A crime story set against the backdrop of an unassuming seaside town, but with a deadly storm brewing!
Silver is the sequel to Scrublands and doesn't disappoint in the continuation of the main characters story. This book is gripping from the start and doesn't waste any time in getting to the heart of the story, whilst giving the reader glimpses of the main characters history.
Martin Scarsden is a journalist who has travelled reporting on war torn countries, and sacrifices nothing on the trail of a good story. However, in this story we see Martin at somewhat of a loss without the label of journalist and having to face up to his tragic childhood, whilst trying to save his partner Mandalay Blonde from being labelled as a murderer.
This story certainly keeps you guessing and is a must read if you love a 'whodunnit'. You're always certain you have the right culprit but then the story takes you in a different direction and that's the mark of a good crime novel. I certainly hope there's more to Martin Scarsdens story!
I enjoyed this novel immensely, great pace, interesting twists and turns, lots of cliff hangers and chapters just the right length. I would thoroughly recommend.
Martin Scarsden, a journalist returns to his childhood home town of Port Silver for a fresh start with his partner Mandy. Right from the beginning trouble begins, with his old friend murdered, and Mandy being the main suspect. Trying to cope with the media frenzy and his own journalist instincts, Martin begins to investigate the murder, coming across scenes of sexual debauchery, drugs, religion and money making scandals, all in the small town and surrounding area. Martin's past threatens to catch up with him while he is investigating and there is tension between him and Mandy which has to be overcome if they plan on staying together.
The book is written to draw you in, with cliff hangers in each chapter, willing you to read on and find out what happens next. The characters are all very lifelike and the reader can feel real empathy with them whilst trying to work out who did what!
I really enjoyed this novel, the pace was just right, the twists and turns made for interesting reading and I will look out for more by Chris Hammer.
This is a well-written and entertaining story. Set in a small Australian coastal town, it describes an investigative journalist's mission to prove his girlfriend's innocence and find the real murderer.
It did take a while for me to get into this story. However, after a few chapters, the story started to draw me in properly and towards the end of the book I found that I couldn't put it down as I wanted to know what happened. Beautifully written in the present tense, which moves the story along and adds to the tension, it's very descriptive. I liked the way the narrative switches from present to past in order to tell Martin's back story, which in turn informs his current actions. Based on my enjoyment of this book, I will definitely be reading the first in the series, Scrublands.
A multi-layered story with so many threads which are drawn together perfectly at the very last minute. Silver is a cracking read!
Returning to his home town of Port Silver and being confronted by his past is not something that Martin Scarsden ever wanted to do. When he walked away from his life there he thought he had left for good. But facing his daemons is not the hardest thing Martin has to do. As he and his girlfriend Mandy are drawn into cases of murder, blackmail and corruption, Martin must fight to uncover the truth of current events as well as his past.
Silver is a multi-layered story with so many threads which are drawn together perfectly at the very last minute. There's so much going on and it’s one of those books which you'll ponder and mull over even when you’re not reading it. It’s a sequel to Scrublands and although it alludes to past events which occurred in Scrublands it does provide enough detail so that I didn’t feel I was missing out by not having read Scrublands first. Those who have may approach Silver from a different viewpoint and given the large cast of characters in Silver, it may have helped to have known some of them beforehand. Silver is a cracking read and I'm certainly going to get my hands on Scrublands ASAP!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! If you've read Scrublands, you'll love this.
Loved the first novel Scrublands so excited when this was released which didn't disappoint. Both me and my Partner read it on holiday. This book carries straight on from the first. This is Martin Scarsden at his best, unravelling tangled threads of history, motive and events, maybe at the cost of his own happiness. I loved the characters and plenty of different plots going on from past and present. A town of buried secrets that Martin hasnt re-visited since his childhood buried 25 years ago. It starts with a murder and more murders follow, but why, and how are they all connected? I won't go into too much detail without spoiling the plot, but well worth a read. Highly recommended, can't wait for the next from this Author.
Great read, fast paced, full of action, great protagonist.
Silver by Chris Hammer is a great read, a real page Turner. It's set in a beautiful town on the Australian coast, there is a murder and the prime suspect is top reporter Martin's girlfriend. To clear her, he has to dig deep into the town's politics, hippy beach, local drug dealer and more. More murders take place and he is there at the scene to investigate.
Wow! From page one this book showed terrific promise and I was not disappointed.
Wow! From page one this book showed terrific promise and I was not disappointed.
The themes unfolded in an accomplished way, sprinkled throughout with the back story of the central character. This gave the reader an inkling of the trauma he had suffered in his past and as he discovered the real truth of former events his mind seemed to become more capable of dealing with the present.
The story moved swiftly and thrillingly with a diverse well-drawn cast of characters slowly revealing their secrets and it was difficult at times to put the book down!
I found the journalistic view to proceedings brought reality to the novel as we have all witnessed media scrums outside public buildings so this proved totally true to life.
A well written novel and over the 490 pages the tale revealed itself in a confident, ambitious and sweeping manner.
A great read that keeps you guessing till the end. Highly recommended.
This was the first book I’ve read by this author, which is a sequel to his previous novel Scrublands. Silver centers around journalist Martin Scarsden, who returns to his hometown of Port Silver, where he looks forward to some peace and quiet. His expectations are quickly shattered as new mysteries and old wounds arise. Hammer cleverly interweaves the past with the present, serenity with chaos. Not everything is as it seems in Port Silver. Even though it took me a bit of time to get into the flow of the novel, I ultimately very much enjoyed it and would certainly recommend it to anyone who likes a good mystery.