Master's Mates

Cliff Hardy #26

by Peter Corris

In this hard-boiled detective novel, private investigator Cliff Hardy is looking forward to his new assignment. When rich, beautiful Lorraine Master hires him to look into the circumstances surrounding her husband's conviction for smuggling heroin on the island paradise of New Caledonia, Hardy welcomes the idea of a week on a generous expense account under a tropical sky. But his island escape proves to be anything but relaxing as he finds Stewart Master's business associates to be a difficult and dangerous bunch. The action returns to Hardy's normal stomping grounds of Sydney, Australia, where he and his client become targets in an intricate conspiracy gone seriously wrong and tangle with a tricky lawyer and a corrupt ex-cop. With punchy dialogue and exotic settings, this is a fresh adventure for a well-established character with an international following.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction, Australia

232 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2003

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

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Master's Mates is book twenty-six in the Cliff Hardy series by Peter Corris. Cliff Hardy has a new client Lorraine Masters who wanted to know who set up her husband Stewart Henry Master for drug importation. Lorraine Masters husband Stewart is in jail Readers of Master's Mates will follow the twist and turns in Cliff Hardy's investigation into Steward Henry Master's case.

I enjoyed reading "Master's Mates" and fall in love with Peter Corris character Cliff Hardy. Readers of Master's Mates will think Cliff Hardy is an old man who is behind the times. However, this is not the case, and the readers of Master's Mates will find that out. I like the way Peter Corris describes Sydney and Noumea which allows the readers to feel they are part of the story. I like the way Peter Corris portrays his characters and how Cliff Hardy entwines with them for especially the lawyer and law enforcement.

Readers of Master's Mates will learn about the life of a Private Investigator. Also, readers of Master's Mates will learn about legal and law enforcement corruption and how it affects everyone involved.

I recommend this book.

[Damo · Rating 2 out of 5]

The 26th book in Peter Corris' hardboiled detective series featuring the Sydney-based world-weary private investigator Cliff Hardy starts, as many such books do, with a meeting between the detective and a rich potential client. Master's Mates runs along traditional detective novel lines, playing a no-nonsense, been-there-done-that guy against the Hoi-Poloi with the prospect of a big pay day as motivation.

Stewart Master has always been a crook and a con-man, but right now he is serving 10 years in prison for drug trafficking. Lorraine Master is Stewart's wife and while she knows he's no saint, she is also convinced that her husband has been set up, probably by his mates.

She hires Cliff Hardy to find out exactly what went down. This means talking to Master, banged up in Avonlea Prison, and also to his mates who are still in New Caledonia, from where Master was supposedly bringing the drugs. With an expense account of 100 grand and a trip to New Caledonia thrown in, Hardy can't really see a down side to taking the job and is pretty soon packing his bag in preparation.

What he isn't prepared for are the warning messages and trip headfirst down a set of stairs with a message to keep his nose out of affairs that don't concern him. But like every other fictional private investigator worth his salt, the warning only results in Hardy becoming more determined to get to the bottom of his investigation.

Once in New Caledonia, Hardy begins to do the rounds of the friends of Stewart Master, but they seem to be either missing completely or hiding in fear for their lives and reluctant to talk about Master and the activities that saw him get arrested. The impression that becomes very clear is that Lorraine Master's suspicions are well founded, but the mystery runs much deeper than a simple frame-up.

The locales are exotic this time with the refreshing paradise surrounds of New Caledonia inviting a more relaxed atmosphere to proceeding compared to the inner city alleys of Sydney. But it never pays to let your guard down too long, particularly when drugs and money are involved.

This is a very typical hardboiled detective novel that fans of the genre will enjoy with a no-nonsense protagonist who forges ahead no matter what obstructions are placed before him. Hardy is forced to demonstrate the admirable terrier instincts that has become his trademark when he eventually uncovers a convoluted conspiracy that sets himself up as a prime target.

In what is predominantly a plot driven drama, and a fast moving one at that, the story inexplicably loses some of its momentum over the final 60 - 70 pages which is right when I would expect the pace to be at its most frantic. Instead of coming together smoothly there seemed to be a period of stasis that had me growing impatient rather than engendering a feeling of suspense. Fortunately, things managed to come together in a strong finish that once again puts Hardy's ethics to the mettle.

Master's Mates continues on a strong detective series. Although there is no in-depth exploration of any of the characters and what makes them tick, the plot is original and complex with plenty of unexpected little twists to send the focus into completely new directions. There is also a definite ominous tension lying over the entire investigation, put down largely to the overbearing (even from gaol) presence of Stewart Master, and to the unknown people who got him put away.

Peter Corris' Cliff Hardy series is 26 books old with this book for good reason. Fans of the detective genre will enjoy the way this one pans out and will particularly enjoy the way Hardy operates his investigation, complete with altercations, both given and received.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

'I don't speak French.'[...]
'Neither does Stewart or any of his mates. There's a whole gang of them over there, and one of them, or a couple, must've set Stewart up.'

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of you know I am a sucker for a good Phillip Marlowe-type P.I. novel. Cliff Hardy as a character in Peter Corris' novel seems to make the cut. The setting is Australia-urban. The time is contemporary and I get a kick out of the Aussie slang that is used at frequent intervals. This plot was good enough to carry the action. The good news for me is there are plenty of others to search out in used book stores.

[Bev Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Australian detective novel. Set in Sydney. Good read.

[Mike Taverner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes - I really like another Cliff Hardy

[Robert Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

01/10/2014, finished this novel many moons ago. Cliff is hired to find out what happened to a Mr. Masters & has to go to New Caledonia to pursue the investigation. Don't really remember that much about it, but know that all the Cliff Hardy books are very good at the least.

[Thora · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time between reads for Cliff Hardy but I loved it. Sparse dialogue and a cracking pace. Easy, familiar predictability. Love reading books set in Sydney albeit a different Sydney to what I know. Perhaps that's part of the charm.

[Gary Vassallo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable Cliff Hardy adventure. I’ve read many of these and am keen to continue until I’ve read all of them. Recommended as always.

[Tony Zotti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is good fun. Private detective Cliff Hardy is a classic Australian detective. Peter Corris is my favorite author when i travel to Bali. Easy to read.

[Rowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

good solid detective story based in australia.

[Mumbler · Rating 4 out of 5]

maybe wrapped up more quick & easy than I expected, but I liked it.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Corris keeps getting better and better (I am reading his work in order). This is a really good tale, and hangs together well. For sheer reading enjoyment, I could give it five stars, but something I can't put my finger on holds me back. I suppose it's that the characters don't have a whole lot of depth; it's more about the action and the story than any kind of character development. But, heck, a really good read is a pleasure, and this is definitely one.