Australian Crime Fiction Database

Malcolm Knox was born in 1966. He grew up in Sydney and studied in Sydney and Scotland, where his one-act play, POLEMARCHUS, was performed in St Andrews and Edinburgh. His first novel SUMMERLAND was published to great acclaim in the UK, US, Australia and Eurpope in 2000. In 2001 Malcolm was named one of the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian novelists. He lives in Sydney with his wife Wenona and 2 kids. His most recent novel, A PRIVATE MAN won the 2005 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Crime Novel.

A Private Man : It is two days since Dr John Brand's death and his eldest son, Davis, suspects a cover-up. "Survived by two sons", the death notice said. Peacefully. Someone has lied: there are three sons, and the circumstances of their father's death are murky. No-one seems able to tell Davis where and when - and with whom - his father died. The Sydney Test Match is on, and Davis's brother Chris, a famous cricketer, is batting to save his career. Their mother, Margaret, watches Chris on TV, seemingly inert in her armchair. Hammett, the unacknowledged third brother, lurks on the edges, banished but not forgotten. Scattered over Sydney, the Brands' lives - and John Brand's funeral - are put on hold for the duration of the game: five days of suspense, silences, revelations, recriminations and redemption.

Filtered through two arenas of masulinity - sport and pornography - A Private Man is at once a poignant story of a family's grief, an artfully constructed thriller and a provocative dissection of Australian men and their private passions.