Review: LEGACY, Chris Hammer

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Libby, provided by my local library 
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Allen & Unwin, Publication date ‏ : ‎ 30 September 2025
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 491 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1761507359
• Book 4 of 4 ‏ : ‎ Martin Scarsden

Synopsis (Publisher) 

Martin Scarsden flees an assassination attempt but lands in even more trouble with a deadly family feud leaving him at death's door in Chris Hammer's next blockbuster crime novel.

MARTIN SCARSDEN IS ON THE RUN. WILL THE DESERT SAVE HIM – OR BURY HIM?

The blast hits them, a shock wave ... glass smashing ... Somewhere a woman screams. A second explosion, and Martin looks towards the hall, what's left of it, flames roaring and smoke pouring skywards.

Someone is targeting Martin Scarsden. They bomb his book launch and shoot up his hometown.

Fleeing for his life, he learns that nowhere is safe, not even the outback. The killers are closing in, and it's all he can do to survive.

But who wants to kill him and why? Can he discover their deadly motives and turn the tables?

In a dramatic finale, Martin finds his fate linked to the disgraced ex-wife of a football icon, a fugitive wanted for a decades-old murder, and two nineteenth-century explorers from a legendary expedition.

Martin Scarsden's most perilous, challenging and intriguing assignment yet. 

My Take

An excellent read. Highly recommended. There is a lovely interweaving of 19th century Australian history with current events. A story about legacy on so many levels. And a lovely Australian flavour. 

Chris Hammer is certainly an author to watch out for.

My rating: 4.9

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 
• 4.7, TREASURE & DIRT - re-read
  
• 4.8, THE TILT - aka DEAD MAN'S CREEK - Detective Nell Buchanan #2
• 4.8, SCRUBLANDS - re-read
• 4.8, THE SEVEN - aka COVER THE BONES - Detective Nell Buchanan #3
• 4.6, THE VALLEY - aka BROKEN RIVER - Detective Nell Buchanan #4 

Review: THE VALLEY, Chris Hammer

• 
  published by Allen & Unwin 2024
  
• ISBN 978-1-76417-088-2
• 446 pages
• Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic #4
  
• aka BROKEN RIVER

Synopsis (publisher)

A body has been discovered on the riverbanks of The Valley, a remote community in the hills of New South Wales. The gold mine at the heart of The Valley was once the lifeblood of this region, but it has been flooded for decades. Over the years, many have tried and failed to bring it back to life. Now, most believe the mine is barren.

The victim is Wolfgang Burnside, deputy mayor – a champion of change or local schemer, depending on who you ask. He had been working on plans to take the Valley off-grid with hydro-power using the lake surrounding the abandoned mine. Until he was poisoned, his body dumped in the river for all to see.

Detectives Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic are dispatched to investigate. The warning is clear – there are secrets lurking in the depths of this Valley, secrets worth more than their weight in gold. What price will this town have to pay to ensure that they never see the light of day? 

My Take

A very dense novel with a complex plot rooted in a least two time periods. The author has the reader working overtime to reconcile facts and theories, to keep track of a huge range of characters and events, and to remember all the salient bits and pieces. You certainly get your money's worth. For me there were still questions at the end where I only thought I had the answers.

Quite a lot more than a murder mystery.

My rating: 4.6

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
  4.7, TREASURE & DIRT - re-read
  
• 4.8, THE TILT - aka DEAD MAN'S CREEK - Detective Nell Buchanan #2
• 4.8, SCRUBLANDS - re-read
• 4.8, THE SEVEN - aka COVER THE BONES - Detective Nell Buchanan #3

Review: TREASURE & DIRT, Chris Hammer

• 
  this edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• aka OPAL COUNTRY
• Imprint:Allen & UnwiN
• Pub Date:30 Aug 2022
• Page Extent:536

Synopsis (Publisher)

An unputdownable standalone thriller from the bestselling author of Scrublands.
In the desolate outback town of Finnigans Gap, police struggle to maintain law and order. Thieves pillage opal mines, religious fanatics recruit vulnerable young people and billionaires do as they please.

