Scrublands

In an isolated country town brought to its knees by endless drought, a charismatic and dedicated young priest calmly opens fire on his congregation, killing five parishioners before being shot dead himself A year later, troubled journalist Martin Scarsden arrives in Riversend to write a feature on the anniversary of the tragedy But the stories he hears from the locals about the priest and incidents leading up to the shooting don t fit with the accepted version of events his own newspaper reported in an award winning investigation Martin can t ignore his doubts, nor the urgings of some locals to unearth the real reason behind the priest s deadly rampage.Just as Martin believes he is making headway, a shocking new development rocks the town, which becomes the biggest story in Australia The media descends on Riversend and Martin is now the one in the spotlight His reasons for investigating the shooting have suddenly become very personal Wrestling with his own demons, Martin finds himself risking everything to discover a truth that becomes darker and complex with every twist But there are powerful forces determined to stop him, and he has no idea how far they will go to make sure the town s secrets stay buried.A compulsive thriller that will haunt you long after you have turned the final page. Read Scrublands author Chris Hammer – kino-fada.fr Journalist Martin Scarsden was sent from his newspaper in Sydney, to the small town of Riversend in rural Victoria to cover the one year anniversary of the killings by a young priest of five members of his congregation, and how the town was coping in the aftermath of the tragedy The incessant heat, the relentless drought, the hopelessness of the people all struck Martin immediately Shops had closed, the pub was no longer in operation was the town dying But as Martin tried to interview the Journalist Martin Scarsden was sent from his newspaper in Sydney, to the small town of Riversend in rural Victoria to cover the one year anniversary of the killings by a young priest of five members of his congregation, and how the town was coping in the after...Scrublands is a multilayered investigative crime novel which starts off as a seemingly simple assignment for journalist Martin Scarsden when he is sent by the Sydney Morning Herald to write a follow up feature on a mass shooting that occurred a year ago Martin is still having nightmares about his last assignment in the Gaza strip where he endured a horrifying experience that nearly killed him and his editor thinks this assignment will help him recover When Martin arrives in the small rural tow Scrublands is a multilayered investigative crime novel which starts off as a seemingly simple assignment for journalist Martin Scarsden when he is sent by the Sydney Morning Herald to write a follow up feature on ...It is, he knows full well, growing into a perfect summer story in the great tradition of Lindy Chamberlain and Schapelle Corby A heady mixture of murder, religion and sex a beautiful femme fatale to feed to the cameras, as well as perhaps the most crucial element of all mystery Why did Byron Swift open fire Who did murder the pretty young backpackers Were they raped and tortured, as alleged by the competition papers All around Australia, at barbecues and bars, at cafes and canteens, at h It is, he kno...I was lucky enough to receive this book as a signed copy after entering a giveaway comp How lucky was I to get it.This, by anybodies standards, is a great read Seldom have I read a book that captures the essence of outback Australia so perfectly From the oppressive heat, the parched landscape, the road kills and not to forget the never say die attitude of outback Aussies.Reading Scrublands is like taking a canoe rid down a river You just never know what to expect around the next bend One mi I was lucky enough to receive this book as a signed copy after entering a giveaway comp How lucky was I to get it.This, by anybodies standards, is a great read Seldom have I read a book that captures the essence of outback Australia so perfectly From the oppressive heat, the parched...I listened to this book on Audible and I just loved it I felt like I was there in the small country town of Riverside It would make a brilliant movie or TV series I was totally absorbed in the book on my trips in the car to and from work The characters are so realistic and all with their...And the tear runs down his cheek, falls towards the parched riverbed He smiles at its futility 5 sJournalist Martin Scarsden s boss has sent him out to do a feature story in a small and isolated drought stricken town called Riversend in the Riverina area of New South Wales.Scarsden has been told that the story is to be an anniversary feature on how the town is coping one year onIt was almost one year earlier, that the tiny town was shaken to its core one Sunday morning as the local parishi And the tear runs down his cheek, falls towards the parched riverbed He smiles at its futility 5 sJournalist Martin Scarsden s boss has sent him out to do a feature story in a small and isolated drought stricken town called Riversend in the Riverina area of New South Wales.Scarsden has been told that the story is to be an anniversary feature on how the town is coping one year onIt was almost one year earlier, that the tiny town was shaken to its core one Sunday morning as the local parishioners gathered in the grounds outside St.James church to greet their favourite young charismatic priest Byron Swift before...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 getsandinvolved 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 way...Scrublands is the epic novel about rural life in Australia that we need right now In its concern with crime beyond the suburban fringe, it sits right up there with the late Peter Temple s Broken Shore, Garry Disher s Bitterwash Road and Jane Harper s The Dry, even as it extends their focus and reach Scrublands is a rural crime novel with remarkable breadth and depth that would also make a superb TV series The Sydney Morning Herald This why dunnit not whodunnit , is a remarkable study Scrublands is the epic novel about rural life in Australia that we need right now In its concern with crime beyond the suburban fringe, it sits right up there with the late Peter Temple s Broken Shore, Garry Disher s Bitterwash Road and Jane Harper s The Dry, even as it extends their focus and reach Scrublands is a rural crime novel with remarkable breadth and depth that would also make a superb TV series The Sydney Morning Herald This why dunnit not whodunnit , is a remarkable study of human fallibility, guilt, remorse, hope and redemption The descriptions of landscape are often evocative in the style of Tim Winton, with the parched country town setting reminiscent of Jane Harper s The Dry Hammer is an author to watch It is hard to imagine Scrublands not being loved by all crime and mystery fans Book...Australian Rural Crime has arrived, there are novels showing up everywhere claiming this as their sub genre, and SCRUBLANDS is the one that everyone is talking about Film rights have been sold, everyone s reading it, most are raving about the book.So having a contrary opinion is obviously going to go down like a lead balloon, but in this case, this reader has to beg to differ Personally, after reading, SCRUBLANDS, it s staying with me as an airport thriller style novel shoe horned into a rural Australian Rural Crime has arrived, there are novels showing up everywhere claiming this as their sub genre, and SCRUBLANDS is the one that everyone is talking about Film rights have been sold, everyone s reading it, most are raving about the book.So having a contrary opinion is obviously going to go down like a lead balloon, but in this case, this reader has to beg to differ Personally, after reading, SCRUBLANDS, it s staying with me as an airport thriller style novel shoe horned into a rural setting.A rural setting that has some questionable elements to it I m not at all sure where the idea that a CFA crew would suddenly scoop up a complete outsider, chuck him in some borrowed gear and let him head into a firestorm to help the local cop with a rescu...This book sucked me in and spat me out two days later If you re put off by the length, don t be There is so much going on in this book, such a complex and compelling mystery, that you won t even notice how long you ve been reading Hammer really captures the vibe of a drought stricken small town and the oppressive silence of a scorching hot Australian summer You can definitely feel the author s journalist background shining through t...

• English
• 20 September 2018
Chris Hammer
• Paperback
• 496 pages
• 1760632988
• Chris Hammer
• Scrublands