Make Me Rich

Cliff Hardy #6

by Peter Corris

Cliff Hardy, an Australian private detective, agrees to help find Paul Guthrie's adopted son, who has run off with some known criminals

Genres: Crime, Australia, Mystery, Fiction

185 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 12, 1987

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

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

During his security detail at Roberta’s plush party on Sydney’s beaches Cliff Hardy was approached by Paul Guthrie with a job offer. When Hardy met up with Guthrie the following day, he was asked to locate his teenage son Ray, who had disappeared a few weeks prior. As Hardy learned more, he found that Ray and his younger brother Chris were Paul Guthrie’s step children, but he thought of them as his own. His wife Pat and he had been together most of the children’s lives. He was extremely concerned Ray had gone off the rails and was in bad company…

As Hardy delved into the circumstances surrounding Ray’s disappearance, it turned out that Guthrie’s concerns were valid ones. Danger hit head on when Hardy staked out a criminally influenced pub in the back streets of Kings Cross; corruption, vicious killers and ex-cops – was Hardy in deeper than he had been in the past? And would he escape the situation he found himself in, as well as find the answers he sought?

Make Me Rich by Aussie author Peter Corris has a fabulous plot, is fast paced and filled with gripping tension. I thoroughly enjoy the character of Cliff Hardy; sardonic and witty he often has me laughing out loud. Make Me Rich is a great crime/mystery novel which I have no hesitation in recommending.

[Julian Worker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by Peter Corris and I quite enjoyed it.

Cliff Hardy is paid $500 Australian by Mrs Roberta Landry-Drake to work at a house party she's organised. Hardy has to look after the cars, the valuables, and make sure the guests behave themselves. Drunks are dealt with gently.

At the party, Hardy meets Paul Guthrie who has a proposition for him. Guthrie wants Hardy to find his stepson Ray who has fallen in with a criminal crowd. Hardy accepts and off we go on a tour through the seemier side of the Kings Cross area of Sydney. Hardy has to deal with some thugs and gang members with the help of a police officer Frank Parker who has been after the same criminals for some time.

[Gary Vassallo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Cliff Hardy adventure. As with all the ones I’ve read so far, I really enjoyed it. Keen to keep on reading the series.

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: Cliff Hardy
SETTING: Australia
SERIES: #6
RATING: 3.25
WHY: Cliff Hardy is working security for a big party when he is approached by Paul Guthrie who wants to hire him to find his son, Ray. Ray has been caught up with a bunch of unsavory characters. Hardy works with a cop, Frank Parker, who has been forced out of his job by one of these characters. Characterization was good. I sometimes had difficulty understanding the Australian slang.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Corris's Cliff Hardy novels are always an enjoyable read!

[Mike Penlington · Rating 4 out of 5]

85/100
Love this series! Never disappoints. Good action, characters, dialogue, pace, setting

[Gavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant - the Cliff Harday series is always very good, and this is definitely one of the best. In this book, Cliff meets Helen Broadway and deepens his relationship with Frank Parker. I love the way characters come and go and are developed throughout the series. Wonderful writing (simple but with an edge), great characters and gripping plot. A Corris masterclass. I wish some other Australian crime writers could understand that a great book can be only 200 pages - no need for filler and multiple set-pieces to make it 350+ pages.

Writing about Darlinghurst sex workers: "There's a soft light in the front room, but that's about all the softness going."

[Bazz Sherwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Make Me Rich is the first novel by Peter Corris that I've read. Written in 1985 it is still very readable, although it probably would not be a success if it was published today. That might sound harsh because Corris was breaking new ground as an Australian crime writer. Make Me Rich is still a good adventure yarn with straightforward characters, but it lacks the more complex plot and more nuanced characters of today's outstanding crime writers.

[Sandy Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this classic early Hardy.

[Balthazar Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cliff Hardy is hired to find out what is happening to a man's step son who appears to have gone off the rails. Everyone is cooperative about what seems to be a simple job. However, as usual, things are never that simple and he is soon involved in police corruption, notorious criminals and hit men. He has to to tread a even path between them all and at the same time starting a new relationship, or at least hoping it's one that will go somewhere.

A contemporary book when it was written but now it's strange to hear about sending telegrams and noticing the total lack of mobiles. An enjoyable read.

[Mumbler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. Maybe not quite, quite as involving as the very best ones. But very taut, very fast in a really good way. Loved it, and really needed that at the moment!

[Peter Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good fun Cliff Hardy mystery up to the usual standard.