investigation.
The year is 1970 and, at the time, the biggest event taking place in the city of Sydney (as well as the most opinion-polarising) was the construction of the Sydney Opera House. It's not surprising then that Jon Cleary has integrated the Opera House into the story by placing the discovery of a woman’s body in the construction site. It’s Scobie Malone and his partner Russ Clements who are called out to investigate.
From this point on the focus of the story begins to alternate between Malone’s investigation in the present and the events of the days leading up to the woman’s body’s discovery. At first I was a little confused by the changing timeframes but can only put that down to my own inattention because Cleary begins each chapter with a dateline making it obvious which storyline is about to follow.
Jon Cleary has written a fascinating murder mystery here combining the two time periods to reveal a little of what actually happened and then jumping forward to check how well Scobie is progressing, given what we have just learnt. Pleasingly, the identity of the murderer isn’t made obvious until quite late in the book, giving you a chance to have a go at trying to solve it yourself.
We are given a much greater insight into Scobie's background in Helga's Web than we did in The High Commissioner. An amusing little ongoing aside comes in the form of the shame and humiliation felt by Scobie’s parents owing to his job as a policeman. They live in the lower-class suburb of Erskineville where the police have always been considered the enemies, branded as “demons”, and they’re not going to change their opinions just because their foolish son has become one. Meanwhile, Scobie’s relationship with Lisa, whom he met in The High Commissioner, continues to flourish and develops Scobie’s character from merely being a police officer to a caring, extremely likable person.
Once I had gotten used to jumping backwards and forwards in time I appreciated the style used by Cleary. I found that it not only added to the tension of the story (knowing Helga was going to be murdered), but also focused my attention on each of the suspects as they came and went in her life (trying to figure out who the murderer was).
The Scobie Malone series is a little dated, especially some of the attitudes toward women, but the investigation work and the presentation of the mystery is still compelling. Hardly heavy reading, Helga’s Web is an enjoyable police procedural featuring a protagonist who has me in his corner cheering.
https://crimefictionhq.com/helgas-web...
The year is 1970 and, at the time, the biggest event taking place in the city of Sydney (as well as the most opinion-polarising) was the construction of the Sydney Opera House. It's not surprising then that Jon Cleary has integrated the Opera House into the story by placing the discovery of a woman’s body in the construction site. It’s Scobie Malone and his partner Russ Clements who are called out to investigate.
From this point on the focus of the story begins to alternate between Malone’s investigation in the present and the events of the days leading up to the woman’s body’s discovery. At first I was a little confused by the changing timeframes but can only put that down to my own inattention because Cleary begins each chapter with a dateline making it obvious which storyline is about to follow.
Jon Cleary has written a fascinating murder mystery here combining the two time periods to reveal a little of what actually happened and then jumping forward to check how well Scobie is progressing, given what we have just learnt. Pleasingly, the identity of the murderer isn’t made obvious until quite late in the book, giving you a chance to have a go at trying to solve it yourself.
We are given a much greater insight into Scobie's background in Helga's Web than we did in The High Commissioner. An amusing little ongoing aside comes in the form of the shame and humiliation felt by Scobie’s parents owing to his job as a policeman. They live in the lower-class suburb of Erskineville where the police have always been considered the enemies, branded as “demons”, and they’re not going to change their opinions just because their foolish son has become one. Meanwhile, Scobie’s relationship with Lisa, whom he met in The High Commissioner, continues to flourish and develops Scobie’s character from merely being a police officer to a caring, extremely likable person.
Once I had gotten used to jumping backwards and forwards in time I appreciated the style used by Cleary. I found that it not only added to the tension of the story (knowing Helga was going to be murdered), but also focused my attention on each of the suspects as they came and went in her life (trying to figure out who the murderer was).
The Scobie Malone series is a little dated, especially some of the attitudes toward women, but the investigation work and the presentation of the mystery is still compelling. Hardly heavy reading, Helga’s Web is an enjoyable police procedural featuring a protagonist who has me in his corner cheering.
https://crimefictionhq.com/helgas-web...
