Opal Country – Chris Hammer

Opals…

In the desolate outback town of Finnigans Gap, police struggle to maintain law and order. Thieves pillage opal mines, religious fanatics recruit vulnerable youngsters and billionaires do as they please.

Bodies…

Then an opal miner is found crucified and left to rot down his mine. Nothing about the miner’s death is straight-forward, not even who found the body. Homicide detective Ivan Lucic is sent to investigate, assisted by inexperienced young investigator Nell Buchanan.

But Finnigans Gap has already ended one police career and damaged others, and soon both officers face damning allegations and internal investigations. Have Ivan and Nell been set up, and if so, by whom?

Secrets…

As time runs out, their only chance at redemption is to find the killer. But the more they uncover, the more harrowing the mystery becomes, and a past long forgotten is thrown into scorching sunlight.

Because in Finnigans Gap, nothing stays buried for ever.

 

My thanks to the publishers for providing a review copy through Netgalley.

 

This book clocks in at over 500 pages and over the Christmas period I worked my way through the adventures of Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan as they investigated the murder and crucifiction of an opal miner – found down his own mineholding and left for an unknown period of time. In terms of memorable murders in crime fiction I cannot think of any other books which open with a crucifictions down a mine. This got my attention from the get-go.

And after grabbing my attention Chris Hammer had no plans to let it go. There’s loads going on in Opal Country and I really enjoyed this trip to the remote (and very hot) Australian wilderness. The story takes place in and around Finnegans Gap and our lead character Ivan Lucic is dropped into the town totally unprepared for the heat and isolation he encounters. He is paired up with local cop Nell Buchanan who provides the local knowledge and expertise which will make the pair a strong team.

But Ivan and Nell don’t click all the time and there are times when the partnership is strained, particularly when past events find their way from the city to Finnegans Gap and internal affairs come to pay Ivan a visit. This element of the story links to other Hammer stories but readers do not need to have read the earlier books (though I recommend you do as they are great). The reason for an internal affairs police officer visiting Ivan in this book is clearly explained to ensure you understand the position he has found himself in when events in Opal Country begin.

I found the background to Opal Country fascinating too. I knew little of opals and how they are mined but this is an integral part of the story building and Chris Hammer takes his readers through the problems the miners face making it an integral part of the story as he builds the backgrounds of the town and the key players in this thriller. Smoothly done and it ensured I was sufficiently up to speed when mining rivalries reared their heads.

While I was reading Opal Country I did refer to the book as “a beast”. There were times in the middle third of the story where I felt I was reading but not actually making any progress through the book (in terms of completion). But despite that faux sense of no-progress I was loving the story and there was lots of information to take in. It’s a big book but it’s a cracking story and I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to read this ahead of publication.

Chris Hammer has become one of the names I now look out for. Clever plotting, strong characters and memorable stories – I am already looking forward to the next one.

 

Opal Country is published on 6 January by Wildfire Books and you can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/opal-country/chris-hammer/9781472295880