The irrigation canal stretches into the distance, perfect for waterskiing: two kilometres long, ten metres wide, ruler-straight, almost as large as Yuwonderie's main canal. There's a gentle breeze wafting in from the north, enough to ripple the surface. Eggs splashes water onto his face, then eases himself into the canal, feeling its sun-warmed embrace. It's Sunday, and his supervisor at the Wholesalers has let him off early. The others were already here waiting, preparing...
***
NO ONE IS EVER INNOCENT IN PARADISE.
A small town.
A closely guarded secret, stretching back decades.
And blood in the water.
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?
***
I was very excited about reading this book as I had previously read and enjoyed Dead Man's Creek (you can read my review by clicking here). This book is part of the Ivan Lucic and Nell Bucanan series. The previous book focused on Nell but this book focuses more on Ivan.
Initially, I found it difficult to get into, and I cannot really blame the book for that. I had a houseful of guests over the festive period, and this just was not the right book to start at that time. It is a book that deserves to be read in decent sized chunks rather than trying to grab a quick few pages at bedtime before I fell asleep from the exhaustion of entertaining.
Once I got into it though (and life had quieted down) it made for a gripping read. It had three timelines running throughout the book; a series of letters initially written in 1913, along with narratives of 1993 and the present day. Each of these is interspersed throughout the book, and the author skillfully merges them altogether at the conclusion of the book.
The book deals with themes such as environmental issues, wealth, greed, power, and the lengths people will go to in order to protect their own power.
Mr Hammer describes the environment in which the book is set excellently. His depiction of small town Australia enabled me to get a real sense of place. I found it thought provoking to consider how much the fear of drought had on the lives of the town's residents. Sitting here in rainy old England, drought is something which we rarely have to think about and the book made me grateful for that.
It is an excellent story with plenty of twists and turns, and an ending which I did not see coming. All in all it is a superb book which I highly recommend.
ISBN: 978 1472295712
Publisher: Wildfire
Formats: e-book, audio and hardback
No. of Pages: 512 (hardback)
About the Author:
Chris Hammer is a leading Australian crime fiction novelist, author of the internationally bestselling Martin Scarsden series: Scrublands, Silver and Trust.
Now Chris has started a new series, beginning with Treasure & Dirt (Australia & New Zealand) / Opal Country (UK & international) and followed in 2022/23 by The Tilt/Dead Man’s Creek.
Scrublands was an instant bestseller upon publication in 2018, topping the Australian fiction charts.
It was shortlisted for major writing awards in Australia, the UK and the United States. In the UK it was named the Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Year 2019 and won the prestigious UK Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award.
Scrublands, Silver and Trust all feature troubled journalist Martin Scarsden and his partner Mandalay Blonde, while Treasure & Dirt follows homicide detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan.
All of Chris’s books have atmospheric Australian settings, a range of colourful characters, intricate plots, descriptive language and emotional depth.
Before turning to fiction, Chris was a journalist for more than thirty years. He reported from more than 30 countries on six continents for SBS TV. In Canberra, roles included chief political correspondent for The Bulletin, senior writer for The Age and Online Political Editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Chris has written two non-fiction books The River (2010) – winner of the ACT Book of the Year – and The Coast (2012), published by Melbourne University Press.
He has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Charles Sturt University and a master’s degree in International Relations from the Australian National University. He lives in Canberra, Australia with his wife, Dr Tomoko Akami. The couple have two children.
His latest novel, Cover the Bones is also published under the title, The Seven.
(author photo and bio info courtesy of the author's own website)
(ARC courtesy of the publisher)
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