Burn, And Other Stories by Peter Corris

Publisher's Synopsis

This collection of stories finds Cliff Hardy in his usual milieu of inner Sydney mixing with the good, the bad and the quirky as he works on his cases.

With his wisecracks and fists in readiness, Hardy goes about his daily business of tracking delinquent arsonists, hired killers and missing girlfriends, protecting eye surgeons and radio announcers, solving old crimes and helping past acquaintances in the underworld.

Always on the outside, but his sympathies with the underdog, Hardy's cases are not always what the client expects. All in all, normal times for Cliff Hardy but a great deal more for his readers.

My Review of Burn and Other Stories by Peter Corris 

Just because they're short though doesn't mean they're lacking in intrigue and danger and as usual, Hardy has to come up with all manner of fancy moves before the case is solved.. In this collection he finds himself coming up against the odd underworld character, a dead man, a couple of guys he's supposed to be body-guarding and as a white knight for a brothel owner.

For the most part he displays his hard headed man of action nature, choosing to deliver a crushing blow to the jaw rather than ask after someone's health. But he also has a compassionate side to his personality and this side is displayed in a couple of stories here. He proves that potentially dangerous situations can be calmed just as effectively with a soft touch and a quiet word as they can with the butt of a gun behind the ear.

A quick rundown of the stories contained within this book highlights the diversity of Cliff's talents.

Burn : In the title story, we track a dodgy property developer and a school kid on the run, accused of arson. It all leads to a showdown in Sydney's western suburbs in which Hardy is dodging bullets and fighting fire before coming up with a calculated plan to stick it to the big, crooked guy.

Eye Doctor : A Bougainvillean lawyer is entering the country illegally to get some eye surgery done and Cliff is hired to protect...the surgeon. The lawyer is involved in some pretty heavy work blocking an oil well and his opponents want to get their hands on him. Fun and games for sure, with delicate eye work involved.

Ghost Writer : Hardy's dodging bullets again and this time it's at the most unexpected moments. He's on the case of a 20 year old murder / suicide, a case that gets way out of control.

Airwaves : Hardy has another minder job, this time for a talkback radio show host. The guy is a real piece of work – a racist, a bigot and a stirrer. How does a guy put his life on the line for an obnoxious fool like this? Just as well Hardy's a professional.

Cadigal County : A father is concerned that his daughter is engaged to a Portuguese man who might be involved in illegal activities. It's a little unclear whether the guy's got a problem with the Portuguese bit or the illegal bit. Anyway, the job is a tail job and in the course of his enquiries he discovers things his client won't want to hear.

Kill Me Someone : A suicidal man thinks up a fascinating way to off himself. He hires a hit man to kill him at an unspecified time in the future. A friend of the man has caught wind of the plot and wants Hardy to find the hit man and call him off. It turns out that finding him isn't the problem.

Lost and Found : Hardy's client is a woman whose husband drowned 4 years earlier. She has come to him with a recent newspaper photo featuring her husband in a local tennis team. This requires a delicate touch on the part of Hardy as he wades into a complicated situation involving a man who isn't all he seems and the emotions of a woman who has already grieved once.

The Big Lie : A man comes to Hardy's office having just suffered the heartbreak of watching his fiancee leave him without explanation. He's sure there's more to her departure than a simple change of heart and wants Hardy to find her so that he might win her back. This case gives us a rare glimpse into the more compassionate side of Hardy as he goes out of his way to bring this one to a satisfactory conclusion. Just when you thought he was all hardboiled all the time...

The House of Ruby : Hardy is called on by Ruby, the owner of a Kings Cross brothel to save her business. The owner of her building is trying to make a name for himself as a heavy hitter in the underworld and has decided to up the rent of his properties by over 300%. An ingenious (not to mention completely off-beat) plot is hatched to help the man see reason, and leaves Ruby owing him a favour.

Almost Wedded Bliss : Long time fans of Cliff Hardy will know that his first wife's name was Cyn, after all, she is mentioned in just about every book / short story. But what we weren't aware of is that he was nearly married before he met Cyn. Here is a Cliff Hardy story before he was a private enquiry agent – just a young buck, but still prone to get into all manner of scrapes.

All in all, this is another eclectic mix of detective stories by Australia's master crime storyteller. Peter Corris puts Hardy through his paces time and again keeping each story fresh, placing his detective in harms way without a second thought. And while he's not exactly nonchalant about it all, Hardy's rarely short of an answer to whatever's thrown at him.