- this edition made available to me as an e-book on Libby through my local library
- Publisher : Allen & Unwin (3 October 2023)
- Paperback : 512 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1761067427
- ISBN-13 : 978-1761067426
- aka COVER THE BONES
- Detective Nell Buchanan #3
Synopsis (distributor)
A body has washed up in an irrigation canal, the artery running through Yuwonderie, a man-made paradise on the border of the Outback. Stabbed through the heart, electrocuted and dumped under cover of night, there is no doubt that detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan are dealing with a vicious homicide.
The victim is Athol Hasluck, member of one of the seven dynasties who have controlled every slice of bountiful land in this modern-day Eden for generations.
But this is not an isolated incident. Someone is targeting the landed aristocracy of this quiet paradise in the desert. Secrets stretching back decades are rising to the surface at last - but the question remains, who stands to gain most from their demise?
Can Ivan and Nell track down a killer before the guilt at the heart of these seven families takes the entire town down with it?
Amazon
The latest stunning thriller from the bestselling author of Scrublands and The Tilt.
But now—in startling circumstances—one of their own is found dead in a ditch and homicide detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan are sent to investigate.
Could the murder be connected to the execution of the victim's friend thirty years ago—another member of The Seven—or even to the long-forgotten story of a servant girl on the brink of the Great War?
What are the secrets The Seven are so desperate to keep hidden?
With the killer still on the loose and events spiralling out of control, the closer Ivan and Nell get to discovering the truth, the more dangerous their investigation becomes. Can they crack the case before more people die?
The Seven is a compelling thriller filled with intrigue, emotional depth and an evocative sense of place—where nothing is ever quite what it seems. Chris Hammer, the acclaimed and bestselling author of the international bestsellers Scrublands, Treasure & Dirt and The Tilt, can take his place among the world's finest crime writers.
My Take
Three main time frames, 1913 just before the outbreak of World War One, 1934, and December 2022?
In the first Bessie Walker, part aboriginal girl, newly arrived to work at Three Wells Station begins the first of many letters to her mother. In the most recent time frame, Sergeant Ivan Lucic and Detective Constable Nell Buchanan have arrived at Yuwonderie to investigate the murder of local accountant Athol Hasluck, a lowly member of one of the founding families, The Seven. The district is the local fiefdom of MP Otto Titchfield, Federal member for Family First. Otto is also a member of The Seven.
In 1994 one of the heirs to The Seven and his girlfriend disappeared.
Underlying everything in this story is the importance of water and water rights, and everything the seven families (originally more) have done to control the rights to the water. For over 100 years, since the setting up of the local irrigation scheme, the heads of the seven families have done what has been needed to maintain their positions of privelege. And in the 21st century nothing has changed.
This is a demanding read, the reader having to keep their wits abut them and to remember details, names of characters, and connections. It is also the story of corruption, scams, the vulnerability of those who think they are invulnerable, and the burdens of living with "the dry".
For those who wondered what happened to him, Harley Snouch makes a reappearance.
for those who make it through to the end, a twist you won't see coming.
My rating: 4.8
I've also read
-
4.7, SCRUBLANDS - Martin Scarsden #1
- 4.4, SILVER - - Martin Scarsden #2
- 4.6, TREASURE & DIRT - aka OPAL COUNTRY - Detective Nell Buchanan #1
- 4.8, THE TILT - aka DEAD MAN'S CREEK - Detective Nell Buchanan #2
- 4.8, SCRUBLANDS - re-read
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