image of person or book cover 8638784627117785678.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon The Brush-Off single work   novel   crime   humour  
Is part of Murray Whelan Mysteries Shane Maloney , 1994- series - author novel (number 2 in series)
Issue Details: First known date: 1996... 1996 The Brush-Off
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'On a sultry summer night Murray Whelan is in the Botanical Gardens tasting Salina Fleet's apricot lips. Meanwhile the body of an artist is being fished from the ornamental moat outside the Art Gallery. The papers called it suicide. The police say it's an accident.

'Political minder, brushed-off lover and art buff on the make, Murray goes looking for the big picture. He finds there's more than meets the eye among the self-made millionaires, ruthless culture vultures, and cool operators of Melbourne's art world. He learns that when you dabble with death there's nothing abstract about a loaded gun.

'Murray Whelan, the hero of Stiff, Shane Maloney's brilliant debut novel, is back at his richly futile best. A romantic comedy and drop-dead thriller, The Brush-Off mixes high art with low blows.' (Publication summary)

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon The Brush-Off John Clarke , ( dir. Sam Neill ) Australia : Ruby Entertainment Huntaway Films Seven Network , 2004 Z1125639 2004 single work film/TV crime humour (taught in 3 units)

'When Agnelli is demoted to Minister of Arts and Water, he decides to earn brownie points by raising funds for the next election campaign. Murray is on the case, meeting with philanthropists and arts connoisseurs. This is where the trouble begins.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 5/4/2013)

Notes

  • Featured by the BIG Book Club, an initiative supported by the Advertiser in partnership with Arts SA, The Australia Council for the Arts, Channel 7, FIVEAA and South Australian public libraries to promote a love of reading, discussion and literature, September 2004.
  • Epigraph: 'I can't think of a single Russian novel in which one of the characters goes into a picture gallery' (W. Somerset Maugham).
  • Dedication: For Wally and May, for their forbearance and their grandparents.

Contents

* Contents derived from the Melbourne, Victoria,:Text Publishing , 2018 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Introduction, Michael Robotham , essay
VIEW ENTIRE CONTENTS ( works)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Text Publishing , 1996 .
      image of person or book cover 8638784627117785678.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 314p.
      Reprinted: 1996 , 1998 , 1999
      ISBN: 1875847146
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,      :       Arcade ,       1998 .
      image of person or book cover 6867554247887257944.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 309p.
      ISBN: 1559704403
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Text Publishing , 2000 .
      image of person or book cover 6062761709587483133.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 314p.
      ISBN: 1876485329
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Text Publishing , 2003 .
      image of person or book cover 1052842387663406774.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 276p.
      ISBN: 1877008508
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Text Publishing , 2004 .
      image of person or book cover 2780750854755679871.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 376p.
      ISBN: 1920885250
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,      :       Arcade ,       2014 .
      image of person or book cover 5523184032585407680.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 320p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 4th February 2014
      ISBN: 9781611458084
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Text Publishing , 2018 .
      image of person or book cover 2315883415098604534.jpg
      This image has been sourced from Booktopia
      Extent: xi, 376 pp.
      Note/s:

      • Published: 29th January 2018 

      ISBN: 9781925603279
      Series: y separately published work icon Text Classics Text Publishing (publisher), Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2012- Z1851461 2012 series - publisher novel 'Great books by great Australian storytellers.' (Text website.)
Alternative title: Kunstlerpech : Roman
Language: German
    • Zurich,
      c
      Switzerland,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Diogenes ,       2000 .
      image of person or book cover 1928123786301215600.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 436p.
      Reprinted: 2002
      ISBN: 3257062486
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Works about this Work

Introduction Michael Robotham , 2018 essay
— Appears in: The Brush-Off 2018;
Untitled Mary Helen Becker , 2004-2005 single work review
— Appears in: Mystery Readers Journal , Winter vol. 20 no. 4 2004-2005; (p. 44)
— Review of Stiff Shane Maloney , 1994 single work novel ; The Brush-Off Shane Maloney , 1996 single work novel ; Nice Try Shane Maloney , 1998 single work novel ; The Big Ask Shane Maloney , 2000 single work novel ; Something Fishy Shane Maloney , 2002 single work novel
Peep into the Art World in Comic Thriller Carla Caruso , 2004 single work column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 4 September 2004; (p. 43)
Murder with Wit, Wisdom and Art Jo-Ann Stubbings , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 20 March 2002; (p. 7)
— Review of The Brush-Off Shane Maloney , 1996 single work novel
'Something Brand New on the Skyline' : Renovating the City in Contemporary Australian Detective Fiction Robert Beardwood , 2000 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Writing and the City : Refereed Proceedings of the 1999 Conference Held at the New South Wales Writers' Centre Sydney 2-6 July 1999 2000; (p. 101-107)
Untitled Mary Helen Becker , 2004-2005 single work review
— Appears in: Mystery Readers Journal , Winter vol. 20 no. 4 2004-2005; (p. 44)
— Review of Stiff Shane Maloney , 1994 single work novel ; The Brush-Off Shane Maloney , 1996 single work novel ; Nice Try Shane Maloney , 1998 single work novel ; The Big Ask Shane Maloney , 2000 single work novel ; Something Fishy Shane Maloney , 2002 single work novel
A Corpse in the Gallery's Moat Michael McGirr , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 4 May 1996; (p. 8)
— Review of Get Rich Quick Peter Doyle , 1996 single work novel ; The Brush-Off Shane Maloney , 1996 single work novel
Crime Jeff Popple , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 9 June 1996; (p. 20)
— Review of Urn Burial Kerry Greenwood , 1996 single work novel ; The Brush-Off Shane Maloney , 1996 single work novel
Crime Novels Benefit from Cut-Price Way 1996 single work review
— Appears in: The Mercury , 8 April 1996; (p. 31)
— Review of The Brush-Off Shane Maloney , 1996 single work novel
High Jinks on the Banks of the Yarra Peter Craven , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 6 April 1996; (p. 11)
— Review of The Brush-Off Shane Maloney , 1996 single work novel
Peep into the Art World in Comic Thriller Carla Caruso , 2004 single work column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 4 September 2004; (p. 43)
y separately published work icon A Student's Guide to The Brush-Off by Shane Maloney Marian Thomas , Ballarat : Wizard Books , 1998 Z1612111 1998 single work criticism
Looking for Laughs on the Crime Scene Peter Craven , 1997 single work column biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 26 May 1997; (p. 14)
A Criminal Sense of Place Peter Craven , 1996 single work column biography
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 31 March 1996; (p. 8)
Satirically Able in the Era of Cain Peter Craven , 1996 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 3 April 1996; (p. 27)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (19)

Awards

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Last amended 7 Oct 2020 13:16:11
Subjects:
Settings:
  • Melbourne, Victoria,
  • 1980s
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