Murder Song Cleary, Jon

Jon Cleary drops Scobie Malone into Sydney's music industry when a fading rock star is found dead — and everyone from the band's manager to the roadies had motive. This isn't a glamorous backstage pass: it's all ego, money, and the kind of bitter rivalries that turn lethal. Malone navigates groupies, contracts, and family drama while trying to separate performance from reality. Cleary writes crime fiction with a sharp eye for class and ambition, and his Australian settings feel lived-in, never postcard. The prose is lean, the pace steady, and Malone remains one of the more grounded detectives in crime fiction — a cop who feels like he's actually worked homicide. If you like procedurals with bite and a Sydney you can smell, this delivers.