There are probably more, but immediate reactions on getting a book of short stories, is that there are precious few Crime Fiction short story collections by Australian authors around (I'm probably about to be proven totally wrong!). But there's something very engaging about a good collection - engaging enough to make you find yourself volunteering to run the errands, wait outside for whatever or whoever - because it will give you a precious few minutes or so to read another of this collection.
Cliff finds himself named as a killer in the dying breathe of a victim; tracks a team of tree poisoners; sorts out where the money went in a messy divorce; finds the killer of a local identity; gets taken in by the sting; tracks a kidnapped wife; searches for the ex and daughter of a dying man; explains the odd training regime; discovers the truth behind the wreath at an elderly woman's funeral; gets confused by the bookworm; and heads off into the bush for basic army-style training. All in Cliff's inimitable, wise-cracking, hard man with a heart style.
THE BIG SCORE is a collection that will work for a lot of readers - as a palate cleanser between other books; to bring you back to Cliff after a time away; as an introduction to the sparse, clever style of Corris; or simply because you'd be tempted to read a shopping list that Corris wrote.
The Big Score
In this new collection of short stories, Cliff Hardy has his hands full of murder, embezzlement, corruption, and more. His punches and sparse-but-rough language help him untangle a divorce, investigate the killing of a drinking buddy, and take care of a nasty case of blackmail. Set in various seamy Sydney locations with no shortage of thugs, mid-morning beers, and crooked cops, these stories exemplify the life of this Australian hero—even as he struggles with moral dilemmas, sex, money, and a life dealing with scummy criminals.
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