Scrublands

Journalist Martin Scarsden arrives in Riversend, a town traumatised by tragedy, to write a piece on how the residents are coping one year on from a mass shooting. However as he talks to more and more locals the reason for the shooting doesn’t seem to fit the perpetrator. With his journalistic instincts propelling him on, Martin’s focus begins to shift and he becomes further embedded in the lives of the residents. But not everyone is happy about him being there as slowly one by one the town’s secrets are disclosed.

What originally looked like an open and shut case turns into a compelling mystery filled with assumptions and lies.

Hammer throws his readers straight into the height of an Australian summer with his vivid descriptions of show more the unrelenting heat, the diminishing rural town and the ever present threat of bushfires.

Four different crimes, all taking place in and around the same drought-ravaged town, all separate but all inter-linked, driven by greed and hate, guilt and hope.

Scrublands is a taut thriller with well developed characters and multiple plot lines that will keep you turning the pages.

The mystery had me completely baffled and my head was whirling as each new revelation was revealed. I was totally immersed in the characters and their stories.

A must read for fans of Jane Harper.

*With thanks to Allen & Unwin for my copy to read and review. show less

This was working brilliantly for me up to the point where Martin gets sacked by his newspaper. I was surprised by the author's ability to make me empathize with a journalist (I am usually firmly on the side of the police) and enjoyed Martin's interactions with the various people he interviewed.

However, once he got together with Goffing, to really get to the bottom of things, the plot became more complicated and less believable. It also slowed down a lot. The ending tied things up neatly, but I suppose I had hoped for something simpler and more devastating somehow. I could have done without the 'romance' with Mandy.

Nevertheless excellent.

Scrublands by Australian author Chis Hammer is a compelling story with an intricate plot. Peopled by colorful characters, and offering vivid descriptions of a land dying under a drought. The main character, Martin Scarsden is a journalist who comes to the dying town of Riversend to complete a story on how the town is doing a year after a priest gunned down five men.

What he finds is a dying town with more businesses closed than open. Residents who have stayed are now leaving due to the drought. The river that the town is built beside, has dried up and exposed it’s dry, cracked bottom. The locals that are left all have their own opinions and ideas about the minister’s shocking breakdown. What does become apparent is that there is show more much more to the story than what had already been reported.

As Martin investigates he finds that something much darker and dangerous is lurking nearby and that there is more violence coming and more secrets to reveal. With it’s harsh surrounding scrub-lands, scorching heat and rising tensions, this atmospheric story unfolds in a very satisfying manner. show less

Scrublands by Chris Hammer is the real buzz book of the moment and I'm happy to report it's worth all of the hype. Scrublands is a whydunnit crime mystery about secrets, sex, murder and deception set in a fictional country town in the Riverina during a severe drought. Readers who wonder if this is going to be a rip off of The Dry by Jane Harper needn't worry, this is nothing like it.

Martin is a journalist sent to Riversend to write a piece on the one year anniversary of the church shooting. But as soon as he starts talking to a few of the locals, their stories give him cause to doubt the well accepted facts of the case: Priest shoots five locals before being shot dead by the local copper.

Australian author Chris Hammer draws on his show more personal knowledge of being a journalist to produce our protagonist Martin Scarsden and he's a compelling character. I enjoyed his attempts to get to the bottom of the shooting whilst taking delight in just how quickly he's caught up in the small town goings on. I'd have preferred fewer references to his hands, but that's just a minor quibble.

Scrublands has some cracking country characters (Harley Snouch, Codger Harris) and without a doubt, the best bushfire scene I've ever read in a novel. I thoroughly enjoyed the references to Australian media outlets and the politics that goes on between journalists, reporters and photographers as they compete for an edge on the developing story.

Here's my favourite quote from the book that reminds me of the song Flame Trees by Cold Chisel:
"And there is something about old friends, old loves, those who you were young with: when you see them after many years, they don't appear as they are now, but as they were. You can see past the pudginess and wrinkles, past cloudy eyes and sagging jawlines. You can see them as they were when they were young and vital." Page 261

I thoroughly enjoyed unravelling this whydunnit/whodunnit and can unreservedly recommend Scrublands by Chris Hammer to readers everywhere. It will appeal to crime and mystery lovers and it wouldn't surprise me if it was nominated for some awards by the end of the year.

* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin * show less

““Martin, there’s a better story, you know. Better than wallowing in the pain of a town in mourning.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘Why he did it.””

Journalist Martin Scarsden has been sent to the rural community of Riversend to report on how it is faring a year on from the day the town’s priest stood on the church steps and shot dead five men.

No one is quite sure why he did it, though speculation suggested Byron Swift, the charismatic priest, was about to be outed as a paedophile and murdered the men to silence his accusers. Local bookstore owner and single mother, Mandalay Blonde, is adamant there is another explanation, and urges Martin to investigate.

