Aftershock

Cliff Hardy #14

by Peter Corris

When Oscar Bach's body is found crushed under the rubble, his death is classified as another tragic statistic of the Newcastle earthquake. So how could he have been seen alive five minutes after the quake? Cliff Hardy is hired to find the answers.

Genres: Crime, Australia

227 pages, Paperback

First published August 7, 1991

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]

When PI Cliff Hardy was approached by Horrie Jacobs, a spritely almost seventy year old from Newcastle, he was in his office in Sydney, wondering where his next pay cheque would come from. But when Horrie explained why he wanted to hire Cliff, he was intrigued to say the least. Horrie’s fishing mate and long-time friend, Oscar Bach had been killed in the devastating Newcastle earthquake; the one which had killed a number of others and decimated the Newcastle Worker’s Club and the Kent Hotel, among many other buildings. But Horrie was positive Oscar hadn’t died in the actual quake – he had seen him five minutes after it struck…

Arriving in Newcastle to begin his quest to uncover the truth about Oscar’s death, Hardy made himself known at the police station first. Sergeant Ted Withers wasn’t very receptive but his daughter, policewoman Glen Withers was prepared to help Hardy. But there was trouble on the horizon, and it made itself known pretty quickly to Hardy; he wondered what he’d got himself into…

Would Hardy find the answers Horrie was after with opposition coming from every direction? Or would the truth be too deeply hidden in amongst the lies and deception which abounded?

Aftershock by Aussie author Peter Corris was a great crime/mystery novel; Cliff Hardy is an excellently crafted character; flawed, never perfect, but extremely likeable. The fact that Aftershock is set in and around my home town made it so much more entertaining. But Mr Corris, Kahibah is spelt with the “h” on the end!! Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended.

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A who dunnit set in Aussie and with the PI Hardy solving the puzzle. I’ve enjoyed all of Peter Corris’s books that I’ve read so far. I like that the solving isn’t obvious yet the clues are there. I also like Hardy’s character. He’s pushy and he gets hurt for that at times, he’s got some ethics but not a Saint by any means and that makes him real. Believable too, as is the story.
A man dies in an earthquake but his mate saw him minutes after the earthquake looking at the damaged church he is late found buried under. Hardy gets hired to investigate and a couple of people would rather he didn’t ask questions. Enjoy.

[Tim Harley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another cracking Cliff Hardy read of which I am an avid fan. This one takes a spin around Newcastle Post earthquake which would trigger some memories for some. Some nice touches in this book. It was tidied up a little too quick at the end, but this is the 'Corris way', of which you get used too. Stylistically, it is dripping with irony and laconic Australian humour, sadly which is disappearing today. Overall another great Cliff Hardy story. Work that laid the groundwork for fiction crime writing in an unashamedly Australian setting and vernacular.

[Barbara Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in Newcastle meant that I could follow the trail in my mind. Along with Barry Maitland he uses the city and environs well.

[Barbara Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated but still a good read

[Gary Vassallo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent Cliff Hardy mystery. Enthralling from start to end. Highly recommended.

[Robert Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 14th in the Cliff Hardy series and there are several things you are guaranteed to find in one of Cliff’s adventures; he will at some stage be caught by surprise and accosted in his place of work or residence by a nefarious character, his training in ‘Malaya’ will save him, he will have a romantic liaison with a lady closely associated with the case, he will drink too much and regret giving up smoking, he will be shot at or shot and he will be called a ’smartarse’ by a cop.

That is not too say that the predictability of the above detracts from the flow of the story, in fact they act as familiar signposts directing the plot towards its usual neat conclusion.

In Aftershock we are out of Hardy’s usual milieu of inner Sydney and off north to Newcastle. This case is set around the aftermath of the Newcastle earthquake and a was he killed in the quake or was he murdered with the quake as cover up? Needless to say the original case gets waylaid and side-tracked in the usual Cliff Hardy way. In fact I counted three clients Cliff ended up working for on the one case.

A refreshing change of scenery in this enjoyable Cliff Hardy PI romp.

[Robert Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

An elderly retired miner hires Cliff to find who murdered his fishing companion and friend. The authorities are of the opinion that he was caught by a collapsing wall during an earthquake in the Newcastle area. Horrie Jacobs believes otherwise because he saw Oscar Bach alive and well minutes after the earthquake, but no one credits his account because he has suffered a concussion himself as a result of an auto accident. Hardy makes friends with Senior Sgt. Glynis Withers, the chief inspector's daughter and enlists her help. In the course of events it is found that a case 20 years or so old is paramount to the investigation. Of course Cliff suffers a few bumps and bruises and several people other than the object of the investigation are killed.

[Micheal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hardy hits Newcastle post Earthquake, tangles with crime bosses and mafioso, falls asleep on the beach and gets between the sheets with a sultry lady-cop. Not a bad entry I guess.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got a real kick out of a noir detective story set in Sydney/Newcastle. That said, the characters didn't strike me as particularly Australian. Cliff Hardy (lol, what a name) is a carbon copy of every other gritty, alcoholic, seen-it-all-got-the-tshirt detective I've ever read. The story started out quite interesting, then got really interesting, then just seemed to evaporate into a mindless trundle of wrapping up plot points and fading to black. It doesn't put me off reading more in the series, but it does leave a bitter taste of wasted potential.

[Balthazar Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did he die in the earthquake or was he murdered? Who was he really?

These are the questions Cliff Hardy, private investigator, has to answer when he is hired to find the truth by a rich friend of the victim.

But when Cliff starts investigating things kind of turn violent and trouble seems to follow him around. That is exactly what happens when he travels to Newcastle from his Sydney home.

I liked this simple read set in the early 90's before mobile phones and instant connection with the world.

[Glenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Peter Corris book is more about the character Cliff Hardy than the story. So laid back.and also set in Sydney gives him that Aussie character. Probably three and a half stars

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and fast read, and among Corris' better works though not the very best. The setting and evil acts are novel, as always, but there is much of the formulaic here, also as usual. I found the romantic liaison this time especially improbable and irrelevant. It's a bit odd -- I liked this book more as I read it than I do now as I am writing about it. Anyway, Cliff Hardy is always entertaining and this episode is no exception.

[Julie Bye · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good quick read. Nothing overly complicated, read it in a couple of hours. A bit like watching an Aussie cop show. Fun but not mentally taxing.