Six years after we first encountered Aussie investigative journalist Martin Scarsden in Scrublands, he’s back in Legacy, the fourth book in the series – and what a book it is!
As it opens, Martin is at home in Port Silver and about to launch his latest true crime expose – a book about the life and death of a notorious Melbourne mobster. Spirits are high as he, his partner Mandy and her young son Liam drive to the event; this is something to celebrate, after all. So when they arrive at the venue for the launch party, why does everyone seem on edge? And what are homicide detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan doing here?
The opening speeches are in full swing when a call comes through that sends everyone running for the exit. There’s been a bomb threat – and when the book launch venue is suddenly blown to smithereens it becomes clear that this was no idle prank. And now the reason for the previous unease becomes clear. Someone has put a price on Martin’s head on the Dark Web. This hit has failed, but who knows when someone else will take a pop at him?
Thus it is that our hero finds himself off on a road trip, in a car with fake plates, to a town at the back end of nowhere. Port Paroo is somewhere he can lay low for a while, and build up a cover story as Jacob Solander – a would-be night photographer, planning on camping under the stars and taking pictures of them.
Bad timing though, because as he fills up at the town’s petrol station the owner warns him that heavy rain is forecast for a place that has been dry for months, and all the roads out are about to be closed because flooding will follow. Martin is stuck, and reluctantly checks in at the Port Paroo Hotel, happy to learn that the mobile phone service is currently out too so he should be safe from anyone searching for him.
Yes, well, about that… Any fans of the Martin Scardsen books will know that any sniff of a potential story sends all thoughts of self-preservation out the window. And so it is here. Because Port Paroo, on the Queensland/New South Wales border, is home to a long-running feud between two local families and it’s all about to come to a head. Expect death, drama and some humdinger set pieces.
This is Chris Hammer’s most complex Scarsden book to date, and the multiple threads keep the narrative flying along like an express train. It’s a tale of love, loyalty, family ties and family betrayal and sees the author right back at the top of his game. Many new readers will be attracted to the series because of the TV adaptations that have so far brought Scrublands and Silver to the small screen – and I loved the fact that in Legacy Martin even mentions his alter ego, bemoaning the fact that the actor who plays him is far too handsome for the role!
Anyone who loves a good old mystery story, threaded through with local history and Hammer’s trademark sense of place will love this one. The desiccated landscape reminiscent of Jane Harper’s The Dry is so realistically drawn that you might be craving a glass of water as you read.
This is also a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of believing everything you read online, but be assured that I’m telling the truth when I say Legacy is a novel that aims for a very high bar – and sails over it with ease. Bravo, Mr Hammer!
Love Aussie crime? They why not try relative newcomer Shelley Burr and her book Murder Town.
Wildfire
Print/Kindle/iBook
£10.99
CFL Rating: 5 Stars
