Aftershock by Peter Corris

Publisher's Synopsis

When Oscar Bach's body was found crushed under rubble, his death was classified as another tragic statistic of the Newcastle earthquake. So how could he have been seen alive five minutes after the quake?

Who would want this man dead?

Oscar's quiet life was not all that it appeared to be. He was a man with no apparent past. But something and someone has caught up with him now, and they are trying to stop Cliff Hardy finding the answers.

Hardy thought he needed the work, but did he need it this badly?

My Review of Aftershock by Peter Corris

Australia is not a country that experiences many earthquakes, but back in December 1989, the city of Newcastle was shaken with enough force to cause buildings to collapse, resulting in widespread destruction and the death of 13 people. It's this event that Aftershock, the 14th book to feature Sydney private investigator Cliff Hardy, is based.

Cliff is idly sitting in his office contemplating how little work he has these days when a client in the form of Horrie Jacobs walks in. Horrie is from Newcastle and wants to hire Hardy to investigate the death of a friend of his. Officially, Oscar Bach was killed when the wall of a church collapsed on top of him during the recent earthquake. Unofficially, Horrie swears he saw Oscar 5 minutes after the quake (and after the wall collapsed) alive and well and standing in the street in front of the church. As far as Horrie is concerned the only way Oscar could have wound up under the rubble is if someone put him there.

With nothing else on his plate, Cliff jumps at the job, deciding that a trip to Newcastle is just what he needs. The fact that he's going to be paid for the opportunity is a bit of a bonus. Before he has a chance to leave though, he is visited by Horrie's son Ralph who is particularly unhappy with the thought of Cliff doing this work for his father. The warning he gives Cliff is a little surprising and rather unjustified.

When he hits Newcastle he wastes no time in tracing the last movements of Oscar as well as going over his background in impressive detail. Accident or murder, this is the question confronting him and it's a question that gets answered in no uncertain terms. But his investigation opens up a much bigger secret, one that is completely unexpected sending the entire story cart-wheeling off into a wild new direction. Cliff finds that he has gotten himself embroiled in more than a question of murder and, for once, he seeks the help of the local police.

It's during this investigation that Cliff meets Senior Sergeant Glenys Withers for the first time. Hardy hasn't had an enduring relationship for a few books now and has been showing growing signs of dissatisfaction with his present situation with the hints at loneliness becoming more frequent. It's possible that he may have formed the basis of a new long-term relationship depending on how well he's played his cards which have so often proven to be decidedly fickle.

Long time fans of the series will remember Helen Broadway as a former lover of Hardy's who was on the scene for 4 or 5 books before she returned to her husband in Kempsey. She makes a return in Aftershock when it turns out that she was the person who recommended to Horrie that he hire Hardy. Cliff has never really gotten over Helen (nor Cyn, his first wife who gets a mention at least once a book, for that matter) and there are some tentative, gut-twisting moments for Hardy as they rekindle their friendship.

Aftershock unfolds in a logical easy to follow fashion, told in the first person from the perspective of Hardy. He imparts his sometimes cynical, sometimes wistfully reminiscent impressions on the city of Newcastle as he goes about his business in workman-like assuredness. The story never really feels as though it reaches a fast-paced stage, but there is a constant impression of progress being achieved as we move along. As the quintessential snoop, Hardy is always working and there is always something happening.

Peter Corris writes in an engaging style mixing the hardboiled aspects of detective fiction, and yes, Hardy's the kind of man who's happy to get violent when he has to, with a dry sarcastic wit that chuckles quietly in the face of adversity. Aftershock holds a number of surprises (not all of them pleasant) that makes this one of the more complex and memorable books of the series. Definitely one for detective fans to look out for.