A scientist in Switzerland had perfected a synthetic fuel that was cheaper and cleaner than oil, and everyone wanted to get their hands on it. Some wanted to make it available to the world. Others wanted to make sure the formula never saw the light of day again.

The key to finding it lay with private eye Larry Kent, who was pressed back into service by his old masters at the CIA. And yet, he soon defected to the cause of a power-hungry billionaire recluse who wanted to rule the world.

What was he doing? He was supposed to be one of the good guys, wasn’t he? But he seems to be playing both ends against middle - for his own gain!

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 whisky, and within the first dozen pages 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.