Treasure and Dirt by Chris Hammer

 

Murder in an opal mine in the New South Wales outback. Treasure and Dirt is, simply, a superb Australian crime novel. Chris Hammer’s vivid descriptive prose brings to life the harsh, dry landscape of the outback, dotted with pockets of green and occasional boggy patches left behind from rare and recent rain; the searing heat and the endless-seeming straight roads leading into and out of the town of Finnigan’s Gap and the mining claims around the outskirts of the town. There is a terrific little map at the start of the book showing the situation of the small town and the surrounding mines which sets the scene beautifully.

Ivan Lucic, a Sydney detective sergeant, is sent to Finnigan’s Gap to investigate the bizarre discovery of an opal miner’s body. Detective constable Nell Buchanan has been despatched from Bourke to assist Ivan in his inquiries and they carry out their investigation from the small Finnigan’s Gap police station.

This is a story of intrigue and hidden meanings, involving murder, long standing family problems, feuding billionaires and a secretive, quasi-religious cult. The atmosphere of the outback is constantly kept alive by the contrasts between the unbearable outdoor heat, the cool air conditioning in the town’s buildings and the interiors of cars and the oppressive but not quite as deadly heat inside tents, and various buildings relying on ceiling fans for relief.

The characterisations are well imagined and easily recognisable:  Ivan and Nell, Trevor Topsoil, Bullshit Bob Inglis to name a few. I haven’t read Chris Hammer before but I think Ivan Lucic has featured in previous stories. I am now definitely inspired to read them and find out for myself!

I highly recommend Treasure and Dirt. It really is crime writing at its best and I rate it 5 out of 5.

Published by Allen & Unwin

Snow Country by Sebastian Faulks

 

In war, those waiting at home lose loved ones through death on the battle field; those on the battlefield lose them through removals and displacements back home so that when they come back there is no one there.

Lena, Anton and Rudolph are three Austrians whose life stories intersect against the background of the period prior to, during and after World War 1. After the war Anton, a journalist and author, takes a commission to write about the Schloss Seeblick, a sanatorium and psychiatric treatment clinic in Carinthia where Lena is an employee. Rudolph is a lawyer/activist in Vienna with whom Lena is involved at various times.

This is a long, complicated book with Sebastian Faulks’s usual vividly descriptive prose in different sections, from the beginnings of the Panama Canal to the battlefields of World War 1 to the architecture and lifestyles of Vienna. It is primarily concerned with the psychological effects their separate experiences have had on the lives of Anton and Lena.

It was a book I was always eager to get back to but at the same time it took me quite a long time to read.  I think I read several pages twice and more. I sometimes wish Sebastian Faulks would make his endings clearer but this one had a most satisfactory conclusion.

Published by Penguin Books Australia

Why We Die by Mick Herron

 

Why We Die is number 3 in the Zoe Boehm thriller series. Mick Herron has outdone himself with this one (or do I say that about all of his books?). Zoe Boehm is once again given an impossible-seeming task of trying to find some people with almost nothing to go on. The story then unfolds with all the wonderful twists and turns to be expected of this master story teller leading to a suspenseful, totally unexpected and quite brilliant conclusion.

Zoe is broke and in debt and her situation is not being helped by the machinations of the bitter ex-copper, Bob Poland;  there is a new, rather amazing character, Win, she of the baby doll’s face and lumberjack’s body, and I do hope she will be reappearing in later books; and there is sweet, sad, beautifully drawn Tim Whitby. I cannot comment on any other characters or their places in the story as I don’t want to give any hints as to the plot. 

The story ranges between Oxford and London and it is a joy to read once again Mick Herron’s clever, witty words. As usual, it was tempting to quote lots of his lines but I want other readers to find them and get the same kicks as I do from them. 

If you don’t already read Mick Herron please, as a wise man used to say, do yourselves a favour, and get started.

5 glittering stars!

Published by John Murray