Bear pit - Jon Cleary

Jon Cleary's latest novel sees Scobie Malone crossing swords with a number of old adversaries following the assassination of a leading politician on the steps of the Olympic Tower.

As the Sydney 2000 Games draw ever closer, the city's great and good assemble to celebrate the opening of the Olympic Tower. But the gala turns grisly when the State Premier is shot by a sniper.

In his twenty years at the head of the Labor Party The Dutchman had made any number of enemies. Rivals claimed he'd reached his sell-by date and should retire. But who wanted him out of the way badly enough to hire a hitman? And with ruthless casino boss Jack Aldwych and his son flanking the Premier at the time of the shooting, who can be sure that the hitman found his true target?

As if politcal skulduggery and high-stakes gambling weren't enough to contend with, Scobie finds that his daughter Maureen, now a tabloid-TV journalist, is working the same case - with terrifying consequences.