"Why was the redoubtable King Henry, an aborgine from Western Australia, killed during a thunderstorm in New South Wales? What was the feud that led to murder after nineteen long years had passed? Who was the woman who saw the murder and kept silent? The first story of Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, the half-aborigine detective, takes him to a sheep station in the Darling River bush country where he encounters those problems he understands so well–mixed blood and divided loyalties." - from the 1969 Pan edition

"The Barrakee Mystery is the first of Upfield's Inspector Bonaparte mysteries. Bony is introduced as he travels to Barrakee station, a large homestead in the Darling River basin, to investigate the death of King Henry, a local aborigine leader. The wealthy and successful owner of Barrakee station had a gracious wife, a beautiful niece, and a son returning from college. Two things marred John Thornton's happiness: an unresolved argument concerning his son, and the murder of King Henry. When Detective-Inspector Bonaparte arrived, the peaceful Station suddenly erupted--as long-kept secrets were laid bare, and easy-going people turned to violence." - from the 1965 Doubleday Crime Club edition

"This is the first case involving Detective-Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte. He is, at his own request, put to work painting boats on the river edge so that he may observe the people on Barrakee Station where an aboriginal, King Henry, has been murdered one night during a thunderstorm. In spite of the heavy rain that had fallen Bony finds a footprint at the scene of the crime. He identifies a boomerang by a scar on a tree. He becomes involved in the family affairs of the rich owner of Barrakee Station, John Thornton, and his gracious, delicate wife, their orphaned niece Katherine (Kate) and their nineteen-year-old son Ralph. There are many exciting incidents before Bony clears up the murder and other troubling problems." - from "The Armchair Detective"

Location: Barrakee Station (fictional) in the Darling River Basin of NSW.

The Barrakee Mystery was first published by Hutchinson of London in 1929. The first American edition was published by Doubleday as part of its Crime Club collection in 1965 (pictured above).