<p>Here is Arthur Upfield&#39;s first published novel from 1929: Austilene Thorpe is accused of murder but then disappears from gaol. Her fiance, Martin Sherwood, goes blind from shock. His famous adventuring brother Monty, learns that Austilene is in a refuge for murderers in the far north-west corner of New South Wales near Tibooburra, and together the Sherwoods set out to find her and bring her back to Melbourne.</p><p>The idea of using the Australian outback as the locale for the novel of reclusive criminals forecasts Upfield&#39;s later interest. The landscape and meterology are well developed. The intensity of the Australian outback, to be much more powerfully developed later (in the Bony novels), is nearly overwhelming here.</p><p>- Ray Browne, <em>The Spirit of Australia</em></p>