Martin, still reeling from a recent brush with death in the Middle East show more while on assignment, would rather just do his job and get out, but as he gathers material for his story, instinct tells him that Mandy is right.

Scrublands is a thrilling debut novel from Chris Hammer, a journalist of thirty years experience. A gripping mystery, with appealing characters and an atmospheric setting, you are sure to find yourself engrossed from the first page.

“Time to find something else to do between here and oblivion.”

Martin Scarsden is a well-crafted and interesting protagonist. After a harrowing experience in the Middle East, he isn’t sure he has the stomach for investigative journalism anymore, yet he can’t ignore the inconsistencies he uncovers. In part Martin is able to find answers simply by being in the right place at the right time, and earning the trust of a few select locals, including town Constable Robbie Haus-Jones. Perhaps unwisely, he becomes intimately involved with Mandalay, adding another layer of complication to his investigation, but it’s clear that the connections Martin makes with the townspeople encourages him to seek the truth, revealing a man, who despite his flaws, has integrity and heart.

“‘Every time I think we’re getting somewhere, it slips through our fingers. You get that feeling?’”

The mystery at the heart of Scrublands is complex and compelling. What possible reason could a priest have for murdering five people in cold blood? Everybody has secrets, and as Martin digs for the truth they begin to unravel, exposing Byron Swift’s motive, a string of deceits, and a stunning conspiracy. Hammer handles the multiple threads well, though at times the story can feel a little crowded.

“The heat is worse. Yesterday’s wind has turned hot and ugly, gusting in from the north-west, propelling fine particles of dust and carrying the threat of fire. The very country Martin is driving through looks sick: anaemic trees, spindly shrubs and, between them, more dirt than grass. He’s driven from the black soil of the flood plain into the Scrublands, a huge peninsula of mulga scrub where there is no soil, just the red granular earth, like an oversized ants’ nest.“

Hammer evokes the town, it’s people, and the landscape with beautifully descriptive phrasing. It is the height of summer, Riversend, as a victim of the seemingly endless drought, is a dying town surrounded by a dying landscape. With a population of only a few hundred, those that remain are barely able to hold body and soul together.

I raced through Scrublands in one sitting, captivated by Chris Hammer’s vividly rendered tale of duplicity, betrayal, and murder. An impressive crime novel, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. show less

Chris Hammer wastes no time grabbing your attention in Scrublands, the new thriller set in a parched Australian landscape. A young priest commits a deadly act, tearing apart a small town and forever changing the lives of everyone there. Nearly a year later, journalist Martin Scarsden shows up to write a piece on how the town is coping.

Riversend is a town on the edge of collapse, besieged by both drought and tragedy. As Scarsden begins talking to people for his story, what he finds surprises him. The priest, who was accused of being a pedophile before the deadly events, is remembered fondly by some. The accusations not universally believed. Martin digs into the story and even as what he finds confuses him, another tragedy hits the town. show more Martin is on the scene and scoops everyone, but he may have his facts wrong. Now he is not only covering the story, but he is also part of it. The media descends and the nation’s eyes are focused on Riversend once again, and the truth may be more sensational than anyone could have imagined.

Chris Hammer puts together a crackling story filled with fascinating and tragic characters. His evocative description of the drought and the scorching heat paint such a vivid picture it actually makes you thirsty. The characters and the town itself are so beautifully rendered that you can imagine it as well as your own hometown. Martin Scarsden has troubles from his past that he is working through even as he tries to unravel the truth of what happened in Riversend. He is at odds with himself as he tries to retain journalistic distance while being sucked into events and the lives of the people in the town. He serves as a proxy for the reader who is skillfully drawn into the story, each new bit of information changing what you thought you knew. The dry, dusty, tinderbox of a landscape is a perfect metaphor for the town’s tragedy. One spark away from igniting their pain all over again.

Hammer’s background as a journalist has honed his writing skills to a fine degree, making this fiction debut a must-read. It is a satisfying mystery, filled with drama and tragedy, forging an emotional connection you won’t soon forget. I am once more impressed by the wave of Australian authors who are writing some of the most interesting thrillers around. Do yourself a favor and pick up Scrublands. It may end up being one of the best things you’ll read all year.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. show less

Like the fictional village of St. Mary Mead or the county of Midsomer, there is a lot of crime in Riversend. Don’t move there is my advice. But since the town itself is dying, not just citizens and backpackers, there isn’t much fear of that. And that’s what I’m on the fence about. Do I applaud the writer for not making everything one big conspiracy, or do I scoff at there being so much murderous mayhem in a town hardly anyone lives in? It’s a tough call.

The writing is good and the story moves along in a way that is plausible, but convoluted. Luckily for us, Martin gives us many summings-up along the way. Normally I don’t like that kind of thing, but it was useful with this book (especially since it was an audio). show more Unfortunately the most prominent female character is basically a wish-fulfillment vehicle - something for the hero to screw, woo and rescue. Sigh. show less