Jon Stephen Cleary was born in Sydney, New South Wales, into a working class family as the eldest of seven children. He joined the army in 1940 and served in the Middle East and New Guinea where he started writing seriously publishing several short stories and a radio play, Safe Horizons which won awards. He won the Edgar Award in 1974 with Peter's Pence and books such as The Sundowners and High Road To China were made into films. Degrees of Connection won the 2004 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Novel. Jon passed away on 20 July 2010 at the age of 92 after a long illness.
Scobie Malone series
Scobie is a police inspector with the New South Wales police force.
The High Commissioner (1966)
Helga's Web (1970)
Ransom (1973)
Dragons at the Party (1987)
Now and Then, Amen (1988)
Babylon South (1989)
Murder Song (1990)
Pride's Harvest (1991)
Dark Summer (1992)
Bleak Spring (1993)
Autumn Maze (1994)
Winter Chill (1995)
Endpeace (1996)
A Different Turf (1997)
Five Ring Circus (1998)
Dilemma (1999)
Bear Pit (2000)
Yesterday's Shadow (2001)
The Easy Sin (2002)
Degrees of Connection (2004)
Stand Alone
These Small Glories (1946)
You Can't See Round Corners (1947)
The Long Shadow (1949)
Just Let Me Be (1950) apa You, the Jury
The Climate of Courage (1954) apa Naked in the Night
Justin Bayard (1955) apa Dust in the Sun
The Green Helmet (1959)
North from Thursday (1960)
The Sundowners (1960)
Forests of the Night (1963)
A Flight of Chariots (1964)
The Fall of an Eagle (1965)
The Pulse of Danger (1966)
The Long Pursuit (1967)
Seasons of Doubt (1968)
Remember Jack Hoxie (1969)
Mask of the Andes (1971) apa The Liberators
Man's Estate (1972) apa The Ninth Marquess
Back of Sunset (1973)
The Country of Marriage (1973)
Peter's Pence (1974)
The Safe House (1975)
A Sound of Lightning (1976)
High Road to China (1977)
Vortex (1977)
The Beaufort Sisters (1979)
A Very Private War (1980)
The Golden Sabre (1981)
The Faraway Drums (1981)
Very Private View (1982)
Spearfield's Daughter (1983)
The Phoenix Tree (1984)
The City of Fading Light (1985)
Miss Ambar Regrets (2004)
Morning's Gone (2007)
Four-cornered Circle (2007)
Critical Acclaim
Peter's Pence:
- Winner 1975 Edgar Award for Best Mystery
Degrees of Connection:
- Winner 2004 Ned Kelly Award for Best Novel
Endpeace:
- Finalist 1977 Ned Kelly Award for Best Novel
Yesterday's Shadow:
- Finalist 2002 Ned Kelly Award for Best Novel
Ned Kelly Awards Lifetime Achievement: 1996