Fiona Hardy’s Old Games is a pacey, off-beat Aussie crime story about two best female friends and investigators unravelling the private lives of Melbourne’s celebrity sportspeople.
Morally flexible best mates and private investigators Alice and Teddy pride themselves on fixing every kind of mess imaginable, no questions asked. So, when they’re tasked with locating the recently-stolen ashes of long-dead celebrity tennis player Ashley “Perry” Perrineau, it should be a routine job.
But it quickly becomes clear that everyone who knew Perry is keeping secrets: his accountant despises Perry’s widower; the sculptor of his statue is hiding something in her studio; his ex-doubles partner is a compulsive liar; and his mother is obsessed with preserving his legacy and her image at all costs.
Alice and Teddy will need to travel up and down Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula – all while avoiding more than one person on their tail – to uncover the truth and keep the body count from rising. But will they and the people they love survive what they find?
“[Fiona] masterfully blends and weaves the truths and half-truths until I was thoroughly engrossed, but completely flummoxed as to who has made off with Perry.” – Sisters in Crime
Fiona Hardy is a writer, bookseller and reviewer from Melbourne. Her books for kids include How to Make a Movie in 12 Days, which was a CBCA Notable Book, and How to Write the Soundtrack to Your Life, which won the 2021 Children’s Peace Literature Award.
Her first crime book, Unbury the Dead, was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Awards. Despite her murderous literary writings, in real life, the worst crime she has committed was stealing a single chocolate freckle from a milk bar, aged 7.
Old Games is published by Simon & Schuster (Affirm Press) and is available from all great book sellers including QBD Books.
Image: Old Games – courtesy of Simon & Schuster (Affirm Press)