My first book by this author and definitely not my last.
I really enjoyed the characters and storyline and look forward to reading more.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

This is the first book I have read by Chris Hammer. I will definitely be reading more by him.

The book is set in the Outback in a mining town called Finnegan’s Gap. The descriptions in this book are so good that you feel as if you are really immersed in the surroundings.

A mine owner called Jonah has been found dead in his own mine. He has been nailed onto a makeshift cross and left there. Detective Ivan Mujic is sent to Finnegan’s Gap to investigate and is joined by Detective Nell Buchanan.

The book tells the story of the investigation into Jonah’s death. There are a number of suspects and as the investigation continues a number of things come to light.

A very descriptive, immersive story that had me hooked.

Eines frühen Sonntags im Januar werden der Ermittler Ivan Lucic, Kriminaltechnikerin Carole Nguyen und der forensische Pathologe Blake Ness 800 km von Sidney ins Landesinnere ins unbarmherzig heiße Finnigans Gap geflogen, um im brutalen Mord an einem Opalsucher zu ermitteln. Sein Chef darf überraschend kurzfristig wegen interner Ermittlungen nicht mit. Mit dieser kleinen Crew wird er auf örtliche Unterstützung angewiesen sein. Dabei hat Ivan gerade eine harte Nacht mit seiner Spielsucht hinter sich, aber es könnte auch eine Chance für ihn sein aus dem Schatten seines Chefs herauszutreten. Vor Ort wird ihm die Ermittlerin Nell Buchanan zugeteilt, mit der sie sofort zur Mine aufbrechen. Derweil macht sich Ivan so seine Gedanken, ob ihm auch Ermittlungen drohen werden. Er kann sich eine Suspendierung finanziell nicht erlauben. Umgehend beginnen sie mit der Tatortsichtung und den Befragungen, schnell gibt es erste Verdächtige, doch der Pathologe wird noch Zeit brauchen.
In der Zusammenarbeit entpuppt sich Ivan aus Nells Sicht als einsamer Wolf, angespannt, kühl, mal aufmerksam dann wieder abwesend. Aber er gibt ihr Verantwortung ab, hört zu und sieht nicht auf sie herab. Die Geschichte dreht sich dann recht detailreich um die ernsthafte, konzentrierte Ermittlungsarbeit der beiden.

Dann habe ich das Buch jedoch nach einem Drittel abgebrochen. Leider konnte mich die Handlung nicht fesseln und die Figur von Ivan blieb mir fern. Dabei haben mir die früheren Bücher des Autors um Martin Scarsden sehr gut gefallen.

Murder in the Outback. No Kangaroos. Opal Country tells the story of a Sydney detective sent to a forgotten area to investigate the death of an Opal miner found crucified. The area is oppressively hot, the community is small, poor and abandoned. Barely scratching a living. Barely existing at all. The dynamic, Australian spirit has been knocked out of this community. As in all tight, small communities there is a history of hidden secrets, that many people know about and no one speaks about.
Slowly, slowly the flawed but persistent Detective Ivan Lucic draws out the secrets and eventually is able to understand those that need to be taken into account and those to be discarded. Very astute depiction of a dying rural community and an intriguing investigation and a page turner. Clues dropping' perfectly timed. Kept me turning pages late into the night

This is another absolute corker from a truly talented author. I have been so excited to receive this one- I adore the Martin Scarsden series. I have been completely hooked and unwilling to put this one down.

This outback thriller is set in a remote mining town. Hammer sets the scene beautifully and is a must read author, based on the twists, turns and mystery he creates in his stories- Hammer is a must read author.

Hammer transports you to the scene and makes it easy to vividly imagine the dryness, the heat and the eery isolation. Ivan, our homicide detective is one that I have liked from early on. Hammer also allows us to get to know a range of other quirky and unique characters. Another aspect I love about Hammer’s books. You are given characters to love and hate.

I love that some characters from Hammer’s other books are mentioned in this one. This is a brilliant standalone thriller from this author. I have found myself completely caught up in the pages of this and unable to predict where this was going.

