Awards

• Long-listed for Best Fiction 2025 (Australia)
• Short-listed for General Fiction Book of the Year 2025 (Australia)
• Short-listed for Indie Book Awards 2025 (Australia)

Overview

Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic are back-and Nell is thrown into her most emotionally fraught homicide yet. A controversial entrepreneur is murdered in a remote mountain valley, but this is no ordinary case when Nell discovers that the victim is a close blood relative. The investigation delves into Nell's own family to uncover a mystery years in the making. What was her mother's involvement, and what was the connection to troubled young police officer Simmons Burnside? And why do the police hierarchy insist Ivan and Nell stay with the case despite an obvious conflict of interest? Praise for The Valley: 'Hammer has confirmed and underlined his reputation as numbering among the very best novelists in detective fiction.' Sydney Morning Herald 'Complex and nuanced, this intelligent thriller shows why former political journalist Chris Hammer has become one of Australia's best-loved authors.' Caroline Overington, The Australian on The Valley 'Well-written and powerful, The Valley confirms Hammer's place a master of bush crime.' Canberra Weekly Praise for Chris Hammer: 'Hammer has confirmed and underlined his reputation as numbering among the very best novelists in detective fiction.' Sydney Morning Herald 'Chris Hammer at the height of his powers ... absolutely not to be missed!' Hayley Scrivenor, author of Dirt Town on The Tilt 'A darkly simmering mystery, gorgeously told ... Utterly brilliant.' Dervla McTiernan, author of The Ruin and What Happened to Nina? 'It would be unfair to say Chris Hammer is at the top of the crime writing game. Chris Hammer IS the game. Full Tilt may be a better title, given the speed with which readers will devour Chris Hammer's exceptional novel.' Benjamin Stevenson, author of Everyone On This Train is a Suspect 'Like everything Chris Hammer writes, The Tilt is a rich, complex thriller, packed with detail and intrigue. There's a reason why this guy is on my auto-read list!' Christian White, author of The Nowhere Child 'Chris Hammer is a great writer ... a leader in Australian noir.' Michael Connelly 'If you haven't read Hammer before, this is the perfect time to experience one of the best writers Australia has to offer. Rife with intrigue, murder, and small-town secrets, Treasure and Dirt is a spectacular thriller that delivers some unforgettable characters with twists and turns you won't see coming. Hammer has raised the bar for Australian crime, and this is a must-read.' Better Reading 'Chris Hammer has excelled himself with Trust...a thriller strong on character development, social insights, ethical issues and dramatic action.' Weekend Australian 'The best Australian crime novel since Peter Temple's The Broken Shore.' The Times on Silver 'Shimmers with heat from the sun and from the passions that drive a tortured tale of blood and loss.' Val McDermid on Scrublands

Full Product Details

9781761472862

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Chris Hammer is a leading Australian crime fiction author. His first book, Scrublands, was an instant #1 bestseller upon publication in 2018. It won the prestigious UK Crime Writers' Association John Creasey New Blood Dagger and was shortlisted for awards in Australia and the United States. Scrublands has been sold into translation in several foreign languages. Chris's follow-up books-Silver (2019), Trust (2020), Treasure & Dirt (2021), The Tilt (2022) and The Seven (2023)-are also bestsellers and all have been shortlisted for major literary prizes. The Valley is his seventh novel. The Tilt (published as Dead Man's Creek in the UK) was named The Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year for 2023. Scrublands has been adapted for television, screening globally, and a second series based on Silver aired in 2025. Before turning to fiction, Chris was a journalist for more than thirty years. He has written two non-fiction books The River (2010) and The Coast (2012). He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Charles Sturt University and a master's degree in international relations from the Australian National University.

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