Then an opal miner is found crucified and left to rot down his mine. Nothing about the miner's death is straightforward, not even who found the body. Sydney homicide detective Ivan Lucic is sent to investigate, assisted by inexperienced young investigator Nell Buchanan.

But Finnigans Gap has already ended one police career and damaged others, and soon both officers face damning allegations and internal investigations. Have Ivan and Nell been set up and, if so, by whom?

As time runs out, their only chance at redemption is to find the killer. But the more secrets they uncover, the more harrowing the mystery becomes, as events from years ago take on a startling new significance.

For in Finnigans Gap, opals, bodies and secrets don't stay buried forever. 

My Take

I have already reviewed this book, but have re-read it for a discussion with my U3A Crime Fiction readers group.

I must confess that I began reading it as a printed paperback but swapped over about halfway through to a copy that I already had on my Kindle.

Last time I wrote "A book with many themes, a very harsh environment, where the miners themselves struggle to make a living, and a virtual pageant of quirky characters." and I was struck again by the fact that, while there is the central plot of the crucified opal miner, there are a large number of mini plots.  It is also a novel where the Australian outback setting plays a strong role.

If you are looking for something that has strong Australian flavour, then this is it.

My rating: 4.7

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
• 4.8, THE SEVEN - aka COVER THE BONES - Detective Nell Buchanan #3
  

Review: THE SEVEN, Chris Hammer

• 
   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)

Fantastic Fiction

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.

Yuwonderie's seven founding families have lorded it over their district for a century, growing ever more rich and powerful.

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
  

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 

Review: THE TILT, Chris Hammer

• 
  This edition (trade paperback)  published by Allen & Unwin October 2022
  
• ISBN:9781761067419
• 496 pages
• Awards: Longlisted, Best Fiction, Indie Book Awards, 2023, AU

Synopsis (publisher) 

A man runs for his life in a forest.

A woman plans sabotage.

A body is unearthed.

Newly-minted homicide detective Nell Buchanan returns to her home town, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder - a 'file and forget'.

But this is no ordinary cold case, as the discovery of more bodies triggers a chain of escalating events in the present day. As Nell starts to join the pieces together, she begins to question how well she truly knows those closest to her. Could her own family be implicated in the crimes?

The nearer Nell comes to uncovering the secrets of the past, the more dangerous the present becomes for her, as she battles shadowy assailants and sinister forces. Can she survive this harrowing investigation and what price will she have to pay for the truth?

Gripping and atmospheric, The Tilt is a stunning multi-layered novel by the acclaimed and award-winning author of the international bestsellers Scrublands, Silver, Trust and Treasure & Dirt.

My Take

From my point of view, this really is Chris Hammer's best novel so far. Multi-layered, it has a bit of everything: current political issues, current ecological issues, police procedural, cold cases, mystery, puzzles, linkings between the past and the present, history, and a family saga.

When you read this book, look for the geneaological table in the last pages of the book. I found this so useful that I photocopied it for quick reference.

The last thing that Nell Buchanan expects is for her family to be involved in the unknown skeleton unearthed near the river which is the cold case she is assigned to investigate.

The story also gives an overview of how Australia history from the First World War onwards has affected a small rural town.

I was interested too that some of the current issues that Hammer thinks are impacting on rural Australia coincide with those that Garry Disher referred to in DAY'S END which I read recently. 

And finally, for South Australian readers, you will learn more about the history of the River Murray, very relevant today with the current flooding of the river.

My rating: 4.8

I've also read

• 4.7, SCRUBLANDS
• 4.4, SILVER
• 4.6, TREASURE & DIRT 

Review: TREASURE & DIRT, Chris Hammer

• 
  This edition made available as an e-book by my local library through Libby
  
• published by Allen & Unwin Australia, September 2021
• ISBN: 9781760877606
• 512 pages

Synopsis (Publisher)

An unputdownable standalone thriller from the bestselling author of Scrublands.
In the desolate outback town of Finnigans Gap, police struggle to maintain law and order. Thieves pillage opal mines, religious fanatics recruit vulnerable young people and billionaires do as they please.

