Cliff Hardy is a private detective who is hired by a professor of history at a small university to interview a descendant of one of the survivors of the Dunbar, which was wrecked trying to enter Sydney Harbour during a storm in the middle of the 19th century. However, the man he is to interview is in Bathurst Gaol for the grievous bodily harm assault on his partner. Then Cliff discovers that a criminal gang are after anybody trying to contact this man, including himself. What seemed like a simple case quickly becomes complicated.

It's a reasonable story but has a glaring loose end towards the end. I give it three stars out of five. ( )

Despite this being the 38th Cliff Hardy novel, Peter Corris manages to maintain a high standard and tell an interesting story. Cliff has moved upmarket to an office in Pyrmont and is once again fit and healthy following his previous heart surgery. When he takes on a contract to find some historical documents related to a 19th century shipwreck it all sounds relatively safe. The catch is that he needs to meet a man currently in prison who is also wanted by the Tanner family, a Soprano like crime family in Newcastle, who believe he knows something about some missing money. Matters escalate rapidly and Cliff soon finds himself in some sticky situations. ( )

The Dunbar was a ship that sank in 1857 and that's about as much as the title has to do with the story. It's a starting point only and quickly pushed to the background as the real action is in a completely different direction.

There's plenty of action in this as Cliff Hardy is drawn into a crime family that is tearing itself apart. Although, all Cliff is interested in is his next payday and staying alive.

A good read. ( )

In the 38th instalment of novels featuring Sydney-based private detective Cliff Hardy our hero is approached by a historian with a rather unusual request. The man believes he has new information about the wreck of a ship called the Dunbar which sank near the entrance to Sydney Harbour in 1857. History records there being a lone survivor of the tragedy but the professor believes there was a second survivor and that one of this person's descendents, a man called Johnnie Twizell, may possess relevant documentation to prove it, including a family bible. He needs to involve Hardy in the pursuit of these documents because Twizell is currently serving time in prison for a serious assault and Hardy is more familiar with that setting than the professor himself. Of course things do not run smoothly and Hardy is soon embroiled in the seedier side of life once again.

In a recent radio interview Peter Corris explained that his protagonist has aged at roughly one-third the normal rate which is why he's managed be only 50-something despite being into his fourth decade of crime fighting while his creator has reached a sprightly 70. So while Cliff has to swallow a collection of pills each day and is surprisingly touched by his role as a grandparent, he isn't showing too many ill-effects of the ageing process; still keeping fit, working well and even managing a healthy sex-life. He is a no-nonsense kind of character who has a strong sense of morality, though this clashes at times with what might be considered strictly legal. My favourite trait of his is his rather acerbic line of observations about the world around him.

Personally I found the plot a little disappointing not because of any intrinsic faults but rather because it didn't really continue its focus on the search for documents that would allow the re-writing of history. Instead it veered off into my least favourite crime fiction territory - the seemingly endless shenanigans that abound amongst criminal families and their extended 'organisations' I know it's probably a more realistic arena and a hugely popular one but it does, I'm afraid, bore me absolutely rigid as I simply cannot summon up the necessary emotional engagement when life-long criminals start threatening each other.

That aside, THE DUNBAR CASE is the kind of pleasantly diverting read that a sweltering summer afternoon calls for. It doesn't attempt to explore any aspect of the human condition but nor does it talk down to its readers and, an increasingly rare thing these days, it isn't burdened with the irrelevant, boring filler so many of its 500 page competition suffer from.

I'm really not sure how Peter Corris, or Cliff Hardy manage to keep up the pace, but I'm very very relieved they do, as the New Year tradition of a new Cliff Hardy book, a couch and the Test Cricket on the radio has become rather important over the last few years.

One of the most interesting aspects of THE DUNBAR CASE is the nature of the investigation - uncovering the mysteries of a nineteenth-century shipwreck isn't the sort of case that you'd expect to find in a modern day PI style novel. But as is often the way, it doesn't really matter what Hardy is called upon to look into, there's going to be a bit of huffing and puffing, lurking baddies, a love interest and a nicely staged battle that the good guys need to fight to win the day.

It's really a testament to the writing of this series that makes it work so well. Whilst there is now a slight tendency to pull a few physical punches just a little (Hardy's neither as young, or as fit as he used to be after all), everything else delivers in full throttle mode as usual. And in a tidy package of 243 so pages. A bit of a masterclass in getting to the point, staying there, and finishing it off without a lot of wandering about in the middle. Something I wish I could master in these reviews!

As usual you're not going to get an indepth look at the whys and wherefores of life, the universe and all the big questions. But with THE DUNBAR CASE you are going to get a tight, punchy, enjoyable PI novel with a central character that keeps on keeping on, and all power to him for it. Just the thing for a spot of entertaining, escapist reading regardless of where you are.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/dunbar-case-peter-corris ( )