To anyone who has not met Cliff Hardy, the series is quite
enjoyable.
It is pretty much strict genre fare, but it sustains a
quality of
writing throughout the series, good plotting and Cliff is a
great
character. The Australian setting makes for another level of
interest.
In the same box as my Corris books I found another series I
really
liked. W. Glenn Duncan wrote six paperback originals in the
Rafferty
series of paperback originals, beginning with Rafferty's
Rules. Another
generic PI, he always seemed to be the remedy to my
increasing
displeasure with Robert Parker, before I stopped reading him
altogether.
The only thing that kept me reading as long as I did was
Hawk. Like
Spenser (and Easy Rawlins, come to think of it), Rafferty has
a bad-ass
sidekick who does the dirty work the private eye is too
noble/squeamish
to soil himself with. Other characers, including his
girlfriend, fill
out the regular cast. Duncan never takes himself too
seriously, keeping
the series light, with a nice sense of humor, including
Rafferty's
numerous rules, which he clearly makes up on the spot, to fit
whatever
the situation is, giving each its own arbitrary number. In a
lot of
ways, this series was a precursor to Robert Crais's Elvis
Cole, thinner
books, in pages and content, but similar appeal.
Mark
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