As a fan of the Cliff Hardy series, this is another typical, fine edition but with little to distinguish it from many of the others. That is not a negative comment, but rather a note as to the continuing high quality of the series.

Exactly what you want to read at the beach, during your Xmas/New year break, which is where I read it.

Big Ship

8 April 2024 ( )

This is the 14th in the Cliff Hardy series and there are several things you are guaranteed to find in one of Cliff’s adventures; he will at some stage be caught by surprise and accosted in his place of work or residence by a nefarious character, his training in ‘Malaya’ will save him, he will have a romantic liaison with a lady closely associated with the case, he will drink too much and regret giving up smoking, he will be shot at or shot and he will be called a ’smartarse’ by a cop.

That is not too say that the predictability of the above detracts from the flow of the story, in fact they act as familiar signposts directing the plot towards its usual neat conclusion.

In Aftershock we are out of Hardy’s usual milieu of inner Sydney and off north to Newcastle. This case is set around the aftermath of the Newcastle earthquake and a was he killed in the quake or was he murdered with the quake as cover up? Needless to say the original case gets waylaid and side-tracked in the usual Cliff Hardy way. In fact I counted three clients Cliff ended up working for on the one case.

A refreshing change of scenery in this enjoyable Cliff Hardy PI romp. ( )