British agent goes down under to investigate the disappearance of a top scientist--and the deaths of the first two agents sent to investigate. This is a well-told, hardboiled tale that takes place in a rather murkily depicted 1954 Australia as the agent comes into contact with various members of the lower depths of society - or at least the lower depths of humanity! Inexplicably, however, Hardy mars the ending of the book by having his hero semi offstage for most of the action - nevertheless, this is worth your while - though it reads more like a private eye tale than a spy story.

The book reads like a sequel, and indeed, it appears there was a precursor featuring the same character, called "Requiem for a Redhead".

Hardy was an Australian living in New York, and this book was serialized in the Sydney Morning Herald in July 1954, if a Google search is reliable. ( )