Ivan Lucic & Nell Buchanan Archives

Book review: The Valley by Chris Hammer

September 28, 20243 min read

The Valley by Chris Hammer is the fourth in the Ivan Lucic / Nell Buchanan series and again the former journalist offers an investigation that becomes personal with Nell discovering a link to a murder victim. And again Hammer is able to combine a whodunnit with social commentary on the (former) logging industry and its workers clashing with environmentalists; the impact on mining as well as mother nature on their surrounds; the need to balance the environmental AND economic sustainability of small communities; also moving into ecotourism, clean energy and pumped hydro.

VIEW the POST

Share

Book review: The Seven by Chris Hammer

October 20, 20232 min read

Belatedly publishing a brief review I posted in Goodreads.

I very much enjoyed The Seven by Chris Hammer – the third in the series – which unfolds in three timelines.

In 1913 a young Aboriginal woman, Bessie, goes to work for a family who’s one of several in the area (south of the Murrumbidgee River) interested in setting up an irrigation scheme. Hammer’s journalistic background comes to the fore here, as it has in previous novels where he’s blended history and fiction.

VIEW the POST

Share

Book review: The Tilt by Chris Hammer

October 5, 20223 min read

The opening chapter of The Tilt by Chris Hammer is prefaced by a map and a family tree. Now, I know many people LOVE a good map but I’m spatially challenged so tend to avoid them at all costs. And the family tree had me worried that there were so many players we’d need help remembering who was who. But thankfully it’s not the case at all. Instead it gives us context and a reminder how complex lives can be in small communities.

Interestingly I also realised that you sometimes assume there can be no secrets in small towns of intertwined communities and families, but instead it can mean they’re often so well hidden or buried they’re left to fester for years.

VIEW the POST

Share

Book review: Treasure & Dirt by Chris Hammer

September 28, 20213 min read

I’ve very much enjoyed all three books in the Martin Scarsden series by Chris Hammer. I’m constantly surprised how easily the former journalist can transition from reporting cold hard facts to articulating the beauty of the landscape or settings of his books. It’s about his ability to string together words I realise. Something hard to explain or define, but when it’s done well… you know it.

His latest book, Treasure & Dirt, doesn’t feature Scarsden but it’s kinda Scarsden-adjacent as it features police officers we’ve met in that series.

VIEW the POST

Share