Scrublands by Chris Hammer

The Blurb On The Back:

In a 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 view of events.

Just as Martin believes he is making headway, a shocking discovery rocks the town. The bodies of two backpackers are found in the scrublands. The media descends on Riversend and Martin is the one in the spotlight.

Wrestling with his own demons, Martin finds himself risking everything to uncover a truth that becomes more 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.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Chris Hammer’s debut crime novel (the first in a trilogy) is a solidly written whydunit rather than a whodunit but the depiction of a town dying from drought is more convincing than the human characters, who are thinly drawn. The pacing is thrown off by key strands of information being withheld back until the final quarter, some of the journalistic practices were unconvincing while the tentative romance between Martin and Mandy was a bit icky.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.