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Cliff Hardy #31
Appeal Denied
Stripped of his investigator's license, Cliff Hardy faces an uncertain future when something personal happens that provokes him into his best role: a confrontational investigator with a taste for violence and no regard for his lost credentials. Taking and dealing out punishment, mostly in Sydney's exclusive suburbs, Hardy encounters degenerate cops, bereft wives, and computer challenges. In a shadowy showdown at a chic Sydney beach, Hardy challenges those in his way, but his future remains even more clouded than before. An internationally loved yet reluctant hero, Hardy struggles to sort out corruption from loyalty as he tries to determine his future as an Aussie investigator.
216 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2007
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44 people want to read
About the author
Peter Corris
155 books60 followersPeter Corris was an Australian academic, historian, journalist and a novelist of historical and crime fiction. His first novel was published in 1980. Corris is credited with reviving the fully-fledged Australian crime novel with local settings and reference points and with a series character firmly rooted in Australian culture, Sydney PI Cliff Hardy. As crime fiction writer, he was described as "the Godfather of contemporary Australian crime-writing".
He won the Lifetime Achievement award at the Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing in 1999 and was shortlisted for best novel in 2006 for Saving Billy and in 2007 for The Undertow.
He won the Lifetime Achievement award at the Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing in 1999 and was shortlisted for best novel in 2006 for Saving Billy and in 2007 for The Undertow.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 22, 2016
When Hardy got himself into hot water in THE UNDERTOW, you just had to wonder if this was the end of Sydney's most famous hard-boiled detective. In APPEAL DENIED he doesn't get his licence to be a private investigator back; he's got no money; his house and car are falling apart and his love life takes a disastrous turn. But it takes more than murder, bureaucracy and falling down houses to keep Cliff down. Sort of.
In typical Cliff Hardy style APPEAL DENIED has events that really should see a hard man give up slightly, but when murder gets very very close to home, Cliff isn't fazed by his lack of a licence, his illegal guns, his dying car, falling down house, or the resentment that comes from him calling favours left right and centre to find out who has hit so close to home. The interesting thing about APPEAL DENIED is that the ending clearly says that Cliff isn't going to work as a PI again anytime soon, but something has happened that may give him a different sort of future. You've got to hope this means that Cliff can beat the mean streets of Sydney somehow for a while to come yet.
In typical Cliff Hardy style APPEAL DENIED has events that really should see a hard man give up slightly, but when murder gets very very close to home, Cliff isn't fazed by his lack of a licence, his illegal guns, his dying car, falling down house, or the resentment that comes from him calling favours left right and centre to find out who has hit so close to home. The interesting thing about APPEAL DENIED is that the ending clearly says that Cliff isn't going to work as a PI again anytime soon, but something has happened that may give him a different sort of future. You've got to hope this means that Cliff can beat the mean streets of Sydney somehow for a while to come yet.
October 9, 2019
I am slowly making my way through the world of Cliff Hardy. I began this journey in the 1980s when Cliff first entered the Sydney landscape. I was a taxi driver at the time and I would park his books in the carousel behind the automatic shift. On occasions I qualified or challenged his geographical knowledge.
I like Cliff I have watched him grow and develop, even age. He doesn’t carry around a sackful of personal hang ups. He’s the sought of guy that you’d nod to at the Toxteith and share the occasional beer.
My only criticism of this episode is that the story seemed crowded with characters. I left the book for a week or so and on resuming my reading journey I could not remember who certain people were and what was their role. I guess I should have made a character list.
I will leave the details of the story to others but rather confirm that this is another tried and tested Cliff Hardy story.
I like Cliff I have watched him grow and develop, even age. He doesn’t carry around a sackful of personal hang ups. He’s the sought of guy that you’d nod to at the Toxteith and share the occasional beer.
My only criticism of this episode is that the story seemed crowded with characters. I left the book for a week or so and on resuming my reading journey I could not remember who certain people were and what was their role. I guess I should have made a character list.
