There's absolutely nothing better in Australian Crime fiction than a short, sharp burst of Cliff Hardy in his prime. And THE UNDERTOW has all those elements that fans of the hard-boiled, down-trodden; put upon; unlucky in love; hard man; unflinching good guy - only slightly dodgy around the edges; Australian style Private Enquiry Agent, are going to love. Somehow or other, after all these books featuring Cliff Hardy, where Cliff undergoes little in the way of major personality changes, where he's still struggling to understand the girl (any girl) and his friends keep digging holes for him to fill in, there's still something wonderfully fresh and entertaining about THE UNDERTOW.
There's also just a little bit more in THE UNDERTOW, in the finale to the book that seems to indicate that Cliff might have some serious life changing experiences to deal with, that he just might not be able to talk his way out of... or maybe he will? Who knows. Frankly who cares. You're not going to be reading a Cliff Hardy book for a thoughtful consideration of the human condition, you're not going to get a different perspective on the mind of the human animal. You're going to read it for the escapist, entertaining view of a Sam Slade style hero, with just enough of the Aussie larrikin to make him 100% our own.
The Undertow
In his latest investiagion, private eye Cliff Hardy comes to the aid of retired senior policeman and longtime friend, Frank Parker. Haunted by a case from his early career involving two doctors, Parker needs Hardy to uncover the truth and find out if one of the doctors, now deceased, was wrongly convicted and if Parker was blinded by the passion he had for the presumed-guilty doctor’s wife. Granite-faced Hardy discovers that teasing out the truth is not easy as he sorts through old memories, aging names and faces, and his friend’s guilt while encountering the likes of dodgy plastic surgeons, a broken-down ex-copper, a voyeuristic cripple, and a hired hit man who wields a mean baseball bat. Animosities, arrogance, and ambition create a dangerous spider’s web around this reluctant hero as Hardy searches for the hard truth.
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