Cliff Hardy Books In Order

Publication Order of Cliff Hardy Books

Publication Order of Cliff Hardy Collections

The Cliff Hardy novel series is a series of detective fiction novels written by one of the critically acclaimed Australian novelists named Peter Corris. This series is based on the adventures in the life of a private investigator named Cliff Hardy, who lives and works in Sydney, Australia. The series consists of 42 books in total, that were published from 1980 to 2016. All the books feature Cliff Hardy as a protagonist having the character of a hardboiled detective. Author Peter started writing the series in the year 1980 and released its debut book entitled The Dying Trade, in the same year. As of now, the series is still going on and author Peter is expected to release a few more books in this series very soon. Hardy is described as born and brought up in the working class of Maroubra. He is an ex-army man and a dropout from law college. Previously, Hardy used to work as an investigator in an insurance company, but now he has taken up the job as a private eye. Throughout the course of the series, it is seen that Cliff Hardy has a love & hate relationship with the place and time in which he lives. Embracing the better aspects of the Australian life, that it classlessness, tolerance, and vigorous rural and urban culture, he despises the conservatism and greed that constantly threaten to undercut the way he sees real Australia. As the series progresses, Cliff Hardy gets drawn inevitably into all those people’s ambit, whom he deplores. On numerous occasions, he seems struggling to resolve the cases that he takes up as he tries to remain true to the threatened values of his own.

The challenges that Hardy faces in his professional career tend to affect his personal life, which make him to not remain on the firm ground at any time. Author Peter has tried to make the series look like a more stand-up and solid series. He has actually filled the series with a combination of the pulpy kick-ass action and modern concerns. Peter has developed the character sketch of Cliff Hardy as a tall and fair shaped man, with a crooked nose. At various points in his life, Hardy has taken up boxing. He has also been a soldier, stationed in Malaysia, as well as a timber worker. Overall, Hardy has a tough mind and body. He has the habit of working independently, which caused his early exit from the insurance field. Hardy carries a legal Smith Wesson and occasionally a Colt. Being labeled as a cold bastard, Cliff Hardy is quite good at whatever he job he takes up. Author Peter has made him appear in over 40 novels and also in several short stories. Living in the Glebe neighborhood, Hardy runs his office from the St Peter’s Lane. He was married once, but lives a single life. Occasionally, he has an on & off relationship with a married woman named Helen. In the later parts of the series, it is revealed that Hardy has one daughter. In his spare time, Hardy likes to play tennis. He enjoys white wine and beer. Also, he is fond of Ford Falcons. When his 1964 model got rust-ridden and battered, he replaced it with a second-hand 1984 model. Many believe that Cliff Hardy is just like his Falcons, dependable and solid. Overall, the series offers a good and reliable read. Peter has written the stories in an appealing manner. His depiction of Hardy is like a pulpy and down to earth hero. The series has interesting settings and numerous insights into the Australia’s human nature and culture. The critics believe that author Peter has made a great contribution to the crime fiction genre through this series.

One of the initially released books in the series is titled as ‘Make Me Rich’. It was released in 1987. The start of the story depicts that Cliff Hardy arrives at a party to take care of several paintings. He is also tasked to throw out all the drunks from the party. But, when he sees Helen Broadway at the party, he begins to get interested in her. And then there is Paul Guthrie, who asks Cliff Hardy to take care of her stepson named Ray. The events that follow next in the plot force Hardy to delve into the sleazy backstreets of Kings Cross as well as the lowdown pubs. He follows a twisted path which is laid down by one of the hitmen. This hitman seems to be a criminal having political connections. He is protected by such connections. One of the other men whom Cliff Hardy chases, is a seedy and an alcoholic member of the profession of his own. Due to all these commitments, Cliff Hardy is not able to give any time to Helen Broadway, but she still seems interested in him. She hopes that Hardy will come back to her as soon as he finishes his jobs at hand. With the intention of finishing the things once and for all, Cliff Hardy decides to go for the final confrontation. However, the game appears to be very rough with guns blazing everywhere. The odds seem very less for Hardy as he does not have any help and totally on his own to come out of the challenging situation.

One more exciting book that Peter wrote in the series is called ‘The Big Drop’. Released in 1988, this book too features Cliff Hardy at the center of the plot. The story’s opening sequence shows that a client falls to death from the 20th storey of his building. Also, Hardy comes to know that a rock star has gone missing. The other cases that Cliff Hardy is made to deal with are the vanishing of a Mongol scroll and a personal problem faced by a movie star. All these cases arrive on the Cliff Hardy’s desk in one single day. On the other hand, yachts are seen dancing on the waters near the harbor. People in the back alleys seem to be busy and the low and high classes continue to move ahead with their day to day business. However, Cliff Hardy does not seem to be really surprised by any of this thing. He decides to keep working like he always does. His main worry is to solve the multiple cases that have come to him at once. But, the problem is that he cannot focus on all of them together. Definitely, he requires help. But, that too does not appear to come soon from anywhere. So, Cliff Hardy is forced to work on his own as usual. He hopes to get done with the cases as soon as possible and enjoy a romantic vacation with Helen Broadway.