My Review: Torn Apart by Peter Corris

Semi-retired. De-licensed. But Cliff Hardy is once again fighting for justice and tracking down evil when his cousin is brutally murdered - did the shotgun blast find its target, or was it meant for Hardy?

Description
Hardy has never been much of a family man, so when he meets his second cousin Patrick Malloy it's like being hit with a left hook to the solar plexus - Malloy is his double. Cliff and his cousin become friends and travel to attend a gathering of the Irish Travell - the gypsy-like folk from whom they are descended. On their return, Malloy is brutally murdered - but was the shotgun blast intended for him or for Hardy? Hardy is de-licensed, semi-retired ... but this investigation is personal.
The plot becomes still more personal when Malloy's ex-wife, Sheila, comes onto the scene. Hardy has his own enemies and Malloy's to consider as he searches for the killer. Clues point in many directions - to Sheila's motives, to Malloy's suspect business dealings, to his time as a mercenary in Angola.
The search takes Hardy north to a para-military training camp and south to a meeting of Traveller descendants in Kangaroo Valley. Other players have other interests and their playing style is ruthless.

My Review
Cliff Hardy has mellowed over the years. He has become gentrified, much like the Sydney environment in which he lives. No longer is he the hard drinking, fast living detective with boundless energy from the earlier novels. He's had heart-bypass surgery, lost his soulmate to murder, surrendered his PI license and is showing the wear and tear of his tough life - but the grit and intrigue remains. Peter Corris has constantly added layers to Cliff Hardy throughout the 30+ novels. Cliff has never been fashionable with his older cars and rough edges and general layer of shoddiness. With each new book he continues to evolve as a character. All of which creates an added dimension for the reader that goes beyond the plot line of the book.

I initially thought that Corris had made a rod for his own back when Cliff Hardy surrendered his PI license. How was Cliff going to continue his investigations from the sidelines without a license? How was he going to support himself? Cleverly Corris provided the solutions. A large inheritance left by Cliff's former partner solves Hardy's money problems, and Cliff manages to get to the core of the investigation into the death of his Irish cousin through family tie-ins and by using information provided by his old police and investigative sources.

Not my faourite all-time Cliff Hardy novel by any means (plenty to choose from), but nevertheless a very enjoyable read for all devotees of crime fiction. Is this kind of unlicensed Cliff Hardy investigation sustainable? I am not so sure. I feel that Cliff's powers are a little benign since his de-licensing and I wonder how long he can keep 'sponging' on former sources for assistance. Secretly I am hoping that Cliff may have his PI license re-instated. Or perhaps the emergence of Cliff's daughter as a PI may provide the avenue for the series to continue. Possibly Corris is preparing Cliff Hardy for a Glebe retirement village. I hope not! I'm a loyal Cliff Hardy devotee and I want more, more, more and more Cliff Hardy novels!