BooksRock.com - Kids Books At Amazing Low Prices!

A nun is found murdered on the steps of the Quality Couch, Sydney's most expensive house of ill repute. She is Sister Mary Magdalene, an idealistic young woman who previously had worked at a mission in Nicaragua. Detective Inspector Scobie Malone, that most human of cops, picks up the trail when he discovers that her real name was Teresa Hourigan-the illegitimate granddaughter of Fingal Hourigan, one of Australia's most powerful businessmen, who is currently entertaining some rich contras at his palatial home. The case leads Malone deep into Hourigan's murky past and threatens to expose the secret the old man has kept since 1929: the reason he hurriedly left Chicago in fear for his life. It also threatens to destroy his ambitions for his son, Archbishop Kerry Hourigan: to become the first-ever Australian pope. But Kerry's fanatical anticommunism has already led him to acts that will fatally endanger his standing in the Vatican.

Jon Cleary (1917-2010) was an Australian writer and novelist. He wrote numerous books, including The High Commissioner, the first of a long series of popular detective novels featuring Sydney police inspector Scobie Malone. Several of his works have been adapted for television and film.

Shaun Grindell, actor and Earphones Award-winning narrator, was born and raised in Southampton, England. His training includes the Calland School of Speech and Drama and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in London. He has been seen on stage in London and Las Vegas.