Wings above the Diamantina

U.S. Title: Wings Above the Claypan

A stolen airplane lands on a waterless lake in the far west of Queensland. In the cockpit is a beautiful girl, drugged and paralysed. There is no trace of the pilot. Within twenty-four hours the plane is destroyed and an attempt made to poison the helpless stranger. Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, the fearless half-aborigine detective, turns to the unearthly powers of an ancient tribal chieftan and seer to outwit a conspiracy and save a life.

Wings above the Diamantina was first published by Angus and Robertson of Sydney in 1936. A British edition was published in 1937 by Hamish Hamilton of London and the the book was retitled Winged Mystery. American and Canadian editions followed in 1943, titled Wings above the Claypan; the American edition was printed by the Doubleday Crime Club and the Canadian by McClelland and Stewart. A Pan edition from 1973 is pictured above. It shows a scene from Norfolk International's "Boney" Television series. Note that Bony is spelled differently in the television series.