Cliff Hardy has his hands full with murder, blackmail, embezzlement and more in this new collection of short stories.In this brand new collection of short stories, Cliff Hardy has his hands full with murder, blackmail, embezzlement and more. True to form, Cliff doesn't waste words or pull punches as he untangles an ugly divorce, investigates the killing of a Glebe drinking buddy, and takes care of a nasty case of blackmail. The eleven tales are set in Cliff's Sydney, a place of thugs, mid-morning beers and crooked cops. 'Until you've read the Cliff Hardy series, you can't call yourself an aficionado of Aussie detective fiction.' - The Age 'Corris writes about [Sydney] in the way that Ian Rankin writes about Edinburgh.' - The Sydney Morning Herald

Peter Corris' world weary but always charismatic hero Cliff Hardy has long been established as Australia's favourite investigator. Often bloodied but never bowed in this latest gripping novel, Hardy is in pursuit of missing millions from Sydney to the Pacific Islands.When rich, attractive Lorraine Master hires Cliff Hardy to investigate the circumstances surrounding her husband's conviction for smuggling heroin from New Caledonia, Hardy welcomes the assignment. A week on generous expenses sniffing about under a tropical sky, escape from a cold, dry spell in Sydney just the job. But Stewart Master's mates in Noumea prove to be a difficult and dangerous bunch. The danger follows Hardy back to Sydney where he and his client become targets when an intricate conspiracy goes seriously wrong. Hardy deals with a tricky lawyer, a man on the run and Sydney's most corrupt ex-cop. He has allies as well, but in the end his survival will depend on his own guts, experience and savvy....

Stripped of his investigator's license, Cliff Hardy faces an uncertain future when something personal happens that provokes him into his best role: a confrontational investigator with a taste for violence and no regard for his lost credentials. Taking and dealing out punishment, mostly in Sydney's exclusive suburbs, Hardy encounters degenerate cops, bereft wives, and computer challenges. In a shadowy showdown at a chic Sydney beach, Hardy challenges those in his way, but his future remains even more clouded than before. An internationally loved yet reluctant hero, Hardy struggles to sort out corruption from loyalty as he tries to determine his future as an Aussie investigator.From BooklistIn the latest in the long-running Cliff Hardy series, the Australian private investigator finds himself without a license, and with no chance of getting it back. Does that mean the straight-talking, working-class PI will have to stop solving crimes? Hardly. When Cliff’s investigative-reporter girlfriend is murdered, there’s just no way he is going to stand idly by, especially when the police appear to be covering up the motive for her murder. The Hardy series, which is nearly 25 years old, keeps evolving (just as its hero has grown over time), and Corris once again shows why he is among Australia’s premier crime-fiction authors. --David Pitt Review"Corris is a tried and true crime writer."  —The Age

Cliff Hardy is stony broke, which makes it hard to resist a job from the man he's been losing money to. Ted Tarleton is a rich bookie with a beautiful, spoiled daughter who's gone missing, and Ted wants Hardy to find her. Her boyfriend is no help, and Hardy faces opposition from all sides as he delves into the increasingly violent wreckage of Noni's past.

Politician Peter January is having trouble staying alive so he hires Cliff Hardy to help him. Hardy dislikes the role of politician's 'security consultant' but he dislikes bombers, hit men and hatemailers even more.Protecting January leads to protecting his assistant, Trudi Bell, which is a more enjoyable assignment. It also takes Hardy to Washington DC where the threats are real and the rules are different.To stand close to January is to stand close to danger and corruption, but there are even greater evils and Hardy cannot back away...'Cliff Hardy is... as Australian as two-up and Fosters.' - The Australian

Hardy's 40th case finds him bodyguarding a promising politicianWhen Cliff Hardy signs on as a bodyguard for charismatic populist Rory O'Hara, who is about to embark on a campaign of social and political renewal, it looks like a tricky job—O'Hara has enemies. A murder and a kidnapping cause the campaign to fall apart. Hired to investigate the murder, Hardy uncovers hidden agendas among O'Hara's staff and powerful political and commercial forces at work. His investigation takes him from the pubs and brothels of Sydney to the heart of power in Canberra and the Northern Territory. He teams up with a resourceful indigenous private detective and forms an uneasy alliance with the beautiful Penelope Marinos, formerly O'Hara's PA. A rogue intelligence agent becomes his target and Hardy stumbles upon a terrible secret that draws them into a violent—and disturbing—confrontation.

This wasn't Hardy's usual brief--uncover the mysteries of a nineteenth-century shipwreck--but he could do with an easy case and the retainer was generous. But is it ever that simple? Not with a notorious crime family tearing itself apart, and an undercover cop playing both sides against the middle. These and an alluring but fiercely ambitious female journalist give Hardy all the trouble he can handle. 'Ever feel manipulated?' Hardy asks. The body count mounts up as he pushes closer to the truth about the mystery and the loot.

Semi-retired. De-licensed. But Cliff Hardy is once again fighting for justice and tracking down evil when his cousin is brutally murdered - did the shotgun blast find its target, or was it meant for Hardy?Cliff Hardy may be semi-retired but he's as resolute as ever in fighting for justice and tracking down wrongdoers.Hardy has never been much of a family man, so when he meets his second cousin Patrick Malloy it's like being hit with a left hook to the solar plexus - Malloy is his double. Cliff and his cousin become friends and travel to attend a gathering of the Irish Travellers - the gypsy-like folk from whom they are descended. On their return, a shotgun blast shatters their camaraderie. But who was the bullet aimed at, Malloy or Hardy? And why is Malloy's ex-wife, Sheila, now making her presence known to Hardy?Hardy has his enemies and Malloy's to consider as he searches for a killer. Clues point in many directions - to Sheila's motives, to Malloy's suspect...

Lady Catherine presides over the declining fortunes of the Chatterton estate, which is lacking a suitable heir. When she hears of a grandson she never knew, Cliff Hardy takes the job, reluctantly, of finding him. From the run-down boarding houses of Darlinghurst to the social set of Canberra, Hardy finds the case forcing him into some of the strangest roles a private detective has ever had to play.