Giveaway & Review: Comeback by Peter Corris

03 Jan 2012 12 Comments

by shelleyrae @ Book'd Out in Australian Reading, ★★★1/2, Crime & Mystery, Fiction, Giveaways, Provided by Publisher

Title: Comeback {Cliff Hardy #37}

Author: Peter Corris

Published: Allen & Unwin Australia Jan 2012

Synopsis: Cliff Hardy has his PI licence back – but does he still have what it takes to cut it on the mean streets of Sydney? Cliff reckons the skills are still there, if a little rusty, and actor Bobby Forrest’s case looks promising. Bobby’s a nice-enough guy, but why is he being stalked by a red-hot brunette? And why did he have to go online to find a date? When Bobby is murdered, it comes as a shock. Cliff’s only solid lead is a white Commodore, the most ubiquitous car around. When a surprising connection with his own past surfaces, Cliff is forced to put some of his skills to the test. But is he heading in the wrong direction? Somehow he has to put it all together without losing his licence again, but in true Hardy fashion he’s managing to find his way into trouble, not out of it

Status: Read on December 29, 2011 – I own a copy {Courtesy Allen & Unwin Australia}

My Thoughts:

Comeback is the 36th novel in the Cliff Hardy series and while I have recently read the last few Deep Water (2009) and Torn Apart (2010) I somehow missed Follow the Money (2011). A quick read of the blurb and a few reviews had me caught up though and I was ready to join Hardy on his next case.

After losing the love of his life, his PI licence, his health and his money, Cliff Hardy is making a comeback. The first person through the door of Cliff’s new office is Bobby Forrest, the son of a former client who is being harassed by an ex lover. When the actor is murdered just days later Cliff takes it personally and despite being warned off, he is determined to find the killer. Carefully digging through a web of suspicious security, prostitution and professional jealousy Hardy eliminates suspects one by one – until he finds himself at the wrong end of a pistol barrel.

While the situations Cliff Hardy finds himself in vary from book to book, it’s the characters’ familiarity that is responsible for continuing appeal of the series. Hardy is an old school private detective (despite his attempts at creating a paperless office) and while he has matured over the course of the series he has barely slowed down. The loss of his PI licence certainly never stopped him from sticking his nose into anything but now he is officially back on the job he is a little worried that he might not have ‘it’ anymore. It certainly seems Hardy might be slipping when his client is killed but Hardy soon proves otherwise as he investigates, turning up all manner of secrets in the meantime. The case leads Hardy off into tangents that he dutifully follows up – earning little else but a kidney punch and dire threats for his trouble, but eventually he unmasks the real murderer. The sub plots certainly keep things interesting and while Hardy’s mysteries are hardly brainteasers there are a few surprises in Comeback, particularly since their are so many suspects in the mix.

Comeback is an entertaining and satisfying read from Australia’s Godfather of Crime and I am glad to see Cliff Hardy back in Sydney doing what he does best. May he continue doing so for many more years.

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Comeback by Peter Corris

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