Deal me out

This is an early title in the Cliff Hardy series by Peter Corris. It was first published in 1986. Cliff is hired to locate a car that has been stolen from a car hire firm. He discovers that the person who took the car is known to him, William Mountain, but he also discovers that Mountain is missing. Mountain's girlfriend is also looking for him and works with Cliff to try and locate him. It soon becomes obvious that they are not the only people looking for William Mountain and the search is becoming dangerous. Murder and hostage taking are only two of the dangers encountered as Hardy uncovers the deadly game that Mountain is playing. This is a fast moving Sydney based crime novel.