Peter Corris is an award-winning Australian crime writer whose hero, private investigator Cliff Hardy, has featured in 35 previous novels.
His latest, Torn Apart (Allen and Unwin, pbk, $35), has Cliff recovering from heart surgery and semi-retired.
However, the sudden appearance of his look-alike second cousin Patrick gets Cliff involved in a series of incidents, including murder, that require all his sleuthing skills to solve.
The story is rather disjointed, moving from Sydney to Ireland and back while the two men explore their links to a band of gypsy-like wanderers The Irish Travellers.
Their return to Sydney culminates in murder and Cliff is a suspect, so he has his work cut out as he untangles the mystery of the killer's identity and motive while trying to clear his name.
Although there is plenty of action, the writing is rather pedestrian and the characters don't come alive.
It was disappointing.
I was wrong.
It has an intriguing story line and the polished, easily-digested text captured me.
That interest could be perhaps because the scene is set in Auckland and involves New Zealanders and incidents I can relate to or which have recently had a public profile.
But, regardless, Alix Bosco has created an enjoyable book, for her first novel.
She has successfully taken the clichéd topic of someone falsely accused of murder and put in a New Zealand context of South Auckland gangs, life in those suburbs, P-use, violence and the shallowness of the celebrity set.
The story revolves around Anna Markunas, a lawyer recovering from a family tragedy, who is asked to help defend a South Auckland youth accused of murdering his former friend, a rising Polynesian rugby star.
It has many twists and turns which keeps your attention right to the end.
All up, an engrossing but an easy read by a writer I am certain we will hear more from.
