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Scrublands
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

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Published:
Atria Books 2019
Status:
Checked Out
Description
In this searing, "indisputable page-turner" (Associated Press), a town's dark secrets come to light in the aftermath of a young priest's unthinkable last act—in the vein of The Dry and Where the Crawdads Sing.
In Riversend, an isolated Australian community afflicted by an endless drought, a young priest does the unthinkable: he kills five parishioners before being taken down himself.

A year later, journalist Martin Scarsden arrives in Riversend. His assignment: to report how the townspeople are coping as the anniversary of the tragedy approaches. But as Martin meets the locals and hears their version of events, he begins to realize that the accepted explanation—a theory established through an award-winning investigation by Martin's own newspaper—may be wrong.

Just as Martin believes he's making headway, a shocking new crime rocks the town. As the national media flocks to the scene, Martin finds himself thrown into a whole new mystery.

What was the real reason behind the priest's shooting spree? And how does it connect to other deaths in the district, if at all? Martin struggles to uncover the town's dark secrets, putting his job, his mental state, and his very life at risk.

For fans of James Lee Burke, Jane Harper, and Robert Crais, Scrublands is "a gritty debut...sensitively rendered" (The New York Times Book Review) that marks Chris Hammer as a stunning new voice in crime fiction.
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Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
01/08/2019
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781501196768
ASIN:
B07GNVG79K
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Chris Hammer. (2019). Scrublands. Atria Books.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Chris Hammer. 2019. Scrublands. Atria Books.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Chris Hammer, Scrublands. Atria Books, 2019.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Chris Hammer. Scrublands. Atria Books, 2019.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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Date Added:
Jan 04, 2019 16:40:59
Date Updated:
Jun 22, 2023 08:05:58
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Mar 24, 2024 12:16:24
Last Metadata Change:
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Last Availability Change:
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Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
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      • name: Chris Hammer
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title
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fullDescription
In this searing, "indisputable page-turner" (Associated Press), a town's dark secrets come to light in the aftermath of a young priest's unthinkable last act—in the vein of The Dry and Where the Crawdads Sing.
In Riversend, an isolated Australian community afflicted by an endless drought, a young priest does the unthinkable: he kills five parishioners before being taken down himself.

A year later, journalist Martin Scarsden arrives in Riversend. His assignment: to report how the townspeople are coping as the anniversary of the tragedy approaches. But as Martin meets the locals and hears their version of events, he begins to realize that the accepted explanation—a theory established through an award-winning investigation by Martin's own newspaper—may be wrong.

Just as Martin believes he's making headway, a shocking new crime rocks the town. As the national media flocks to the scene, Martin finds himself thrown into a whole new mystery.

What was the real reason behind the priest's shooting spree? And how does it connect to other deaths in the district, if at all? Martin struggles to uncover the town's dark secrets, putting his job, his mental state, and his very life at risk.

For fans of James Lee Burke, Jane Harper, and Robert Crais, Scrublands is "a gritty debut...sensitively rendered" (The New York Times Book Review) that marks Chris Hammer as a stunning new voice in crime fiction.
reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: Booklist
      • content:

        November 15, 2018
        A novel's opening moments are there to rivet readers' attention; this one begins with a dazzler. A parish priest stands outside his little church in the heat-soaked Australian scrublands on a Sunday morning, chatting with parishioners. He steps inside for a moment, comes back with a rifle and blows away five members of his congregation. Readers who turn pages anxious for understanding will have to wait. Instead, the narrative picks up a year later, as reporter Martin Scarsden visits the dusty, dying town where the murders took place. He's not there to investigate the still-unsolved crime but to write about how everybody is holding up. His poking about reveals a hidden marijuana farm, a plot to steal water, and a murder tricked up to look like suicide, with only occasional references to the slaughter that started the novel. This story is a mix of beautiful writing and a maddeningly slow, overly complex plot. Still, we're hooked. Who is this priest who can put a bullet through a man's neck at a hundred yards?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        Starred review from January 1, 2019

        A year after a tragedy involving an Anglican priest, journalist Martin Scarsden arrives in Riversend, Australia, to tell the story of the small town. He discovers a dying community facing drought and economic disaster while fighting the impressions of the outside world. Martin attempts to dig deeper but faces opposition, anger, and stories that contradict one another. Was the priest a pedophile? Was he a saint or a sinner? Are the police even telling the truth? Identities are uncovered, and even old tramps are not who they appear to be. Dealing with his own war zone-induced PTSD, Martin also encounters an entire town suffering from the trauma resulting from the priest's actions, bushfires, and a fatal car accident. Father Byron Swift's secrets have already changed so many lives; they will also alter Martin's. VERDICT Hammer's intricately plotted, atmospheric debut introduces the bleak Australian scrublands, an area haunted by its past. Fans of Jane Harper's Australian crime novels will welcome another author with a rich descriptive style.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

        Copyright 1 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

popularity
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In this searing, "indisputable page-turner" (Associated Press), a town's dark secrets come to light in the aftermath of a young priest's unthinkable last act—in the vein of The Dry and Where the Crawdads Sing.
In Riversend, an isolated Australian community afflicted by an endless drought, a young priest does the unthinkable: he kills five parishioners before being taken down himself.

A year later, journalist Martin Scarsden arrives in Riversend. His assignment: to report how the townspeople are coping as the anniversary of the tragedy approaches. But as Martin meets the locals and hears their version of events, he begins to realize that the accepted explanation—a theory established through an award-winning investigation by Martin's own newspaper—may be wrong.

Just as Martin believes he's making headway, a shocking new crime rocks the town. As the national media flocks to the scene, Martin finds himself thrown into a whole...
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