Chris Hammer is one of my favourite Aussie crime authors, and I've been captivated by all three of his novels Scrublands, Silver and his newest brilliant offering, Trust. The series moves from the outback to the coast and now to the city, each more gripping than the next. Released by Allen & Unwin on October 13, Trust pulls investigative journalist Martin Scarsden and his partner Mandalay Blonde into a deadly corporate criminal network.
Trust is another absolute ripper! I loved every page and even the little pandemic references sprinkled throughout. Despite the hefty size, I raced through this gripping novel in just a few days, unable to pull myself away from the fast-paced plot and the great twists. Read on for my interview with Chris and your chance to win his new novel in my pre-Christmas book buzz giveaway.
Five fast minutes with Chris Hammer
Do you have a good luck charm or a special token in your office?
A cup of coffee. Not a superstition; a necessity.
Favourite exercise to counteract all the hours sitting at the keyboard?
Bike riding, walking, swimming. I try to do some exercise every day, often pondering plot points as I do so.
What’s your go-to weekday dinner dish?
Anything that takes less than 45 minutes to prepare, cook and serve.
Which career would you choose if money wasn’t a factor and writing wasn’t an option?
Musician. But only if talent also wasn’t a factor.
Favourite book from your childhood?
Pooh Bear. I still love that sense of whimsy.
Have you done anything special with any of your advances?
Yes. I quit my job and started writing full time!
Spot where you seem to get the best bursts of writing inspiration?
Definitely travelling. So sitting on the Canberra/Sydney train or on a plane.
You’re snowed in on the side of Mount Hotham with access to only one novel and one electronic device. Which do you choose?
Novel: Proust: In Search of Lost Time. (It could be a long winter)
Electronic Device: Laptop. Of course.
Favourite Aussie book so far for 2020?
The Mother Fault by Kate Mildenhall
On the top of my Christmas wishlist is….
A vaccine
Best one-line sentence from one of your book reviews?
‘Hammer describes Sydney as only a native could.’ (I don’t live there.)
TRUST
The gripping new Martin Scarsden novel
She breathes deeply, trying to quell the rising sense of panic. A detective came to her home, drugged her and kidnapped her. She tries to make sense of it, to imagine alternatives, but only one conclusion is possible: it's the past, come to claim her. Martin Scarsden's new life seems perfect, right up until the moment it's shattered by a voicemail: 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. And for the first time, Mandy finds denial impossible, now the body of a mystery man has been discovered, a man whose name she doesn't know, a man she was engaged to marry when he died. It's time to face her demons once and for all; it's time she learned how to trust. Set in a Sydney riven with corruption and nepotism, privilege and power, Trust is the third riveting novel from award-winning and internationally acclaimed writer Chris Hammer. 'The best Australian crime novel since Peter Temple's The Broken Shore.' - The Times on Silver
Find Chris online
Website: www.chrishammerauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HammerNow
Instagram: @thehammernow
Win a copy of Trust in my pre-Christmas book buzz pack, which also includes a copy of The Good Teacher by Petronella McGovern and The Secrets of Strangers by Charity Norman, thanks to Allen & Unwin. Entry details HERE. Contest opens November 2 and closes November 12. Australian entries only please.