This is a superb read and one that I absolutely will be recommending. A definite five star read and I absolutely cannot wait to read more by Chris Hammer.

A bit different to my usual. Set in Australia, the author does a good job portraying the area, heat and hardship that the miners face. The two main characters were engaging enough and the plot is quite interesting. A miner found in his mine, not only dead but crucified. How the story unfolds keeps you reading but there were no real surprises.

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!

Opal Country by Chris Hammer is set in the Australian outback, where they have opal mines.  There's been a suspicious death, and so the police are investigating.  This is a thriller, with lots of things going on.

This is a very atmospheric book, with the hard life of living in the Australian little communities shown very evocatively, with the secrets and weirdnesses, including a local cult.

Opal Country was published on 6th January 2022, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Chris Hammer on his website.

You can read my review of Scrublands, also by Chris Hammer.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Headline.

Whether you want to call it Outback Noir, Dingo Noir or Yeah Noir, Australian crime writers have rapidly been gaining popularity with readers. Authors like Jane Harper, Garry Disher, Liane Moriarty of Big Little Lies fame and Chris Hammer are pioneers for the more recent wave of crime writing originating in the southern hemisphere.

Ex-journalist Chris Hammer achieved fame with a trio of bestsellers, Scrublands, Silver and Trust, published in quick succession. Treasure and Dirt, a standalone novel was published in Australia in 2021. The rest of the world came to know it as Opal Country.

The rest of the review can be read on the blog: https://westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2022/03/16/opal-country-chris-hammer/ and an Afrikaans review also appeared in South African newspapers.

When an opal miner is found crucified underground, Sydney homicide detective Ivan Lucic is sent to investigate. What initially seems like an open-and-shut case (albeit with the added complication of the post-mortem crucifiction) turns into something much more complex, encompassing the failing opal mines, a years-old drugs bust, two billionaires engaged in bitter competition, a local cult leader, and an Internal Affairs investigation into Ivan.

It took me a while to warm to this book, and in fact I almost DNF'd it a couple of times, but am really glad that I didn't. The strands of the story all come together in extremely satisfactory fashion and kept me guessing right to the end. As with his previous books, Hammer highlights a side of Australian life - life in rural mining communities - that wasn't familiar to me. A solid 4 star read.

Chris Hammer writes great thrillers and this one did not disappoint. Set in Finnigan’s Gap, a town in Australia’s outback, Hammer’s outstanding descriptive style gives the reader a clear view of the backdrop to the story. The town is centred on the opal mining business, and Hammer’s description of running mines and running police investigations in the challenging conditions of dry, oppressive heat and a close knit community with established hierarchies are fascinating.

The main theme of the novel is the investigation a murder and cruxification, but there are many sub themes to keep the readrer engaged. The main police investigator and his assistant (Ivan and Nell) are under investigation themselves separately, both for inappropriate conduct. There are fallouts between business colleagues from 20 years ago that affect what is happening in Finnigan’s Gap today as well as a whole host of characters that are well portrayed and add to the enjoyment.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story can be complex at times but is well explained and there is a real satisfaction when everything becomes clear at the end. Thanks to Laurel Stewart for the ARC.

Chris Hammer has, in my view, become the leading writer in the ‘Australian noir outback’ genre. The settings in each of his books really give the reader a feel for the territory and Opal I think is his best yet. This story is about murder in the mines. The killer crucifies and the investigation is complex and tense. What I find really shrinking is that the heat almost literally shimmers off the page. It’s palpable and the writing is so skilled, the reader feels part of every scene. The mines are dark, dank, claustrophobic and unbearably hit, above ground, the heat and dust bounce off every surface and yet through this, the lead Leticia, the lead detective brought in to investigate, manages to keep his cool and start asking the right questions to find the killer.

Hammer is skilled in plotting, with pace that is maintained and relentless. I love the characters; offbeat locals and they all have substance. I raced through this story of greed and revenge, at times almost unable to breathe, absolutely first class storytelling.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

Gets the small town feeling down to a tee, as the two detectives become embroiled in a murder that impacts throughout the town.
Moves along at a decent pace and like the fact that the two main characters have their own skeletons in the closet.
Along with Garry Disher, Chris Hammer is now on my must read list of Aussie crime fiction.

