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Cliff Hardy is in trouble again -- as usual. The fact that he has lost his private enquiry agent licence hurts him immensely. It also means that he has lost his contacts. Apart from that, he has had "a heart attack and bypass surgery and a near fatal bullet wound." And, of course, his beloved Lily Truscott had died. At least Lily left him independently wealthy, so he can afford to do what he wants. Cliff never thought he had any family but one day, Patrick Malloy, a man claiming to be his second cousin, rings him. They arrange to meet but Patrick first tells Cliff that they are descended from Irish Travellers, not gypsies, as Cliff had thought. Cliff is astonished, when Patrick turns up, to note that, going on appearance, they could be identical twins. The two become friends and one day Patrick suggests they go to Ireland to investigate their Traveller heritage. Cliff readily assents. Whilst they are in Ireland, Cliff becomes curious about Patrick's activities and follows him one day, noting that his cousin visits a veterinary clinic, something which has repercussions for Cliff when they return to Sydney. When Patrick and Cliff return to Cliff's house, things turn very grim. Cliff returns home one day to find Patrick has been shot dead. Given the similarity in the cousins' appearance, there is the suspicion that the shot may have been meant for Cliff. Cliff is in for another surprise. Patrick had told him he was divorced, yet Sheila Malloy makes herself known to Cliff, identifying herself as Patrick's widow. As usual, the book contains non-stop action. Cliff is determined to solve the mystery of who killed Patrick and whether the shot was meant for him. Along the way, Cliff finds another love interest but his primary interest is the resolution of the mystery. Corris's Cliff Hardy books are always action driven. The reader does get an insight into Cliff's character and motives but the other people of the book tend to exist without much depth. I always find the main attraction of the Cliff Hardy novels to be Corris' depiction of Sydney, a place for which I have a lot of time (well, I spent many years there.) All the same, I enjoyed the part of the narrative that is set in Ireland and was interested in the insight into the life of the Irish Travellers. As always, I rejoice in the fact that Corris doesn't overdo the Aussie dialect. § Denise Pickles has been reviewing for RTE for many years. She lives in Australia.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, February 2010
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