Saving Billie

Peter Corris is the writer of the quintessential Sydney crime novel. Just as Robert B Parker's Spencer is Boston, Corris's Cliff Hardy is Sydney. It is probably safe to say that most America crime readers are not familiar with the works of Corris. This is a great pity. His Cliff Hardy series is a tremendous read. I can recommend any book in the series without reservation. In "Saving Billie" we see Cliff at work in his typical dogged manner. Life seems to through all sorts of obstacles in his path but Cliff deals with them and, to a greater or lesser degree, succeeds. Here, he is hired to locate Billie Marchant which he does without too much trouble before a whole series of other events serve to make his life more difficult. He gets beaten up, narrowly avoids death but seems to put most of the pieces together. And all this proceeds against the wonderful backdrop that is Sydney; grimy, boisterous yet beautiful all at once. To all American readers, do yourself a large favour. Discover Cliff Hardy. Your efforts will be rewarded.