August 28, 2020
Författare är ett lustigt folk. Här, till exempel, har vi Jon Cleary som hade skrivit drygt ett dussin spänningsromaner innan han började med serien om Scobie Malone. Denna är den andra boken i den serien. Jag har inte läst den första delen så jag kan inte säga om han följer samma. . . "estetik" i den boken, eller i de följande volymerna.
Formeln är annars ganska gängse: Vi har en sympatisk polisdetektiv, Scobie Malone, ganska oväntat förlovad med en framgångsrik vacker kvinna som också älskar honom. Hans assistent, Russ Clements, är något yngre och något lättare att imponera på. Scobie's chef, Fulmer, är däremot helt överraskande sympatisk också han, fast .
Vi har också ett offer, Helga, en lyxprostituerad som tydligen ger valuta för tjänsterna. Och så börjar våra detektiver reda ut medel, motiv, och - så småningom - möjlighet. Då plötsligt börjar Mr Cleary leka med sin nya skrivmetod. Vi träffar ett antal personer vilka är inte särskilt intressanta och som kommer att, som läsaren misstänker, visa sig vara de misstänkta. Och så får vi ett klockslag och en veckodag i början av varje kapitel.
Kapitel 1: måndag 9 december
Kapitel 2: tisdag 26 november
Kapitel 3: måndag 9 december
Kapitel 4: torsdag 28 december
Tiden är alltså inte linjär. För att läsaren skall kunna följa historien måste hen jämt vända tillbaka till tidigare kapitel för att hålla reda på när hen är och vad detektiverna kan tänkas veta. Kapitel med udda nummer följer Scobie och Clements medan de mellanliggande kapitlen följer andra karaktärer - de misstänkta. Och datumen studsar fram och tillbaka upp till tidpunkten för mordet - och även därefter. Detta kan vara ganska förvirrande och jag är inte övertygad om att det är estetiskt tilltalande.
Jag upplevde kapitlen med Scobie som mycket trevligare än kapitlen med de misstänkta.
Det finns några minnesvärda passager:
"De som pladdrar på som värst har man ofta nytta av, tänkte Malone. De som har de snabbaste tungorna har ofta också den skarpaste blicken: Malones biologiska lag." (s. 91)
Ett avsnitt är dåligt översatt - tycker jag:
"Människor som hyste en puritansk avundsjuka till andras nöjen kunde vara farliga nog, men en sådan människa som var polis, han kunde bli farlig." (p. 137).
Min gissning är att Mr Cleary använda ett starkare ord för det andra "farlig", dire kanske. Eller möjligen använde han ett mindre starkt ord för det första "farlig", "hazardous"?
"Nyligen hade man undersökt de olika bostadsområdenas sociala status i Sydney - en sådan där undersökning som är så populär bland unga sociologer, marknadsförare och inbrottstjuvar..." (s. 149)
Nackdelen med att vara lyckligt gift med en skurk:
"Hon visste att det inte fanns någon annan i hela världen som skulle be för honom, och det var något som satt som en tagg i bröstet. Fast det skulle hon aldrig tala om för honom. Det fanns en ensam bitterhet i kärleken till en man som ingen annan tyckte om." (s. 155)
"Malone läste tidningen och funderade på allt elände ute i världen: kriget i Vietnam, gerillastriderna i Mellanöstern, en jordbävning i Turkiet, och översvämningar i Italien. Och Australien låg illa till i cricketlandskampen mot Västindien..." (s. 225)
Assistenten ser fram emot befordran:
Clements: " - Men en sak till: när jag är ute och letar efter honom i kväll, vad tänker du göra då?'
Malone: - Tänka. Och gå ut och äta middag med Lisa.
- En vacker dag blir det väl min tur att vara den äldste. Och då tänker jag köra hårt med min unga kille.
