"Tucked away in the mountains of New South Wales is Cork Valley, inhabited by an odd lot of hard-drinking Irishmen. Here a government officer, looking for illicit "stills," has been murdered, and it's Napoleon Bonaparte's job to find the killer. Disguised as a horsethief the famous half-aboriginal detective hitchhikes into the valley. But before Bony can spring the trap he develops a strong affection for these lawless, lusty characters." - from the 1988 Collier edition

"The Conways and the Kellys, who rule the Valley of the Smugglers, do not welcome strangers. An Excise Officer has been killed and in order to investigate the crime Detective-Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, dressed in the disreputable clothes of a horse-thief: enters the valley one step ahead of the police, who are supposed to be chasing him. Nat Bonnay, horse-thief, in time ingratiates himself with the families, in particular with Grandma Conway, for whom he plays "Danny Boy" on a gum leaf and brings tears to the old lady's eyes. In this amusing case Bony even gives the smugglers a few tips on how they should conduct their business to avoid detection. Finally all loose ends are tidied up and the case ends with a little bit of sadness." – from "The Armchair Detective"

Location: Bowral, a little south and inland from Sydney, NSW.

Bony and the Kelly Gang was printed by Heinemann in Britain in 1960. The same year the American edition was published by the Doubleday Crime Club under the title Valley of Smugglers. Shown above is the Collier/Scribner Crime Classic edition of 1988.