Henry Hallward, editor of the Sydney Chronicle, is a thorn in the side of the colonial administration with his agitations for greater rights for convicts and his criticism of the governor. He's been imprisoned several times for criminal libel, and during one detention, he is shot dead.
Monsarrat and Mrs Mulrooney are sent to investigate, but after Monsarrat meets with Colonel Duchamp, Governor Darling's right-hand man, it becomes clear they are on their own in solving this murder.
As the duo meets other characters whose lives have touched that of brave Hallward, they realise the scope of their enquiries must be broad. There is Gerald Mobbs, editor of the Chronicle's rival newspaper, the Colonial Flyer, which some call a mouthpiece of the administration. There is Duchamp's sister, Henrietta, who seems to want to befriend Mrs Mulrooney, but also to have ulterior motives. There is Albert Bancroft, an eminence grise who may, or may not, own the house opposite the gaol, from where the murderous shot was fired.
The undaunted pair must sift through these suspects, aware that at any moment Duchamp could ignominiously dismiss them, leaving Hallward's murder unsolved and the freedom of the colony's press in grave jeopardy.
The Unmourned, Meg Keneally and Tom Keneally
The second novel in the Monsarrat series, THE UNMOURNED is set in Sydney, based around the Parramatta Female Factory - the epitome of appalling institutions in a line up that you'd think would be hard to lead.
The investigator in this series is ticket-of-leave recipient, gentleman convict, Hugh Monsarrat who has come from Port Macquarie to Parramatta in Sydney with his every-loyal housekeeper Mrs Mulrooney. Having, as yet, not had the pleasure of reading the first book in the series THE SOLDIER'S CURSE or now the third, THE POWER GAME, this is something that I really need to rectify (I realise that's starting to become my never-ending mantra), but this combination of history with a touch of mystery, great characters, good settings, and interesting storylines is worth pursuing.
On the slightly mannered side of historical tellings, this second novel plays very fair with new readers, giving you more than enough background on Monsarrat and Mulrooney to be able to sort out the relationship, and a fair bit of their pasts without having to work too hard, whilst keeping the focus on the current storyline. The Parramatta Female Factory is one of those areas of Australian history that this reader knew a bit about, but obviously nowhere near enough, and the historical details behind the factory, it's purpose, and the way it was used and abused were informative. It's told in great style with verve and a real sense of being able to be part of it - instead of reading a somewhat dull, accurate and passionless historical account.
The murder of the superintendent Robert Church, is intriguing, but in many ways it's the history in this novel that matters a tad more than the mystery. When delivered as well as THE UNMOURNED does it, it's of no matter that the mystery is somewhat easy to resolve pretty early on. There's still plenty of intrigue in the lives of Monsarrat, Mulrooney and everybody associated with the Parramatta Female Factory to keep the interest of readers, to say nothing of how excellent it is to have novels that finally cast some light into one of the very dark corners of early white society institutions.