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Peter Corris has been credited by some for single-handedly saving the face of Australian crime fiction from the cultural cringe. Certainly he had an impact on the genre since now not every novel by an Australian attempts to ape all things American nor sets the tales in locations unfamiliar to Australian readers. It seems incredible that both Cliff Hardy and Peter Corris have only been in the forefront of readers' consciousness since 1980, the year that THE DYING TRADE introduced Cliff Hardy to a welcoming audience. Cliff himself has changed over the years. Initially he was portrayed as a Type One diabetic, like Corris himself. Cliff's safety as a sufferer was one of the key points in early stories but in later years Cliff has obviously shed the insidious disease rather than develop the unfortunate side-effects experienced by long term sufferers. Indeed, in SAVING BILLIE, at one point Cliff dissolves sugar in his coffee, not to mention (even more enviably) being able to do without food for most of his day. Fortunate man! Cliff becomes embroiled in this latest brouhaha when he does a favour for a friend, acting as a bouncer at a high society party. The host is a wealthy man of somewhat dubious reputation, one who apparently likes to gloat over others as he has invited business rivals to the bash. Cliff intervenes when journalist Louise Kramer is manhandled by one of the security people employed by the businessman, Jonas Clement. The following day, Cliff is happily ensconced in his new Newtown premises when Louise approaches him, asking to hire him. She is writing a book, an exposé of Jonas Clement but in order to ferret out requisite facts, she needs to contact Clement's former de facto wife, Wilhelmina (Billie) Marchant. The lady has disappeared and Lou wants Cliff to find her. As is, alas for our hero, his wont, Cliff manages to get himself severely damaged as he works for first one, then a second client. No doubt he lost any illusions he had about Big Business in previous outings but SAVING BILLIE would have put paid to anything remaining that might credit pure motives and means to any important businessman. Corris writes with his usual flair for the Australian idiom which flows from the lips of his characters with never a forced ockerism. He has Cliff drive in and around the suburbs of Sydney, describing familiar scenes that can evoke homesickness in expats – not to mention wonder at the development he depicts in areas that may once have been familiar to now non-residents. Apart from the loathsome machinations of Big Business, Corris touches on serious topics such as alcoholism, drug addiction and, indeed, multiculturalism, as he gives us a glimpse of how relocated Pacific Islanders and New Zealand maori are living out their lives in Sydney. As usual, Cliff Hardy won't disappoint his fans amongst the reading public anxious for more Australian fiction, especially the semi-hardboiled fast and bloody action kind.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, March 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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