Broken River

BURIED GOLD, OLD BONES.WHAT SECRETS LURK IN THE DEPTHS?A masterclass of small-town mystery and jaw-dropping twists from Chris Hammer, the international bestselling author of Scrublands, The Times Crime Book of the Year 2023 Dead Man's Creek and Crime Book of the Month for January 2024, Cover the Bones.A body has been discovered on the riverbanks of The Valley, a remote community in the hills of New South Wales. The gold mine at the heart of The Valley was once the lifeblood of this region, but it has been flooded for decades. Over the years, many have tried and failed to bring it back to life. Now, most believe the mine is barren.The victim is Wolfgang Burnside, deputy mayor - a champion of change or local schemer, depending on who you ask. He had been working on plans to take the Valley off-grid with hydro-power using the lake surrounding the abandoned mine. Until he was poisoned, his body dumped in the river for all to see.Detectives Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic are dispatched to investigate. The warning is clear - there are secrets lurking in the depths of this Valley, secrets worth more than their weight in gold. What price will this town have to pay to ensure that they never see the light of day?An epic, atmospheric mystery spanning generations set against a luscious backdrop and the twisting veins of gold that lurk beneath.Praise for Chris Hammer:'A masterful, stunning thriller. A twisting mystery epic in scale yet intricate in detail. Irresistible.' Chris Whitaker'Epic. Shakespearean in depth and range' The Times'Fierce, gripping and spine-chilling.' Daily Mail'My favourite Australian detective is Nell Buchanan.' - Ann Cleeves'Hammer is a great writer - a leader in Australian noir' Michael Connelly'Shimmers . . . A tortured tale of blood and loss' Val McDermid'Stunning - a page-turner which stays long in the memory' Sunday Times

Chris Hammer is a leading Australian crime fiction novelist, author of the internationally bestselling Martin Scarsden series: Scrublands, Silver, Trust and now Legacy. Scrublands was shortlisted for major writing awards in Australia, the UK and the United States. In the UK it was named the Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Year 2019 and won the prestigious UK Crime Writers' Association John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award. Scrublands was adapted for TV, airing on BBC4 in the UK. Silver aired on BBC2 in 2025. Chris also writes the award-winning series featuring homicide detectives Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic: Opal Country, Dead Man's Creek, Cover the Bones and The Broken River.Before turning to fiction, Chris was a journalist for more than thirty years. He reported from more than thirty countries on six continents. Chris has also written two non-fiction books, The River, winner of the ACT Book of the Year, and The Coast, published by Melbourne University Press. Chris lives in Canberra, Australia.