- Precis så där brukade jag resonera själv för tio år sedan. Men vad sitter du där och hänger för? Gör något! Sätt i gång!" (s. 247)
Två människor sitter tysta:
"men båda var rädda om vad de just fått veta om varandra. Upptäcktsresande på större kontinenter än en enda människa hade fått nöja sig med mindre..." (s. 292-3)
Det var svårbegripligt så jag försökte översätta det till engelska: "Explorers on larger continents than a single person had settled for less". Låter ändå inte riktigt klokt.
"Men mannen hörde inget annat än den snabbpratande travreferenten. Man stör ju inte i en gudstjänst eller en psalm, tänkte Malone. Och då bör man väl inte störa mitt i en travtävling heller, den är ju något av båda delarna." (s. 313)
Det är juletider i Sydney i mitten av 1970-talet. Operahuset är fortfarande under konstruktion. För den som inte känner staden - jag till exempel - får man tillfälle att upptäcka några väldigt vitt skilda miljöer. Jag kan inte säga att jag kände stadens puls, men det var roligt att åka runt och i denna varma augusti här där jag satt och småsvettades var det skönt att läsa om de som hade det värre ändå.
Formeln är annars ganska gängse: Vi har en sympatisk polisdetektiv, Scobie Malone, ganska oväntat förlovad med en framgångsrik vacker kvinna som också älskar honom. Hans assistent, Russ Clements, är något yngre och något lättare att imponera på. Scobie's chef, Fulmer, är däremot helt överraskande sympatisk också han, fast .
Vi har också ett offer, Helga, en lyxprostituerad som tydligen ger valuta för tjänsterna. Och så börjar våra detektiver reda ut medel, motiv, och - så småningom - möjlighet. Då plötsligt börjar Mr Cleary leka med sin nya skrivmetod. Vi träffar ett antal personer vilka är inte särskilt intressanta och som kommer att, som läsaren misstänker, visa sig vara de misstänkta. Och så får vi ett klockslag och en veckodag i början av varje kapitel.
Kapitel 1: måndag 9 december
Kapitel 2: tisdag 26 november
Kapitel 3: måndag 9 december
Kapitel 4: torsdag 28 december
Tiden är alltså inte linjär. För att läsaren skall kunna följa historien måste hen jämt vända tillbaka till tidigare kapitel för att hålla reda på när hen är och vad detektiverna kan tänkas veta. Kapitel med udda nummer följer Scobie och Clements medan de mellanliggande kapitlen följer andra karaktärer - de misstänkta. Och datumen studsar fram och tillbaka upp till tidpunkten för mordet - och även därefter. Detta kan vara ganska förvirrande och jag är inte övertygad om att det är estetiskt tilltalande.
Jag upplevde kapitlen med Scobie som mycket trevligare än kapitlen med de misstänkta.
Det finns några minnesvärda passager:
"De som pladdrar på som värst har man ofta nytta av, tänkte Malone. De som har de snabbaste tungorna har ofta också den skarpaste blicken: Malones biologiska lag." (s. 91)
Ett avsnitt är dåligt översatt - tycker jag:
"Människor som hyste en puritansk avundsjuka till andras nöjen kunde vara farliga nog, men en sådan människa som var polis, han kunde bli farlig." (p. 137).
Min gissning är att Mr Cleary använda ett starkare ord för det andra "farlig", dire kanske. Eller möjligen använde han ett mindre starkt ord för det första "farlig", "hazardous"?
"Nyligen hade man undersökt de olika bostadsområdenas sociala status i Sydney - en sådan där undersökning som är så populär bland unga sociologer, marknadsförare och inbrottstjuvar..." (s. 149)
Nackdelen med att vara lyckligt gift med en skurk:
"Hon visste att det inte fanns någon annan i hela världen som skulle be för honom, och det var något som satt som en tagg i bröstet. Fast det skulle hon aldrig tala om för honom. Det fanns en ensam bitterhet i kärleken till en man som ingen annan tyckte om." (s. 155)
"Malone läste tidningen och funderade på allt elände ute i världen: kriget i Vietnam, gerillastriderna i Mellanöstern, en jordbävning i Turkiet, och översvämningar i Italien. Och Australien låg illa till i cricketlandskampen mot Västindien..." (s. 225)
Assistenten ser fram emot befordran:
Clements: " - Men en sak till: när jag är ute och letar efter honom i kväll, vad tänker du göra då?'
