Showing results by author "Chris Hammer" in All Categories

In Riversend, an isolated country town brought to its knees by endless drought, a charismatic and dedicated young priest steps out of his church and 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.

For half a lifetime, journalist Martin Scarsden has run from his past. But now there is no escaping. He'd vowed never to return to his hometown, Port Silver, and its traumatic memories. But now his new partner, Mandy Blonde, has inherited an old house in the seaside town and Martin knows their chance of a new life together won't come again. Martin arrives to find his best friend from school days brutally murdered, and Mandy the chief suspect. With the police curiously reluctant to pursue other suspects, Martin goes searching for the killer. And finds the past waiting for him.

Newly-minted homicide detective Nell Buchanan returns to her home town, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder—a "file and forget". But this is no ordinary cold case, as the discovery of more bodies triggers a chain of escalating events in the present day. As Nell starts to join the pieces together, she begins to question how well she truly knows those closest to her. Could her own family be implicated in the crimes? The nearer Nell comes to uncovering the secrets of the past, the more dangerous the present becomes, as she battles shadowy assailants and sinister forces.

In the desolate outback town of Finnigans Gap, police struggle to maintain law and order. Thieves pillage opal mines, religious fanatics recruit vulnerable young people, and billionaires do as they please. Then an opal miner is found crucified and left to rot down his mine. Nothing about the miner's death is straightforward, not even who found the body. Sydney homicide detective Ivan Lucic is sent to investigate, assisted by inexperienced young investigator Nell Buchanan.

Yuwonderie's seven founding families have lorded it over their district for a century, growing ever more rich and powerful. But now—in startling circumstances—one of their own is found dead in a ditch and homicide detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan are sent to investigate. Could the murder be connected to the execution of the victim's friend thirty years ago—another member of The Seven—or even to the long-forgotten story of a servant girl on the brink of the Great War?

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. 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?

In Riversend, an isolated rural community afflicted by an endless drought, a young priest does the unthinkable, killing five parishioners before being taken down himself. A year later, accompanied by his own demons from wartime reporting, journalist Martin Scarsden arrives in Riversend. His assignment is to describe how the townspeople are coping. But as Martin meets the locals and hears their version of events, he begins to realize that the accepted wisdom - that the priest was a pedophile whose imminent exposure was the catalyst for the shooting - may be wrong.

A dead river. A dying town. A killer's secrets.... In an isolated country town ravaged by drought, a charismatic young priest opens fire on his congregation, killing five men before being shot dead himself. A year later, journalist Martin Scarsden arrives in Riversend to write a feature on the anniversary of the tragedy. But the stories he hears from the locals don't fit with the accepted version of events. Just as Martin believes he is making headway, a shocking discovery rocks the town.

Martin Scarsden's new life seems perfect, right up until the moment it's shattered by a voice mail: a single scream, abruptly cut off, from his partner, Mandalay Blonde. Racing home, he finds an unconscious man sprawled on the floor and Mandy gone. Someone has abducted her. But who and why? So starts a twisting tale of intrigue and danger, as Martin probes the past of the woman he loves, a woman who has buried her former life so deep she has never mentioned it.

For half a lifetime, journalist Martin Scarsden has run from his past. But now there is no escaping. He'd vowed never to return to his hometown, Port Silver, and its traumatic memories. But now his new partner, Mandy Blonde, has inherited an old house in the seaside town, and Martin knows their chance of a new life together won't come again. Martin arrives to find his best friend from school days brutally murdered and Mandy the chief suspect. With the police curiously reluctant to pursue other suspects, Martin goes searching for the killer. And finds the past waiting for him. 

In the desolate outback town of Finnigans Gap, police struggle to maintain law and order. Thieves pillage opal mines, religious fanatics recruit vulnerable youngsters and billionaires do as they please. Then an opal miner is found crucified and left to rot down his mine. Nothing about the miner's death is straight-forward, not even who found the body. Homicide Detective Ivan Lucic is sent to investigate, assisted by inexperienced young investigator Nell Buchanan.

On a bright sunny day in Port Silver, ex-Journalist Martin Scarsden misses a call from his girlfriend, Mandy. Checking his voicemail later, all he hears is her terrified scream before the phone cuts off. Back at the house, he finds a policeman unconscious on the floor and Mandy gone. So starts a twisting tale of intrigue and danger, as Martin probes the past of the woman he loves, a woman who has buried her former life deep. And for the first time, Mandy finds denial impossible, now that the body of a man has been discovered - a man to whom she was engaged to marry.

Newly minted homicide detective Nell Buchanan returns to her hometown, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder—a 'file and forget'. But this is no ordinary cold case, her arrival provoking an unwelcome and threatening response from the small-town community. As more bodies are discovered, and she begins to question how well she truly knows those closest to her, Nell realises that finding the truth could prove more difficult—and dangerous—than she'd ever expected.

Hitze. Mord. Rätsel. Schuld. Erlösung: der atemberaubende Nr.1-Bestseller-Thriller aus Australien Rivers End, ein Städtchen in der flirrenden Hitze des Outbacks: eiskalt eröffnet der junge Pfarrer vor der Kirche das Feuer auf seine Gemeinde. Er tötet fünf Menschen. Ein Jahr später kommt Reporter Martin Scarsden in den Ort, um über die Morde zu schreiben. Aber als er die Einheimischen befragt, begreift er, dass es mehr als eine Wahrheit gibt, was die Tat des Pfarrers angeht. Warum hat er wirklich getötet? War er ein Monster oder ein idealistischer Rächer?