O'Fear

Cliff Hardy #12

by Peter Corris

At the funeral of Barnes Todd--a popular drinking buddy, Korean War veteran, and shady businessman--Australian private eye Cliff Hardy discovers that Todd's fatal car crash may not have been an accident

Genres: Crime

208 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1991

About the author

Peter 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.

Reviews

[Gavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rattling good yarn. Not the best nor the worst in the series. And its not giving away any of the plot to say that there are murders, boxers, Cliff beds a leading female character and gets beaten up as I think these may be in pretty much all the Cliff Hardy books! This one also has corrupt cops, corrupt businesses and gangsters. Enjoyable light entertainment.

[Gary Vassallo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable Cliff Hardy tale. It certainly wasn't my favourite but still a good read nonetheless.

[Mike Penlington · Rating 4 out of 5]

4+ A very good one in the series so far

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite four stars and a bit formulaic, but still fun in a typically Corris way.

Formulaic? Well, Hardy's relationships with women do vary in that the personalities and appearance of each one vary, but the interaction seems very similar each time out of the gate. You can even see it coming a mile away.

But for a beach-read P.I. novel, this is just fine. The plot, as always, is inventive, and the twists in the end are utterly plausible. No, I did not guess what was going on. Fast and fun, if not memorable.

[Robert Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Todd Barnes, an old drinking buddy has died in an automobile accident and has left $10,000 for Cliff Hardy to find his killer or killers. Cliff tumbles for the widow, but knows that she has lied to him about some things. He arranges bail for Kevin O'Fearna to assist him in his investigation. Not sure exactly if his allies may not also be his enemies, CH proceeds to an uneasy conclusion with O'F saving his life.

[Micheal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hardy hangs around in Redfern, the Illawarra and the eastern suburbs, has some close calls and gets it on with the wife of a dead man he's investigating. A couple of good set-pieces, but a bit slight to really hit the heights it's shooting for.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A typical hard-nosed Cliff Hardy mystery with the usual set of alcohol-sodden dodgy characters and seedy settings in Sydney. At only 218 pages, a slick, fast and enjoyable read.

[Mumbler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huh - pretty good ending. :)

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

You must understand that I absolutely adore Cliff Hardy. Discovered him quite by accident and was hooked by the character, the locale and the writing. Now as I see that there are some 49 titles - I am unsure what and which I have read - My solution is to ask him directly or seek a list of the numbers and re-read them in order. I should know by a few pages if I have read them before. O’Fear was a new title to me and it was just as wonderful as the rest. I have come to know Sydney and environs (I have a map) and recognize place names and highways and what is where. Cliff is just a cool guy. Has enough sex to make him seem very human and is a great P.I. character. My advice is to find the titles in order and read them that way. Bear in mind titles change form one country to another but he has a website and a wiki. I wholly recommend Peter Corris and his character Cliff Hardy (he lives in Glebe) - He reminds me of Erle Stanley Garner but a more refined character than most P.I. on the decades past. More like Spenser. Just a wonderful discovery for me and I suggest you check him out. Helps to have an Aussie/American slang dictionary too.