I will leave the details of the story to others but rather confirm that this is another tried and tested Cliff Hardy story.
May 30, 2019
2007 this was written and again technology could have helped Cliff a little more than it does. Peter Corris is on top form in this one, Cliff is more emotional and vulnerable than usual.
November 25, 2020
Another enjoyable Cliff Hardy story. Highly recommended, keen to keep on reading more Cliff Hardy.
March 22, 2017
Another good book of Peter's.
February 10, 2013
I'm not really a crime- fiction buff but I'd heard that Australian contemporary crime fiction is right up there with the best at the moment and have been wanting to read more of it to learn what all the fuss is about. Peter Corris's name kept coming up so that's where I started.
Years ago, I read and enjoyed 'Aftershock' by Corris. It was set in the aftermath of the Newcastle earthquake and may or not have been one of the Cliff Hardy series. I don't remember. I do remember enjoying it as a light read with plenty of references to the geography, history and social milieu I grew up in, in and around Sydney. There is something particularly compelling about superimposing a book's action over a familiar landscape and to be able to hear the character's voices in your head. That gave the book a head start against any other book i might have chosen. But I want to emphasise that I chose 'Aftershock' as a 'light read'; something to read quickly and not mull over in any great depth afterwards. I was looking for a book to sandwich in between two more demanding books and it didn't matter that nothing i read convinced me that this author was part of a 'new wave' of crime fiction writing. In fact, I was more convinced that Corris owes much to several highly esteemed predecessors, including Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. Despite not living up to the hype, the book met my requirements and expectations admirably. I made a mental note to keep my eyes open for more by the same author.
So, when I recently found a used copy of this 'Appeal Denied' on a market stall, i rabbed it. Here was the impetus to dig a little deeper, and even some course notes to provide clues as to where i should be looking. (The copy I'd found was was annotated in parts with what appeared to be course notes from a crime fiction module)... so obviously Corris is thought well of in academic circles. The module's final exam seems to have required the reader to compare Sherlock Holmes in 'The Case of the Silk Stocking' with Cliff Hardy in 'appeal Denied' (both studied in detail in the module) and another unsighted extract. The note taker has recorded the characteristics of the crime fiction hero as follows: observant, acute sight, hearing and sense of smell ; has hidden identity; sleuth heroes are always one step ahead; nothing is what it seems; always engaged in dangerous situations; there is always a high level of tension; drinks and alcohol dependent; slightly outside the law. Cliff hardy fits the bill well.
And, it must be said that Cliff Hardy is in good company as a focus of the module. It had me wondering who the detective in the unsighted extract might be. Could it have been Miss Marples, Hercules Poirrot, Raymond Chandler ( was he the author or the detective?), Maigret, The Saint? There are many possible contenders.
I'll leave it to other reviewers to go into details of the book itself. I have rambled enough already. I enjoyed this book immensely and will read more. Four stars. No fifth star however, i reserve those for books that rock my world.
Years ago, I read and enjoyed 'Aftershock' by Corris. It was set in the aftermath of the Newcastle earthquake and may or not have been one of the Cliff Hardy series. I don't remember. I do remember enjoying it as a light read with plenty of references to the geography, history and social milieu I grew up in, in and around Sydney. There is something particularly compelling about superimposing a book's action over a familiar landscape and to be able to hear the character's voices in your head. That gave the book a head start against any other book i might have chosen. But I want to emphasise that I chose 'Aftershock' as a 'light read'; something to read quickly and not mull over in any great depth afterwards. I was looking for a book to sandwich in between two more demanding books and it didn't matter that nothing i read convinced me that this author was part of a 'new wave' of crime fiction writing. In fact, I was more convinced that Corris owes much to several highly esteemed predecessors, including Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. Despite not living up to the hype, the book met my requirements and expectations admirably. I made a mental note to keep my eyes open for more by the same author.
