Helga’s Web is the second book in the Scobie Malone series (it stands alone but has key characters in common with The High Commissioner). During the building of the Sydney Opera House, a woman’s body is found in one of the lower basements of the building site. The story is beautifully crafted moving back and forth between the events that lead to the woman’s death and the investigation that unfolds after her body is found, until the two threads ultimately converge. The iconic Sydney setting allows Cleary to explore and depict Sydney at that time – its people and places – particularly exploring the effects of class and gender, through both the investigation and Malone’s personal life.