{"product_id":"opal-country-9781472273017","title":"Opal Country","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe latest unmissable thriller from 'master of Australian noir' Chris Hammer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eClassic Hammer, with the heat and the small town obsession with secrecy and past grievances. A crime novel that will stay with me for a long time. * Ann Cleeves *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eA complex, twisty thriller, with nuanced characters and a winding plot all set in the oppressive Australian heat.\u003c\/p\u003e * Lisa Hall *\u003cbr\u003eA clever and compelling small town mystery, with an evocative setting and a brilliant cast of characters. This slice of Australian noir sparkles like an opal in the blistering sun. * Lisa Gray *\u003cbr\u003eOpal Country is a top-notch Aussie Noir with real heat coming off the pages. * Christopher Fowler *\u003cbr\u003eA brilliantly atmospheric mystery. * Heat *\u003cbr\u003eThis novel - tighter, tougher, tenser - is Hammer's best work yet. * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eKeeps you stuck to the story like an Outback miner's shirt to his back * The Sun *\u003cbr\u003eA master of the crime genre * South Africa Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eChris Hammer is regarded as one of Australia's best new noir crime writers, and this immersive and lyrically written thriller copper-fastens this well-deserved reputation. * Irish Independent *\u003cbr\u003eGold standard Outback noir [...] Chris Hammer's best writing to date. * Crime Fiction Lover *\u003cbr\u003eNobody does Australian outback crime better. Hammer nails it again. * Peterborough Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eOpal Country\u003c\/i\u003e is richly rewarding. Hammer is quite brilliant. * Shots Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eA fast-paced and thrilling read. * Brown Flopsy's Book Burrow *\u003cbr\u003eA sharp thriller * Woman's Own *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eStunning\u003c\/b\u003e ... \u003ci\u003eScrublands\u003c\/i\u003e is that rare combination, \u003cb\u003ea page-turner that stays long in the memory\u003c\/b\u003e -- Joan Smith * Sunday Times (Crime Book of the Month) *\u003cbr\u003eAn \u003cb\u003ealmost perfect\u003c\/b\u003e crime novel ... \u003cb\u003eIntelligent\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003ethought-provoking\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003egreat narrative energy\u003c\/b\u003e, a central character who's imperfect but self-aware, and of course that amazing setting ... \u003cb\u003eI loved it\u003c\/b\u003e' -- Ann Cleeves * author of Raven Black and Wild Fire *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA dark and brilliant thriller, one that lingers in the mind\u003c\/b\u003e * Mail On Sunday *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eExtremely accomplished\u003c\/b\u003e ... \u003cb\u003eDeliciously noirish\u003c\/b\u003e ... Set in the blistering heat of a remote Australian town ravaged by drought and threatened by bushfires, this is \u003cb\u003ea complex, meaty, intelligent mystery \u003c\/b\u003e... Hammer's writing is \u003cb\u003eso evocative the heat practically rises off the pages \u003c\/b\u003eof \u003ci\u003eScrublands \u003c\/i\u003e -- Alison Flood * Guardian 'Best Recent Thrillers' *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMy pick for debut thriller of the month (and maybe of 2019)\u003c\/b\u003e ... Beautifully written,\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003ethis would make a terrific small-screen series -- Bethanne Patrick * Washington Post *\u003cbr\u003eWell-rounded characters, masterful plotting and real breadth; this is \u003cb\u003ean epic and immersive read\u003c\/b\u003e -- Laura Wilson * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA heatwave of a novel\u003c\/b\u003e, scorching and powerful... \u003cb\u003eExtraordinary\u003c\/b\u003e * AJ Finn *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAtmospheric\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eutterly gripping\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003ewritten with devastating beauty\u003c\/b\u003e. Scrublands is as scorching as wildfire and as hard to look away from -- Gytha Lodge * author of She Lies in Wait *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIncendiary . . . A \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003erattling good read\u003c\/b\u003e, ambitious in scale and scope and delivering right up to the last, \u003cb\u003epowerfully moving \u003c\/b\u003epage -- Declan Hughes * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eScrublands\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ethe epic novel about rural life in Australia that we need right now\u003c\/b\u003e ... It sits right up there with the late Peter Temple's \u003ci\u003eBroken Shore\u003c\/i\u003e, Garry Disher's \u003ci\u003eBitterwash Road\u003c\/i\u003e and Jane Harper's \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e, even as it extends their focus and reach ... \u003cb\u003eRemarkable\u003c\/b\u003e -- Sue Turnbull * Sydney Morning Herald *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIt's hard not to compare Chris Hammer's \u003ci\u003eScrublands\u003c\/i\u003e to Jane Harper's acclaimed \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/b\u003e ... \u003c\/i\u003e[It will]\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ecapture your imagination from the first page -- Karen Hardy * The Age *\u003cbr\u003eSet in the parched Australian landscape, \u003ci\u003eScrublands\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ea brilliantly plotted thriller\u003c\/b\u003e which reveals a town full of brooding secrets.\u003cb\u003e I couldn't put this compelling debut down\u003c\/b\u003e -- Sarah Ward * author of The Shrouded Path *\u003cbr\u003eScrublands kidnapped me for 48 hours. I was hopelessly lost in the scorching Australian landscape, disoriented but completely immersed in the town and people of Riversend, as the heat crackled off the pages. I was devastated when it was time to go back to the real world. This book is a force of nature. A must-read for all crime fiction fans * Sarah Bailey *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrilliant and unsettling\u003c\/b\u003e, Scrublands stands at the junction of Snowtown and Wake in Fright, that place where Australia's mirage of bush tranquillity evaporates into our hidden fears * Paul Daley, writer and journalist *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA superbly drawn, utterly compelling evocation\u003c\/b\u003e of a small town riven by a shocking crime * Mark Brandi *\u003cbr\u003eHammer's portrait of a dying, drought-struck town numbed by a priest's unimaginable act of violence will capture you from the first explosive page and refuse to let go until the last. His \u003cb\u003eremarkable writing\u003c\/b\u003e takes you inside lives twisted by secrets festering beneath the melting heat of the inland, the scrub beyond waiting to burst into flame. \u003cb\u003eScrublands is the read of the year. Unforgettable\u003c\/b\u003e * Tony Wright *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA compulsively page-turning thriller\u003c\/b\u003e where the parched interior looms as large as the characters -- Katharine Murphy * Guardian Australia *","brand":"Headline Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48885755707735,"sku":"9781472273017","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781472273017.jpg?v=1722537584","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/opal-country-9781472273017","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}