Cirrus@Austlit

'As 1959 dawns, Billy Glasheen is in deeper trouble than ever. The past has caught up with him in the form of Fred Slaney, Sydney's meanest, most corrupt cop, who's got Billy framed up for the murder of his crooked partner. Not that Slaney wants to arrest him - what he wants is ten grand. He gives Billy a choice - pay up within six months, or take early retirement, forever. Billy can't think of a legal way to come up with the money that fast, and anyway, earning an honest living has never been his strength. 

'So what's the answer? Up the ante on Uncle Dick's mailorder scams? Rig a horse race or two? Rob a bank? Maybe all of the above? Surely something will work...and it does, though not in the way you might expect - and not before Billy's situation gets a whole lot worse.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (2019 ed.).

'Meet Billy Glasheen, a fresh voice in crime fiction. It’s Sydney, the 1950s, and Billy’s trying to make a living, any way he can. Luckily, he’s a likeable guy, with a gift for masterminding elaborate scenarios – whether it’s a gambling scam, transporting a fortune in stolen jewels, or keeping the wheels greased during a hair-raising tour by Little Richard and his rock ‘n’ roll entourage.

But trouble follows close behind—because Billy’s schemes always seem to interfere with the plans of Sydney’s big players, an unholy trinity of crooks, bent cops, and politicians on the make. Suddenly he’s in the frame for murder, and on the run from the police, who’ll happily send him down for it. Billy’s no sleuth, but there’s nowhere to turn for help. To prove it wasn’t him, he’ll have to find the real killer.' (Publication summary)