Malone: - Tänka. Och gå ut och äta middag med Lisa.
- En vacker dag blir det väl min tur att vara den äldste. Och då tänker jag köra hårt med min unga kille.
- Precis så där brukade jag resonera själv för tio år sedan. Men vad sitter du där och hänger för? Gör något! Sätt i gång!" (s. 247)
Två människor sitter tysta:
"men båda var rädda om vad de just fått veta om varandra. Upptäcktsresande på större kontinenter än en enda människa hade fått nöja sig med mindre..." (s. 292-3)
Det var svårbegripligt så jag försökte översätta det till engelska: "Explorers on larger continents than a single person had settled for less". Låter ändå inte riktigt klokt.
"Men mannen hörde inget annat än den snabbpratande travreferenten. Man stör ju inte i en gudstjänst eller en psalm, tänkte Malone. Och då bör man väl inte störa mitt i en travtävling heller, den är ju något av båda delarna." (s. 313)
Det är juletider i Sydney i mitten av 1970-talet. Operahuset är fortfarande under konstruktion. För den som inte känner staden - jag till exempel - får man tillfälle att upptäcka några väldigt vitt skilda miljöer. Jag kan inte säga att jag kände stadens puls, men det var roligt att åka runt och i denna varma augusti här där jag satt och småsvettades var det skönt att läsa om de som hade det värre ändå.
October 11, 2023
Helga's Web is a captivating detective crime story in its own right, the plot build is immaculate but in some points, it dwells a bit in progression. Character backstories are fairly explained, description could have been a bit better, but overall, definitely worth a humble read.
August 26, 2012
Originally published on my blog here in September 2000.
Helga's Web is really a police procedural crime novel with a slightly unusual setting (at least so far as novels seen in the UK are concerned) - the body is found in the basement of Sydney Opera House. She turns out to have been a high class call girl with a sideline in blackmail, and so her clients, including a Cabinet minster and the film producer brother of one of the richest men in Sydney, are obvious suspects. However, their position means that they need to be handled with care, and this makes the job of the police much more difficult.
The main character, Sergeant Scobie Malone, is (I think) a series character, other cases being mentioned which fit in with titles of other Cleary novels. Whether or not this is the case, he is believable. So too, on a lesser scale, are the two main blackmail victims on whom his investigation concentrates.
The impression left behind by the novel is that Cleary doesn't like Australians very much. A lot is made of their chauvinistic xenophobia - it is a charge made against several characters, including Malone's parents. The length of time it took to complete the Opera House, and the numerous changes made to its plans, are also ridiculed, and even made an integral part of the story, as it is an alteration which leads to the discovery of the body itself.
Helga's Web is really a police procedural crime novel with a slightly unusual setting (at least so far as novels seen in the UK are concerned) - the body is found in the basement of Sydney Opera House. She turns out to have been a high class call girl with a sideline in blackmail, and so her clients, including a Cabinet minster and the film producer brother of one of the richest men in Sydney, are obvious suspects. However, their position means that they need to be handled with care, and this makes the job of the police much more difficult.
The main character, Sergeant Scobie Malone, is (I think) a series character, other cases being mentioned which fit in with titles of other Cleary novels. Whether or not this is the case, he is believable. So too, on a lesser scale, are the two main blackmail victims on whom his investigation concentrates.
The impression left behind by the novel is that Cleary doesn't like Australians very much. A lot is made of their chauvinistic xenophobia - it is a charge made against several characters, including Malone's parents. The length of time it took to complete the Opera House, and the numerous changes made to its plans, are also ridiculed, and even made an integral part of the story, as it is an alteration which leads to the discovery of the body itself.
June 22, 2012
A bit dated, no cell phones or email, but still a good story in what appears to be a good series.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews