Who Did It

This novel was written by Nat Gould during the early years of his return to England, and was first published by Routledge in 1899.

On a dark night a respected financier is murdered on the Sydney waterfront. His son owns a station in the outback plagued by drought and trouble with unionised sheep shearers. An artist and his sister visit them and are caught up in chasing after a phantom horse, and a dramatic climax with a gang of villains. The murderer is eventually discovered, justice is done and all ends happily.

"Who Did It?" is fairly obvious from the beginning, but the tale grips the reader with a page-turning account of how the culprit is discovered. The narrative runs at a cracking pace, and there are superb descriptions of the outback and of the first rain falling after the long drought. Just a little horse racing thrown in for good measure, that (for once) adds little to the book.

An excellent tale, superbly told. One of Nat's very best! (TA)