Scrublands by Chris Hammer, Book Review, wow!
How much did I love this book ? Let me count the ways: It has a great start, plunging you into straight into the heart of the mystery. The setting is beautifully sketched; the dying town of Riversend, with its dried up river bed and forlorn empty houses, the scrubby wasteland all around. As for the climate: I could feel the heat, I struggled to breathe the hot, dry air. My eyes too were blinded by the searing sun. And I forgot that I live in colder and wetter climes. I was instantly intrigued by the characters, all of them, from the town drunk to the enigmatic beauty running the local book shop. The intricately woven and yet pacey plot had me guessing and guessing again, all the way through. I haven’t read much Australian crime, and if it’s all like this one, I’ve been missing out. Chris Hammer, himself a journalist, sends his troubled protagonist Martin Scarsden to Riversend in the drought-ridden outback to find a story that will sell papers. Some peo...