Then an opal miner is found crucified and left to rot down his mine. Nothing about the miner's death is straightforward, not even who found the body. Sydney homicide detective Ivan Lucic is sent to investigate, assisted by inexperienced young investigator Nell Buchanan.

But Finnigans Gap has already ended one police career and damaged others, and soon both officers face damning allegations and internal investigations. Have Ivan and Nell been set up and, if so, by whom?

As time runs out, their only chance at redemption is to find the killer. But the more secrets they uncover, the more harrowing the mystery becomes, as events from years ago take on a startling new significance.

For in Finnigans Gap, opals, bodies and secrets don't stay buried forever.

A superb standalone thriller from the acclaimed and award-winning author of the international bestsellers Scrublands, Silver and Trust. 

My take

Nell Buchanan is excited to be working with Ivan Lucic. He has just been part of a winning team uncovering corruption at the highest level in New South Wales. However shortly after his arrival he discovers his former investigative partner is being hounded by the police Professional Standards and it is very likely he himself will be next. Ivan needs to play it carefully. Nell herself played the role of whistle blower when she was last posted to Finnigans Gap and has enemies among the police too. 

Finnigans Gap is a harsh environment and the miner who has been crucified had a history that goes back decades. There are limited resources available to the small homicide squad.

And who are dark suited men in the black limousine who appear to be visiting a neighbouring rare earths mine? And what about the two billionaires who seem to be intent on bankrupting each other?

A book with many themes, a very harsh environment, where the miners themselves struggle to make a living, and a virtual pageant of quirky characters.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

4.7, SCRUBLANDS
4.4, SILVER

Review: SILVER, Chris Hammer

• format: kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 1958 KB
• Print Length: 444 pages
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin (October 1, 2019)
• Publication Date: October 1, 2019
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
• Language: English
• ASIN: B07TNHDYBG

Synopsis (Amazon)

For half a lifetime, journalist Martin Scarsden has run from his past. But now there is no escaping.

He'd vowed never to return to his hometown, Port Silver, and its traumatic memories. But now his new partner, Mandy Blonde, has inherited an old house in the seaside town and Martin knows their chance of a new life together won't come again.

Martin arrives to find his best friend from school days has been brutally murdered, and Mandy is the chief suspect. With the police curiously reluctant to pursue other suspects, Martin goes searching for the killer. And finds the past waiting for him.

He's making little progress when a terrible new crime starts to reveal the truth. The media descend on Port Silver, attracted by a story that has it all: sex, drugs, celebrity and religion. Once again, Martin finds himself in the front line of reporting.

Yet the demands of deadlines and his desire to clear Mandy are not enough: the past is ever present.

My Take

Set in a fictional seaside town on the New South Wales northern coast, this novel seems to have a bit of everything. An undeveloped coastal retreat with a number of people with big ideas on how to make money, a swami taking advantage of the secludedness, others who enjoy the backwater nature of their home town. It starts with a murder and then follows with something even worse.

The plot has a number of complex threads and the book is definitely a sequel to the first Martin Scarsden novel, SCRUBLANDS for which the author recently won a CWA Dagger. However I felt my reading of SILVER was hampered by the fact that I seem to have forgotten some of the lesser threads of SCRUBLANDS. So, if you are wondering if you can read SILVER as a stand-alone, then the answer is probably no.

But Chris Hammer is obviously a writer to follow. The setting has a strong Australian flavour, and the main character Martin Scarsden is nicely flawed.

And will there be a sequel to SILVER? I'm not sure, unless Martin Scarsden becomes involved in an entirely new case. In this novel we learnt a lot about his past, his relationship with Mandy Blonde definitely went through some rocky times, so where now?

My rating: 4.4

I've also read
4.7, SCRUBLANDS