Set against the late eighties recession, the end of the Cain/Kirner state governments and an impending demise at the polls that just might be averted by a successful Olympic bid, Nice Try rushes along nicely with some deft touches and acerbic humour.
- The Big Ask, the fourth of the six titles in the Murray Whelan series which covers Whelan’s transition from Labor Party staffer to member of the Victorian Parliament against the background of a transport workers union power struggle. Enjoyed it, and will be looking for the rest.
- Something Fishy, which starts with personal tragedy that fuels the rest of the story as Whelan pursues revenge while working his way around the wilds of Legislative Council Opposition. As the middle story in The Next Murray Whelan Trilogy (which starts with The Big Ask) it was another rattling good good read, which had me going straight on to
- Sucked In, where Whelan negotiates his way round, through and across various hurdles after one of his Federal colleagues dies unexpectedly and a skeleton is found at the bottom of an artificial lake. Unfortunately, now that Whelan has found his way to Canberra, the series seems to have ground to a halt.