Larry Kent was on his way back to New York, fresh from a fishing vacation in the Gulf. When he stopped off in the city of Faro, his plan was to get a drink and something to eat and then move on. But the bartender at the Green Light made the mistake of serving him a Mickey Finn and then robbing him.

Larry woke up in a deserted alleyway with a pounding headache...and inadvertently became the star witness in the cold-blooded murder of a prominent businessman.

He quickly discovered that Faro was hock-deep in corruption. The Mafia was planning to move in and take over completely. Only Larry stood between the mob and their latest conquest. So he became a marked man...and every hitman around intended to collect on that Big Contract.

About Larry Kent

Larry Kent started his life as the hero of a half-hour radio show on Australia’s Macquarie Network, and was inspired chiefly by the success of the hard-boiled mysteries of Carter Brown. As the popularity of the radio show grew, the Cleveland Publishing Pty. Ltd decided to publish a series of Larry Kent novels. Two authors, Don Haring (an American who lived in Australia) and Des R Dunn (a Queenslander) are primarily associated with the series. Between 1954 and 1983, Larry appeared in well over 400 adventures.

Kent is a typical hard-boiled private eye. He smokes Camels, drinks whiskey, and within the first part or so, has usually met a dame and is fighting for his life. His mean streets are pure New York (although the radio series was set in Australia) and include Harlem nightclubs and Jersey roadhouses.

Generally, the body counts are high: about six deaths per novel.
But there’s another side to Larry Kent. He’s a Vietnam war veteran, he used to work for the CIA and still does, usually reluctantly, on occasion. And once, when an attempt was made on his life, the Agency paid for him to have plastic surgery that altered his appearance - something he never quite managed to get used to.

Larry Kent is fast and fun, and Piccadilly Publishing is proud to be bringing his cases to a whole new generation of fans.