A Private Man


A Private Man is a crime novel by Australian author Malcolm Knox. It won the 2005 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Novel.

Plot summary

Dr John Brand has been dead for two days and his eldest son, Davis, suspects a cover-up. Another son, Chris, is batting to save his career in the Sydney Test, and a neglected third, Hammett, lurks in the background. During the five days of the cricket match, the family struggles with the death and its recriminations.

Reviews

Simon Caterson in The Age notes that the novel "makes the audacious thematic move of presenting porn as a male obsession as widespread as porn's much more socially acceptable entertainment counterpart, sport".

Awards and nominations