Win, Lose or Draw

by Peter Corris

Overview

A missing girl, drugs, yachts, the sex trade, and a cold trail that leads from Sydney to Norfolk Island, Byron Bay, and Coolangatta. The police suspect the father, Gerard Fonteyn OA, a wealthy businessman. But he's hired Cliff to find her, given him unlimited expenses and posted a $250,000 reward for information. Finally there's a break—an unconfirmed sighting of Juliana Fonteyn, alive and well. But as usual, nothing is straightforward. Various other players are in the game—and Cliff doesn't know the rules, or even what the game might be. He's determined to find out, and as the bodies mount up the danger to himself and to Juliana increases.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781760631000
Publisher:	Allen & Unwin
Publication date:	07/01/2018
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Peter Corris is known as the godfather of Australian crime fiction and the author of the Cliff Hardy series.

Editorial Reviews

07/17/2017
Ned Kelly Award–winner Corris’s workmanlike 42nd and final crime novel featuring PI Cliff Hardy (after 2016’s That Empty Feeling) takes Hardy on a fast-paced, libation-fueled chase from Sydney to various towns along the Australian coast in search of missing teen Juliana Fonteyn. Though he’s recovering from bypass surgery and admits to a prejudice against the rich, Hardy’s declining PI firm needs a cash infusion, so when Juliana’s distraught and exceedingly well-heeled father asks him to find her, Hardy takes on the job. Aided by a number of shady part-time assistants and freely spending Fonteyn’s money, Hardy runs afoul of crooked cops and some sleazy gangsters, in particular an Errol Flynn look-alike who claims to be the Hollywood actor’s illegitimate son. The comfortably predictable plot builds to a less than earth-shaking resolution, but readers will enjoy the ride through the mean Australian streets and beaches. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"This series debuted nearly 35 years ago, and, despite its being relatively little known in the U.S., you won’t find too many mystery series that run this long with such consistently high quality." —Booklist on The Dunbar Case


"Slipping into the pages of Win, Lose or Draw feels like a kind of homecoming, touched with the sadness of knowing the beloved occupants are about to move on. But then there's the knowledge that there are 41 books to revisit, offering a fascinating account of where we have been. Vale Cliff Hardy and thanks for the ride." —Sydney Morning Herald


“[R]eaders will enjoy the ride through the mean Australian streets and beaches." —Publishers Weekly


“[T]his fast-paced, hard-boiled series earned Corris a Ned Kelly Award and recognition as the father of Australian crime fiction.” —Library Journal

From the Publisher

09/01/2017
Tenacious Australian PI Cliff Hardy is approached by affluent businessman Gerard Fonteyn to help find his missing daughter Juliana. Hardy reluctantly agrees, becoming embroiled in a case involving drugs and prostitution. The PI spends Fonteyn's funds traveling from Sydney to Norfolk Island, while teaming with disreputable assistants (including Juliana's determinedly dissolute brother, Foxy) and contending with crooked cops and gangsters. The players in this treacherous game are all out to win, and the body count rises as the story moves to its conclusion. The first Cliff Hardy book debuted almost 35 years ago, and this fast-paced, hard-boiled series earned Corris a Ned Kelly Award and recognition as the father of Australian crime fiction. Over the years, Corris's sleuth has survived all kinds of run-ins with unsavory players; this is his final case. VERDICT Readers may wish to delve into more Australia-based crime fiction by checking out other Ned Kelly winners, especially Peter Temple and Garry Disher.—ACT

Library Journal