At one stage this ranked with among the most famous Australian novels of all time, up there with Robbery Under Arms and For the Term of His Natural Life - it was frequently adapted for the stage and screen, most recently by the ABC in 2012. Do people read it anymore? Does it remain famous? I have no idea.
Anyway it holds up really well - it's an enjoyable page turner, with a decent mystery. I'm not saying it's a classic, at least not a capital "C" classic, but it is a strong little story. It has solid depiction of Melbourne at the time - with its combination of bars, seedy back alleys, class divisions, mansions.
It did throw me how the protagonist kept changing - there was the original detective, then the young man accused, then his girlfriend, then his lawyer and another detective, who saw the action home. On one hand this meant you were never sure what was going to happen - on the other, there was never any one person to "hook" into. Also the character of Brian Fitzgerald was an overly convenient idiot at times, keeping quiet to avoid scandal of illegitimacy sneaking out (just like Rufus Dawes). But I guess it was interesting in that Fitzgerald didn't go easily off into the sunset. I also liked the competition between the two detectives, and the reveal of the actual killer. This book is worth a read.
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