The six titles in the Murray Whelan crime thriller series (Stiff, The Brush-Off, Nice Try, The Big Ask, Something Fishy and most recently Sucked In[2]) all feature the eponymous Murray Whelan, initially as a Labor Party staffer who provides support to a Victorian State Government minister but later as a member of the Victorian State parliament.

Each novel follows the protagonist, Murray Whelan, as he attempts to uncover the truth behind murders, fraudulent schemes and shady dealings in and around the suburbs of Melbourne.

Although his motives are usually genuine - protecting his own tenuous employment and sparing his minister from political death - Whelan inevitably ends up in over his head after implicating himself and faces enmity from the criminals, the police, party colleagues and his estranged wife who wants custody of their son.

[5] In 2009, Maloney received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Crime Writers Association of Australia.

[2] Shane Maloney was the subject of a 2005 Archibald Prize painting by artist Rick Amor.