Sunday, July 08, 2007

Pg. 99: Peter Corris's "Appeal Denied"

The current feature at the Page 99 Test: Peter Corris's Appeal Denied.

About the book, from the publisher:
Dirty dealings, corrupt cops, computer geeks and a final showdown at an exclusive Sydney beach - is this Cliff Hardy's last adventure?

Stripped of his investigator's licence and with his appeal denied, Cliff Hardy faces an uncertain future. Then something very personal happens that sends him off doing what he does best - confronting, questioning, provoking violence - with the lack of credentials not an issue.

Is policewoman Jane Farrow bent or straight? Will vertically challenged but charismatic media star Lee Townsend be a help or an obstacle? Taking and dealing out punishment, mostly on Sydney's North Shore, Hardy encounters corrupt cops, bereft wives and computer geeks. In a shadowy showdown at Balmoral Beach, Hardy sorts out those who need to be sorted, but his future remains even more clouded than before.

Among the early praise for Appeal Denied:
"This book will remind you just how good Peter Corris is, what a legend his private-detective character Cliff Hardy is and why so many people love Sydney despite the fact that she is a seedy, grotty old tart of a city and always has been."
--Kerryn Goldsworthy, Sydney Morning Herald

"Corris is a tried and true crime writer. Until you've read the Cliff Hardy series, you can't call yourself an aficionado of Aussie detective fiction."
--The Age

"Hardy has grown into a vulnerable and engaging human being.... Cheap motels are still his milieu."
--The Weekend Australian
Read more about Appeal Denied at the publisher's website, and learn more about the full Cliff Hardy series and Corris's other works at his website.

View the Peter Corris plaque, Circular Quay, Sydney.

The Page 99 Test: Appeal Denied.

--Marshal Zeringue