A Different Turf is a 1997 novel from Australian author Jon Cleary, the fourteenth book featuring Sydney detective Scobie Malone.

[2] Cleary explored the psychology of serial killers from Australia's leading police profiler, Inspector Bronwyn Killmier, who inspired the character of Tilly Orbost.

[3] Cleary was inspired to write the book after receiving criticism for a letter he wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald complaining about the amount of attention given to people who died of AIDS compared to other diseases.

One has a natural sympathy for AIDS sufferers, but people are dying all over the world every day, of a variety of diseases, of malnutrition, of political persecution.

Cleary: I went to the police gay and lesbian liaison unit and explained the moral baggage of my generation, but that I wanted to be as impartial as I could.