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Football Mambo
A funny Australian mystery about Adelaide and football and fishing and voodoo and wives.
When down-at-heel Adelaide private detective Bruce Bilger accepts a curious but seemingly trivial case from a local Australian Rules football club, the Centralian Galahs, he has no inkling of the bizarre and perilous circumstances into which he is about to be plunged.
Will his survival instinct and street wisdom make up for his lack of social graces, and will his curiosity ultimately kill him or break the case?
When down-at-heel Adelaide private detective Bruce Bilger accepts a curious but seemingly trivial case from a local Australian Rules football club, the Centralian Galahs, he has no inkling of the bizarre and perilous circumstances into which he is about to be plunged.
Will his survival instinct and street wisdom make up for his lack of social graces, and will his curiosity ultimately kill him or break the case?
104 pages, ebook
First published January 23, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 4, 2014
When Private Investigator Bruce Bilger was approached by Ken Wallis, manager of AFL club the Centralian Galahs, he had no idea he was about to become involved in a mystery involving the strange occurrence of fullback Brad Spammin performing a couple of drop kicks in a game which hadn’t allowed drop kicks in at least thirty years. They had lost that particular game to the Cats by only a few points, and with Port Power as opposition in the near future, Ken was desperate to solve the issue of their fullback’s strange actions, and within the club – no media attention would also be good…
But Bilger’s investigation was turning up some strange and bizarre problems – Brad would only say, and keep saying “the mambo made me do it” – which meant nothing to Bilger. Where would this investigation lead him? And would he achieve the results Ken was looking for, without media attention or the knowledge of the AFL board?
This is a light, enjoyable debut mystery by Aussie author Peter Tonkin which centres around the Aussie Rules football game – the story takes place in Adelaide with mention of many places I know and have been to, so it was very easy to visualise. There’s some light humour in this novella and I don’t mind recommending it to mystery lovers who enjoy a quick, easy read.
With thanks to the publisher for my copy to read and review.
But Bilger’s investigation was turning up some strange and bizarre problems – Brad would only say, and keep saying “the mambo made me do it” – which meant nothing to Bilger. Where would this investigation lead him? And would he achieve the results Ken was looking for, without media attention or the knowledge of the AFL board?
This is a light, enjoyable debut mystery by Aussie author Peter Tonkin which centres around the Aussie Rules football game – the story takes place in Adelaide with mention of many places I know and have been to, so it was very easy to visualise. There’s some light humour in this novella and I don’t mind recommending it to mystery lovers who enjoy a quick, easy read.
With thanks to the publisher for my copy to read and review.
May 29, 2014
Being profoundly disinterested in all things AFL, I will admit that for a while I did think the possibility of a real life Centralian Galahs teams sounded quite feasible. As did the idea that drop kicks weren't just drongo's, but somehow something very undesirable in a game (okay so I had to check with somebody who would know what a drop kick was...).
The idea that cynical PI Bruce Bilger would be called into investigate the mystery of why a famous player would suddenly throw a game via the aforementioned kick didn't seem too far of a stretch as well (although to be honest I've still no idea how or why it would work ... okay so I still don't care). But investigate Bilger does and when the player in question insists "the mambo made me do it" it makes sense that first principles would apply and let's figure out what the mambo is (I was confused about the dance's impact at this stage!).
So we're not talking deep and meaningful. We're talking passages like this:
"Wrong tree! Hell, I'd been trying to pluck a splinter out of my arse while the world wood-chopping championships were in full swing elsewhere."
We're definitely talking tongue in cheek when it comes to FOOTBALL MAMBO by Peter Tonkin. It's humourous, it's a quick and easy read, and whilst it's definitely on the odd side, it might not be quite as odd to anybody with a modicum of an interest in football. Having said that, football allergic types like me shouldn't avoid it either - it's vaguely silly, very amusing and a light, fun book.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
The idea that cynical PI Bruce Bilger would be called into investigate the mystery of why a famous player would suddenly throw a game via the aforementioned kick didn't seem too far of a stretch as well (although to be honest I've still no idea how or why it would work ... okay so I still don't care). But investigate Bilger does and when the player in question insists "the mambo made me do it" it makes sense that first principles would apply and let's figure out what the mambo is (I was confused about the dance's impact at this stage!).
So we're not talking deep and meaningful. We're talking passages like this:
"Wrong tree! Hell, I'd been trying to pluck a splinter out of my arse while the world wood-chopping championships were in full swing elsewhere."
We're definitely talking tongue in cheek when it comes to FOOTBALL MAMBO by Peter Tonkin. It's humourous, it's a quick and easy read, and whilst it's definitely on the odd side, it might not be quite as odd to anybody with a modicum of an interest in football. Having said that, football allergic types like me shouldn't avoid it either - it's vaguely silly, very amusing and a light, fun book.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
April 3, 2014
It helps to be Australian and over a certain age if you are going to appreciate all of the jokes in this book, but if you don't tick both those boxes it's still funny. And the story line is strong enough to make it an enjoyable mystery, with Bruce Bilger playing the classic noir private detective.
I love that last century English humour, things like Red dwarf, Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy and Monty Python, and the humour in Football Mambo is reminiscent of all that is good in that milieu.
Peter Tonkin has written an enjoyable book I recommend to all Australians of a certain age - or not.
Football Mambo has been nominated for the 2014 Ned Kelly award.
I love that last century English humour, things like Red dwarf, Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy and Monty Python, and the humour in Football Mambo is reminiscent of all that is good in that milieu.
Peter Tonkin has written an enjoyable book I recommend to all Australians of a certain age - or not.
Football Mambo has been nominated for the 2014 Ned Kelly award.
January 6, 2015
Very witty contemporary absurdist comedy which mixes crime with the crazy world of parochial Australian Rules Football. Tonkin has a very dry sense of humour, a real ability to play with words, and has constructed a little classic with this one.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews