cover appeal denied PETER CORRIS is known as the ‘godfather’ of Australian crime fiction through his Cliff Hardy detective stories. He has written in many other areas, including a co-authored autobiography of the late Professor Fred Hollows, a history of boxing in Australia, spy novels, historical novels and a collection of short stories about golf (see www.petercorris.net. He is married to writer Jean Bedford and lives in Sydney. They have three Bedford and lives in Sydney. They have three daughters. PETER CORRIS appeal denied A CLIFF HARDY NOVEL Thanks to Jean Bedford, Jo Jarrah and Tom Kelly. The Northern Crimes Unit of the New South Wales Police Service does not exist, and all characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance between actual people and circumstances is coincidental. First published in 2007 Copyright © Peter Corris 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. Allen & Unwin 83 Alexander Street Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100 Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218 Email: [email protected] Web: www.allenandunwin.com National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Corris, Peter, 1942– . Appeal denied: a Cliff Hardy novel. ISBN 978 174175 0 966 (pbk.). 1. Hardy, Cliff (Fictitious character) – Fiction. 2. Private investigators – New South Wales – Sydney – Fiction. I. Title. A823.3 Set in 12/14 pt Adobe Garamond by Midland Typesetters, Australia Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Lesley McFadzean Contents part one 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 part two 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26