So, when I recently found a used copy of this 'Appeal Denied' on a market stall, i rabbed it. Here was the impetus to dig a little deeper, and even some course notes to provide clues as to where i should be looking. (The copy I'd found was was annotated in parts with what appeared to be course notes from a crime fiction module)... so obviously Corris is thought well of in academic circles. The module's final exam seems to have required the reader to compare Sherlock Holmes in 'The Case of the Silk Stocking' with Cliff Hardy in 'appeal Denied' (both studied in detail in the module) and another unsighted extract. The note taker has recorded the characteristics of the crime fiction hero as follows: observant, acute sight, hearing and sense of smell ; has hidden identity; sleuth heroes are always one step ahead; nothing is what it seems; always engaged in dangerous situations; there is always a high level of tension; drinks and alcohol dependent; slightly outside the law. Cliff hardy fits the bill well.
And, it must be said that Cliff Hardy is in good company as a focus of the module. It had me wondering who the detective in the unsighted extract might be. Could it have been Miss Marples, Hercules Poirrot, Raymond Chandler ( was he the author or the detective?), Maigret, The Saint? There are many possible contenders.
I'll leave it to other reviewers to go into details of the book itself. I have rambled enough already. I enjoyed this book immensely and will read more. Four stars. No fifth star however, i reserve those for books that rock my world.
January 15, 2014
I think I'm in love. This is one of the best detective novels I've read in quite a while. AND it's a series (this one is #31) so I can enjoy more and more.
I'm not sure exactly why, but the book reminds me of the American noir detectives of the 1920s. Cliff Hardy is not hard-boiled, misogynistic, a loner or the other descriptive words that generally go with the noir. But it strikes me exactly that way and that's probably part of why I like it.
Cliff Hardy is a private investigator in Sydney, Australia, who has just lost his license due to some sort of mess he got himself into in the last book. It isn't described here. He doesn't have a job and can't do the one he used to, the money is going to run out sometime... He does have a girlfriend who is an investigative reporter. They have a close but distant relationship, meaning, they don't live together, they don't see each other every night and they don't do everything together, but they are close.
Of course, she's working on something that gets her killed. In spite of his now nonlegal status, Cliff knows he MUST do something to find her killer. Unfortunately, someone knows he's looking and things get hot from there.
Can he trust the short, egoistic tv journalist who wants to help? Can he trust this guy's girlfriend who is on the police force, which it begins to appear certain they will have to investigate concerning this crime? Can he count on his old mentor, now retired, to help him get info from the police that he can't get now? What about the guy who seems to be up to his neck in the crime and comes to Cliff offering to tell him everything?
Cliff is exceptionally cautious, but he has to be. He's lost his license; investigating could become a serious legal issue; he's not sure who he can trust. We see his mind going, why he isn't sure, how he makes the decisions, why he does what he does. But he isn't existential; he's human.
It's glorious!
I'm not sure exactly why, but the book reminds me of the American noir detectives of the 1920s. Cliff Hardy is not hard-boiled, misogynistic, a loner or the other descriptive words that generally go with the noir. But it strikes me exactly that way and that's probably part of why I like it.
Cliff Hardy is a private investigator in Sydney, Australia, who has just lost his license due to some sort of mess he got himself into in the last book. It isn't described here. He doesn't have a job and can't do the one he used to, the money is going to run out sometime... He does have a girlfriend who is an investigative reporter. They have a close but distant relationship, meaning, they don't live together, they don't see each other every night and they don't do everything together, but they are close.
Of course, she's working on something that gets her killed. In spite of his now nonlegal status, Cliff knows he MUST do something to find her killer. Unfortunately, someone knows he's looking and things get hot from there.
Can he trust the short, egoistic tv journalist who wants to help? Can he trust this guy's girlfriend who is on the police force, which it begins to appear certain they will have to investigate concerning this crime? Can he count on his old mentor, now retired, to help him get info from the police that he can't get now? What about the guy who seems to be up to his neck in the crime and comes to Cliff offering to tell him everything?
