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The superb new novel from the international No.1 bestselling author of Scrublands.

‘Vivid and mesmerising’ Sunday Times

‘Hammer is a great writer – a leader in Australian noir’ Michael Connelly, bestselling author of Dark Sacred Night

A HOMECOMING MARRED BY BLOOD
Journalist Martin Scarsden returns to Port Silver to make a fresh start with his partner Mandy. But he arrives to find his childhood friend murdered – and Mandy is the prime suspect. Desperate to clear her name, Martin goes searching for the truth.

A TERRIBLE CRIME
The media descends on the coastal town, compelled by a story that has it all: sex, drugs, celebrity, and religion. Martin is chasing the biggest scoop of his career, and the most personal.

A PAST HE CAN’T ESCAPE
As Martin draws closer to a killer, the secrets of his traumatic childhood come to the surface, and he must decide what is more important – the story or his family…

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Praise for award-winning author CHRIS HAMMER:

Shimmers . . . A tortured tale of blood and loss’ VAL MCDERMID

‘Stunning . . . a page-turner that stays long in the memory’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘An almost perfect crime novel … Intelligent, thought-provoking, great
narrative energy’ ANN CLEEVES

‘Compelling, original and brilliantly executed – an excellent thriller from a new master of Australian noir’ CHARLES CUMMING

‘Tense, heart-squeezing and absolutely addictive – Silver is one to read again and again’ GYTHA LODGE, bestselling author of She Lies in Wait

‘With their small-town Australian setting, brilliantly complex plots involving corruption and cruelty, Chris hammer’s crime novels are as compelling as they are topical. Alongside Jane Harper, he is in the vanguard of Australian noir’ Amanda Craig, author of The Lie of the Land



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Reviews

Val McDermid on 'Scrublands'
Shimmers ... A tortured tale of blood and loss
Sunday Times on 'Scrublands'
Stunning ... Scrublands is that rare combination, a page-turner that stays long in the memory
Charles Cumming, author of A Foreign Country
Compelling, original and brilliantly executed - an excellent thriller from a new master of Australian noir
Lisa Hall, author of Between You and Me
Silver is the perfect sequel to Scrublands - dark, twisty and atmospheric, with writing so real you can almost feel the blistering heat of the Australian summer. I savoured every page, I didn't want it to end
Sunday Times
Hammer combines Scarsden's backstory with a vivid portrait of a divided community to mesmerising effect.
Books of the Month, Guardian
Richly descriptive, with a large and well-drawn cast, this is an immersive and enjoyable novel that lives up to the promise of its predecessor.
Natasha Cooper, Literary Review
A great new edition to the world of crime-writing.
The Times
A terrific story ... This is an excellent sequel; the best Australian crime novel since Peter Temple's The Broken Shore
Daily Mail
Sweeping and ambitious ... It bears comparison with Jane Harper's The Dry and there can be no higher praise
Culturefly
Another compulsive thriller
Newbooks Magazine
A meaty crime mystery with plenty of originality and excitement
Michael Connelly
Hammer is a great writer - a leader in Australian noir
Ann Cleeves
I think this is better than the first
Amanda Craig
With their small-town Australian setting, brilliantly complex plots involving corruption, cruelty and climate change, Chris Hammer's detective novels are as compellingly written and characterised as they are, sadly, topical. Alongside Jane Harper, he is in the vanguard of Australian noir.
Gytha Lodge
The perfect sequel to the extraordinary Scrublands. Tense, heart-squeezing and absolutely addictive: Silver is one to read again and again
The Times, Best Books of 2020
A terrific murder mystery set in New South Wales. A tale of drugs, property speculation, small-town ambitions, money, and a strange religious guru.

A Martin Scarsden Thriller