This book really got under my skin and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I finished it! It is slightly too long and I felt it would benefit from some editing but the storytelling skill, characterisation and twisty-ness of the plot were really excellent. The real star of this novel, though, is Riversend - Hammer's depiction of the place is so vivid that I felt as though I had actually visited it.

I enjoyed it even more than Jane Harper's The Dry and it deserves to be just as big a hit. I can't wait to read what Chris Hammer does next. Hope that the TV rights get snapped up.

A fantastic read but very long, it could benefit from further editing. The setting is first class, the characterisation is wonderful and I was rapidly drawn into life of a small Australian town blighted by drought. A multi layered read with plenty of twists and turns to keep you engaged, rape, murder, drug gangs, eccentric characters, even romance. What more could you ask for. Will certainly read more by the author.

This is a long book, a brilliant book but looong. Nevertheless I throughly enjoyed it. It sucked me in at the first chapter and spat me out at the last. Yes it could have further editing but a great read. I will seek out more from Chris Hammer,

This is a great book, thought it was slow to start but then it was all action, so many twists and turns, a real page turner. Reading the book I felt I was actually there, it was so atmospheric. Some of the descriptions in the book were not for the faint hearted but overall a great book.
#NetGalley
#Scrublands

3.5 ⭐

If you ever go to Australia on holiday DO NOT go to this scrublands place... because it's all nutters,murderers,gangs,drugs,rapists... I mean I could go on... the mind boggles at the crimes and misfortunes (Bush fire anyone?) That befell our main character Martin once he entered the town.
At times it felt too much.... but I found it really interesting to read about small town in drought... and just small town politics.
A lot happened in this book,but thankfully it was explained well.

If you're an Australian author who sets a crime novel in the rural backblocks, particularly during one of the all-too-regular droughts, it's now inevitable that your book will be compared to Jane Harper's terrific, award-hoarding debut THE DRY - widely considered 'the crime novel' of last year.

So former television foreign correspondent Chris Hammer is facing something of a double-edged sword with the release of his first novel, SCRUBLANDS. Harper's success has the crime world casting its eyes downunder, opening doors for other writers just as Ian Rankin and Val McDermid provided a beachhead for Tartan Noir, and Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson did for Scandi-crime. But then other 'Terror Australis' (Australian crime) tales will get kneejerk comparisons to THE DRY, especially if like in Hammer's case, the setting is the tinder-dry landscapes of the Australian bush.

Let's just front-foot things: SCRUBLANDS may share a similar setting to Harper's debut, but Hammer's first novel is completely it's own beast. This is no copycat or coat-tailing effort. SCRUBLANDS meshes sociological insights, literary stylings, and a multi-layered crime tale into an epic novel that’s simply superb. I read it a few weeks ago, and now it's been released I'm seeing all sorts of 'crime novel of the year' type hype building. For me, it's certainly in the conversation.

Martin Scarsden is sent to drought-stricken Riversend by his Sydney editor, ostensibly to write a human-interest tale about the town’s recovery a year after a church shooting, but also to gauge his own recovery after a near-death experience in the Middle East. Some locals tell Martin there’s more to the story than the ‘paedophile priest’ narrative that followed the shooting. When the bodies of two backpackers are found the national media descends, messily picking at the dying town’s carcass. Can Martin find the truth among all the lies and manipulations, from townsfolk and various authorities?

There is a lot going on in this book, which is more absorbing than page-whirring. Hammer draws readers in with an unusual tale that has a lot of layers and interwoven stories. The inciting incident of the one-year anniversary of a hard-to-explain shooting is just a small part of what the book becomes.

For me, Hammer brought rural Australia, its towns and people and issues faced, to vivid life with a sweat-inducing authenticity. While this is Hammer's first novel, the experienced correspondent has actually written non-fiction books , including one, THE RIVER, where he takes readers "on a journey through Australia's heartland, following the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin, recounting his experiences, his impressions, and, above all, stories of the people he meets along the way".

It's clear that Hammer has used his time spent researching THE RIVER and experiencing first-hand the lives of those living in such areas while building the world of SCRUBLANDS. There's an eclectic selection of small-town characters, each who are pleasingly layered. Even if some are a little larger-than-life or introduced in highly unusual ways, they don't feel cartoonish. There's a reality here.

So while comparisons to THE DRY are unavoidable, for me Hammer’s debut reaches even further, taking the baton from the great Peter Temple. SCRUBLANDS is crime writing at its finest.

Scrublands is another top read of this year for me, entirely consuming from the moment I started it, beautifully descriptive writing in both character and setting plus an extraordinarily immersive story.

Martin is an engaging character with realistic fault lines running through his personality- as he gets more and more involved with the small town, so indeed does the reader. The author captures the sense of place wonderfully, the eclectic occupants facing tragedy in their own ways. You can feel the heat and the dark underbelly of a town collapsing, the emotional core of Scrublands is addictively traumatic..

There’s a strong mystery element with subtle twists that leads you to a stunningly edgy conclusion, the themes at the heart of Scrublands are cleverly thought provoking. When I finished it I felt like I had left a little of myself in Riversend, certainly I think this is a novel I will return to.

Nuanced and strangely beautiful, Scrublands is a brilliant read and comes very highly recommended from me.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Headline for an advance copy of Scrublands, a stand alone novel set in the bush town of Riversend, featuring journalist Martin Scarsden.

Martin Scarsden travels to Riversend to write a feature on how the town is coping a year after the local priest shot 5 residents before committing suicide by cop. Despite his brief Martin soon finds himself becoming part of the story himself as he investigates the motive behind the killing spree.

Wow, what a read. I thoroughly enjoyed Scrublands, a lyrical, unflinching slice of Australian rural noir with a riveting plot. I was glued to the pages from start to finish, even though it is a long read, as there is never a dull moment in the entire novel. I found it hard to believe that it is a debut as it is so accomplished. It is told in the third person exclusively from Martin's point of view which makes for an easy read as the reader can commit their attention without being distracted. Just as well something is easy because the plotting is fairly intricate with several layers and even more lies, obfuscation and misdirection and requires concentration. It is not, however, merely a tale of Martin sorting through what he's told to reach the truth it is also incident packed (I hesitate to say action although it is there too), much of it unexpected, some of it shocking.

The plot is amazing but that's not the be all and end all of the novel. The descriptions are also powerful. I felt that I could feel the heat and grit of the location as I read and Riversend, a town of 800 residents, comes to life authentically in its decline, dilapidation and sense of no hope, not so different, I imagine, from many other rural locations. Equally the characters are well drawn. Martin, in his 40s and suffering from PTSD, finds himself changing as the novel progresses. His personal journey makes for interesting reading. I also loved the portrayal of the police and the press. Mr Hammer does not pull his punches. To be honest I love everything about Scrublands and can easily say that it is the best novel I have read this year. I have, therefore no hesitation in not only recommending it as an excellent read but encouraging everyone to try it.