Cliff is exceptionally cautious, but he has to be. He's lost his license; investigating could become a serious legal issue; he's not sure who he can trust. We see his mind going, why he isn't sure, how he makes the decisions, why he does what he does. But he isn't existential; he's human.
It's glorious!
June 7, 2010
I love reading Peter Corris's fiction because he sets it in Sydney and makes the setting an integral part of the action. I'm not much of a crime story buff, but this is the main reason I keep reading Corris's Cliff Hardy P.I. books. When books are mainly set almost anywhere but one's hometown, a person feels a certain attraction to those that are set in familiar surroundings. Accompanied by a good yarn, it can make those same familiar suburbs exciting and appear in a new light.
Petr Corris has written more than twenty books starring his intrepid and cynical private investigator Cliff Hardy, and it's not hard to see why this series has become a perennial favourite of Australian crime fiction. The plot is always tightly woven and well thought out, although sometimes there are too many different names thrown out one after the other for me to comfortably follow. I suspect that is my problem rather than the writing, and the good points more than make up for it.
In this installment the story starts with the tough and cynical Cliff Hardy losing (what he thought of as) a casual lover to murder. He realises he felt much more than he expected, and licence or not, is determined to uncover the culprit or culprits. His now-dead lover, Lili Truscott, was an investigative reporter and Hardy - rightly - concludes that her murder was to cover-up and supress a story of police corruption that she and another reporter (who has gone to ground, understandably) were working. This suspicion is confirmed when the police show little inclination to look into the case more than circumspectly.
Hardy calls on old friends like Frank Parker, retired from the police, and does what he does so well to get to the heart of the matter.
This time he doesn't a P.I. licence or a client: this time it's personal.
Petr Corris has written more than twenty books starring his intrepid and cynical private investigator Cliff Hardy, and it's not hard to see why this series has become a perennial favourite of Australian crime fiction. The plot is always tightly woven and well thought out, although sometimes there are too many different names thrown out one after the other for me to comfortably follow. I suspect that is my problem rather than the writing, and the good points more than make up for it.
In this installment the story starts with the tough and cynical Cliff Hardy losing (what he thought of as) a casual lover to murder. He realises he felt much more than he expected, and licence or not, is determined to uncover the culprit or culprits. His now-dead lover, Lili Truscott, was an investigative reporter and Hardy - rightly - concludes that her murder was to cover-up and supress a story of police corruption that she and another reporter (who has gone to ground, understandably) were working. This suspicion is confirmed when the police show little inclination to look into the case more than circumspectly.
Hardy calls on old friends like Frank Parker, retired from the police, and does what he does so well to get to the heart of the matter.
This time he doesn't a P.I. licence or a client: this time it's personal.
December 28, 2009
Cliff has been disqualified from private investigation and is at a bit of a loose end. His lover, Lily commiserates with him. But she is murdered two days later. Naturally, Cliff is grief stricken and feels guilty about their relationship. He is determined to find out who killed her and he reluctantly joins forces with a TV journalist and a dodgy cop. It seems that every source they try to tap ends up dead. Cliff sails pretty close to the wind but manages to get the baddy in the end.
Another ripping yarn from Peter Corris.
Another ripping yarn from Peter Corris.
June 4, 2013
Cliff Hardy has lost his PEA license. Again. This time permanently, it looks like. And then his lover Lily is killed.
While illegally investigating her murder, he runs into police corruption on a large scale, and meets several people with ties to Lily, the corrupt cops, and each other. Who to trust? Who to help? Who not to?
Another satisfying story set in and around Sydney, Australia.
While illegally investigating her murder, he runs into police corruption on a large scale, and meets several people with ties to Lily, the corrupt cops, and each other. Who to trust? Who to help? Who not to?
Another satisfying story set in and around Sydney, Australia.
July 31, 2014
I still have no idea why I enjoy this series so much. I think I've just always had a soft spot for a main character who's an amiable bastard. Once again, interesting characters, smooth writing and Sydney so lovingly described it almost makes me miss it.
Almost.
Almost.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews