Scrublands, Chris Hammer
Scrublands, Chris Hammer
2 Rating(s)
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

Scrublands

Author: Chris Hammer

Narrator: Rupert Degas

Unabridged: 13 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/08/2019


Synopsis

In this searing, “indisputable page-turner” (Associated Press), a town’s dark secrets come to light in the aftermath of a young priest’s unthinkable last act—in the vein of The Dry and Where the Crawdads Sing.

In Riversend, an isolated Australian community afflicted by an endless drought, a young priest does the unthinkable: he kills five parishioners before being taken down himself.

A year later, journalist Martin Scarsden arrives in Riversend. His assignment: to report how the townspeople are coping as the anniversary of the tragedy approaches. But as Martin meets the locals and hears their version of events, he begins to realize that the accepted explanation—a theory established through an award-winning investigation by Martin’s own newspaper—may be wrong.

Just as Martin believes he’s making headway, a shocking new crime rocks the town. As the national media flocks to the scene, Martin finds himself thrown into a whole new mystery.

What was the real reason behind the priest’s shooting spree? And how does it connect to other deaths in the district, if at all? Martin struggles to uncover the town’s dark secrets, putting his job, his mental state, and his very life at risk.

For fans of James Lee Burke, Jane Harper, and Robert Crais, Scrublands is “a gritty debut...sensitively rendered” (The New York Times Book Review) that marks Chris Hammer as a stunning new voice in crime fiction.

About Chris Hammer

Christopher Hammer lives in Australia and was a journalist for over thirty years. As a foreign correspondent, he reported from more than thirty countries on six continents, as well as covering Australian national politics for television, newspapers, and magazines. Following the breakout success of his debut novel, Scrublands, he now writes fiction full time. 


Reviews

Goodreads review by David on November 08, 2020

I’m caught between liking this book and loving it. Is that three and a half stars? The story is well drawn with only one point of view and is written in present tense which adds immediacy to the pacing. The environment and scenery carry equal weight to a main character and create a great atmosphere......more

Goodreads review by Tammy on November 27, 2018

A lot goes on in this novel and I do mean a lot. A seasoned but burned-out journalist descends upon a dying town in the Australian outback to cover the aftermath of a mass shooting. Over the course of two weeks he encounters suicides, romance, murders, a car accident, fires and on and on. This novel......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on August 01, 2024

I’ve got a penchant for Aussie authors, of late. Having been introduced to Liane Moriarty through the excellent Big Little Lies I worked my way through her full catalogue and then devoured the three books written to date by Jane Harper. For me there’s something about the culture and the place that s......more

Goodreads review by Kylie on March 02, 2020

Riversend is a town on the edge. Plagued by drought, fires, and a priest that opened fire on his parishioners, killing five before being shot dead by police. A year after the tragedy tormented journalist Martin Scarsden arrives in town to write an article about how the town is recovering from the tr......more

Goodreads review by PattyMacDotComma on July 06, 2023

5★ “Blaming him. Christ. And he thought the day couldn’t get any worse. It’s not even 9.30 am. ‘I’ve got to go, Martin, but if I were you, I’d be making myself scarce. No one is going to want to know you after this.’” Martin Scarsden, former soldier, foreign correspondent, handsome young, love-‘em-and......more