Review: SCRUBLANDS, Chris Hammer

• 
  This novel read as an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B079Z1VHZL
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Allen & Unwin (1 April 2019)
• 384 pages
• #1 in Martin Scarsden series
  

Synopsis (Amazon)

Winner of the 2019 CWA Dagger New Blood Award for Best First Crime Novel

In an isolated country town brought to its knees by endless drought, a charismatic and dedicated young priest calmly opens fire on his congregation, killing five parishioners before being shot dead himself.

A year later, troubled journalist Martin Scarsden arrives in Riversend to write a feature on the anniversary of the tragedy. But the stories he hears from the locals about the priest and incidents leading up to the shooting don't fit with the accepted version of events his own newspaper reported in an award-winning investigation. Martin can't ignore his doubts, nor the urgings of some locals to unearth the real reason behind the priest's deadly rampage.

Just as Martin believes he is making headway, a shocking new development rocks the town, which becomes the biggest story in Australia. The media descends on Riversend and Martin is now the one in the spotlight. His reasons for investigating the shooting have suddenly become very personal.

Wrestling with his own demons, Martin finds himself risking everything to discover a truth that becomes darker and more complex with every twist. But there are powerful forces determined to stop him, and he has no idea how far they will go to make sure the town's secrets stay buried. 

Hammer published his debut novel Scrublands in August 2018. It shot straight to number one for four weeks and stayed on the bestseller lists for months. It has sold in excess of 80,000 copies.

Earning outstanding reviews in Australia and overseas, Scrublands—set in a dry, dusty outback town—has established Hammer’s place among an elite handful of Australian thriller writers, who have made ‘Aussie noir’ a publishing success here and internationally.

My Take

My earlier review: 4.7, SCRUBLANDS

I am re-reading this novel over 4 years after I originally read it in order to lead a discussion in my monthly U3A Crime Fiction group.

So what I have done is compose a list of discussion points based around the complex and interlaced plot lines we see in the novel.

1.  Martin Scarsden's career - what has happened to him in the past? (in the trunk of a car for 3 days). As a result he thinks his career as a journalist may be at an end.
   He recognises that instead of reporting events without involvement, he has become part of them. In what ways is this true?
2. Martin is sent to Riversend by his editor at Fairfax Press to write a piece about how the town has recovered from what happened there nearly a year ago. How/why does he get side-tracked?
3. The unsolved mystery - why did Byron Swift shoot 5 people outside the church, and then force the constable Robbie Haus-Jones into shooting him?
   - Byron Swift's background
   - the involvement of ASIO - money being sent out of the country to Dubai attracts attention (they don't realise where it is going, think maybe it is going to Jehadists) What is the thread here?
   
4. Harley Snouch - Mandy Blonde's story - did the rape happen?
5. Why did Mandy's mother tell her to put her affairs in order by the time she was 30?
6. The disappearance of the two female German backpackers a year before.
   The story took a backseat when the church massacre happened.
7. Codger Harris, ex bank manager. Why he has become a recluse.
8. Where is Harley Snouch getting the money to renovate Springfields?
9. The wealth coming into the town. Accepted by people as money that the priest is contributing. They don't want to know how it is being generated.
10. The bikies riding through the town. Who are they?
11. What happens at Scrublands? Shooting. Drug factory.
12. The role of fire - what is burnt?
13. Martin's relationship with Mandy.
14. Did you take any notice of the chapter titles? Are they significant?
15. The role of the drought - the heat - what is the significance of coming of the rain?
16.  The profile of the town. How would you sum it up?
17. The suicide of Herb Walker, the sergeant at Bellington.
18. The cutthroat nature of the media. The media feeding frenzy. Why is Martin dismissed by Fairfax?
19. The car crash of the two boys. The death of Allen Newkirk. Why is he a significant character?
20. How satisfied were you with the final explanation? Did everything come together for you? Why did Byron Swift crack? Whose fault was it?
21. Where there any factors/events in the novel that struck you that have not been covered in the pointers above? e.g. the connections between Byron Swift and Avery Foster (ex SAS) and the veteran living in Scrublands.
22. Riversend was once more prosperous than it is now. What signs are there of this prosperity? What blows has it been dealt? (effects of location, drought, changes in technology)
23. What does Chris Hammer do particularly well?
    

From Ten Questions to Chris Hammer

There was a lot going on in Scrublands, with several crimes and interwoven plot-lines.

The drought-ravaged setting played a large part in Scrublands. 

Reading Group Questions

From Together We Read discussion group

• Despite being set in a fictional town, Scrublands has a strong sense of place. What elements does Chris Hammer include to achieve this?
• What assumptions at the beginning of the novel did you think could not be true? Did any of the twists and turns surprise you?
• What did you think of the ending of the book? Were all your questions answered? 

My rating: 4.8

I've also read

• 4.7, SCRUBLANDS
• 4.4, SILVER
• 4.6, TREASURE & DIRT 
• 4.8, THE TILT