Opal Country: The stunning page turner from the award-winning author of Scrublands (Detective Nell Buchanan)

I enjoyed reading this novel, set in the Australian outback in Opal mining territory. The description of the environment and the incredible hot climate is very well written, with plenty of detail. I now understand why most Australians live nearer the coast. Ivan Lucic, a homicide detective arrives at the small town to investigate the particularly unpleasant murder of an opal miner and works together with an inexperienced, young detective, Nell Buchanan, to identify the murderer(s). Their relationship and their investigation seemed very authentic. The author's skill in drawing all the characters is evident throughout the novel. There are plenty of twists to keep the reader guessing. I was interested in reading some details of opal mining, a subject unknown to me before. I did find I had to look up some Australian vocabulary, which did sometimes detract from my enjoyment of the novel.

Intricately plotted with a mesmerising sense of place, Opal Country is a standalone novel set in the desolate outback town of Finnigans Gap in northern New South Wales where the nearest local detectives are stationed two hours away. Homicide detective Ivan Lucic is sent to investigate when an anonymous tip-off to Crime Stoppers leads police to the body of miner Jonas McGee down his own claim and the reformed drunk is not just dead, but nailed to a timber frame. Lucic is expecting his boss, DI Morris Montifiore, to head up the case given the pair have been feted for exposing a web of corruption in the city but is knocked for six when he learns that Morris is being investigated by Professional Standards and they’re coming after him too.. Assisting Lucic is savvy but inexperienced DC Nell Buchanan who knows the lie of the land locally but seems to incite the wrath of her former mentor. And even McGee’s death is starting to look far from straightforward with forensics indicating that his death and crucifixion could be two separate matters.McGee has a past that could well be the motivation behind his murder given that eighteen years ago driving whilst he was drunk caused the death of his wife and her sister, the wife of his former best mate who owns the neighbouring claim. Estranged from daughter, Elsie, having just offloaded his former helpmate and rumoured to have hit on a pocket of valuable gems that could have alerted ratters, possible candidates for McGee’s murder aren’t in short supply. It’s a complex investigation and it takes a superb storyteller to understand the inner workings of the local mining operations and convey it to a layperson so that you miss none of the nuance and this is where Chris Hammer excels. It’s not just opals that are mined in the area with a coal mine owned by tycoon Delaney Bullwinkel and a second magnate in Bob Inglis sniffing around the rare earth mines. Aside from that the area is also home to a religious cult with a dubious leader and a murky past of its own, having been the subject of a police investigation seven years ago when a young man died in suspicious circumstances.The narrative is as oppressive as the barren landscape and Opal Country exudes tension with temperatures still a pulsating forty degrees in the early evening and the locals straight-talking to the point of openly confrontational. I loved watching Lucic and Buchanan work together and gradually suss each other out form a partnership. Both are believably flawed yet sympathetic characters fully committed to getting a result whilst also under pressure from Professional Standards and both pull their weight on the investigative front. Whilst I do think that the final revelations which seem to tie everything and almost everyone, past and present, in Finnigans Gap together stretch credibility a little, Opal Country has no obvious plot holes which is frankly incredible given the labyrinthine plot. Masterful plotting, terrific storytelling and a riveting read that was impressive enough for me to order Hammer’s back catalogue on the strength of it!

Lots of twists and turns and well described scenes combined with good characters wrapped up in a good storylineMake this a particularly good read

I love Hammer's novels - their very Australia-ness makes me quite nostalgic. I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the plotting and the various characters in Opal Country and loving Nell and Ivan as a protagonist team too...a riveting 4 stars!

Thoroughly enjoyed this latest novel from Chris Hammer. Interesting characters with their own back stories and issues, woven into a murder mystery with implications from the past.

This is the fourth novel I’ve read by this author….and they’re all good. As always a great description of the outback…..you’re there….you can feel the heat, taste the dust, hear the lizards. The characters and the dialogue are spot on too, really well written. As for the plot….? Well it’s complex….starting off as a suspicious death/ murder it becomes more and more complex with interweaving roads into more suspects and revelations. It’s very clever writing…but….towards the end it was perhaps too clever? I had to read some passages several times as I was just becoming lost about who did what to who…? That said it was again a great read with many twists and turns leading to a great ending. I’ll read some more of these books.

Once again an insight into Outback Australia runs throughout the book. The story is very exciting and there are several competing threads. There are certain themes that appear in several of Mr Hammer's books so this one is instantly recognisable. The main characters all have some depth and there's the usual unexpected ending.

Chris Hammer’s journalistic pedigree shines through in this tale of opal mining, the Australian outback and family tragedy. All of the characters are believable, including some of the most outrageous ones (if you’ve been to Australia you’ll know what I mean). His narrative and research are impeccable so there’s no “submarine moment” to destroy credibility in the underlying story. He also generates a genuine sense of place in one of the world’s great continents. Unputdownable.