Book Review - The Marvellous Boy by Peter Corris

 The Marvellous Boy by Peter Corris

Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2014 (First published 1982)       ISBN 9781743439883

I was keen to get my teeth into another Cliff Hardy book after reading the first in the series (The Dying Trade) recently. I couldn't get my hands on the second book, and so it's number three, The Marvellous Boy that has kept me occupied for a few hours this week.

Hardy is back again, this time trying to track down the long-lost grandson of Lady Chatterton. Corris has obviously become more comfortable with his creation, as he in turns follows and is followed, roughs people up and is roughed up himself, and gets entangled with a female reporter while fending off a suspect's wife.

For me, there was a bit of a sense of Corris going through the motions here - ensuring that Hardy is knocked out a couple of times, that he has the appropriate number of run-ins with less salubrious members of society, and that he has the right number of knotty problems to unravel before he gets his man.

That stated, The Marvellous Boy is a page-turner, and the grittiness of Sydney in the 1980s comes through the writing. It's not great literature, but it's a good read - I imagine I'll work my way through the series.

One strange thing I noticed - one of the protagonist's cars changed from a Datsun to a Toyota mid-chase...hmm...

Cheers for now, from

A View Over the Bell