Opal Country is the latest thriller from the award-winning Chris Hammer and it's a terrific piece of standalone outback noir, set in the unforgiving heat of Australia's opal country, and the small mining town of Finnigan's Gap. In this story about greed and revenge, a miner is found dead and is crucified. Detective Sergeant Ivan Lucic investigates and he is teamed up with Detective Constable Nell Buchanan who knows the area and the community. Fast-paced, gritty, and full of suspense, this is a quality, very atmospheric thriller.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel, at my request, from Headline/ Wildfire via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

💎💎💎💎💎
I adore Chris Hammer's work. It's real & gritty & doesn't hold back. Before I give you the praise, I need to mention 2 things.
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First, #OpalCountry is a superior title to "Treasure & Dirt". I mean, why would you use that? It's meaningless & sounds like a working title.
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Second, the bloody names in this book. Humphrey Tuppence, Delaney Bullwinkle, Trevor Topsoil? I don't know whether there's Dickensian influence at play or if it's for the American market. I had moments where the names made me so angry I nearly didn't finish.
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Names aside, Hammer can tell a brilliant story and keep you interested despite distractions. Ivan & Nell, our primary characters & police officers are real & convincing. In fact, most of the characters are convincing. I felt as though I was walking around Finnigans Gap with them.
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The invocation of heat didn't seem as strong this time but god, the swarms of flies that won't leave you alone certainly made me feel dusty.
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I really like Hammer's work & I'm glad to have two more of his books waiting for me. I would recommend this book for most folk but be warned, there is a smattering of language some may not enjoy.

This is my first exposure to Chris Hammer and I’m happy to add a new author to my list of favourites. The evocative description of Australian mining town Finnigans gap brings it to life and the dust heat and small town characters are vividly drawn.

DS Ivan Lucic has been sent to investigate the possible murder of a local Opal miner together with inexperienced officer Nell Buchanan who brings her local knowledge to the task. Ivan and Nell make an uNeasy double act with neither of them really trusting the other.

The action continues at a breakneck pace and pressure from professional standards and a feeling that there is more going on in the background than it first seemed threaten to cause the fragile case to fall apart.

With a mysterious religious group led by the Seer and a powerful rivalry between two mining magnates Ivan and Nell have their work cut out to make sure justice is done.

Another excellent read by one of the Masters of outback noir, Chris Hammer. With him I know I don't even have to look at the storyline I will love it because he never disappoints! His books are always very atmospheric and the characters very well developed. Some with flaws, but not always bad flaws!
This is a stand-alone story and not part of his series and is set in a fictional town where they mine for opals. It is a story about greed and revenge. A miner is found dead; crucified to a cross.  Detective Sergeant Ivan Lucic is sent to Finnigans Gap to investigate and he is teamed up with Detective Constable Nell Buchanan who knows the area and people. Was this just a random killing and robbery or is there more to this story? What is the story with the cult called The Rapture and their leader who calls himself the Seer?

A wonderful must-read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Headline and Wildfire for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
A well written entertaining story from first to last page, a clever Police procedural set in as the title suggests the Opal Country of Australia. Two out of town cops arrive to investigate a murder? Or is it? Beautifully descriptive even though it's minus degrees outside, I could almost feel the heat, and swear a couple of times I wafted at the swarms of flies troubling a brilliant cast of colourful eccentric downright weird in some case characters. An atmospheric quality mystery that left this reader with no clue as to whodunit, and even more surprised when there turned out to be several more crimes to solve.
Completely and utterly recommended.

When Homicide detective Ivan Lucic is sent to an outback mining town to investigate the peculiar death of an opal miner, he finds himself out of step from the very first moment he arrives. Baking hot, desolate, and clearly on its downers, Finnigans Gap is going to be a very different arena to investigate a possible murder than the cosmopolitan streets of Sydney.

Fortunately for Lucic, he finds himself paired with rookie investigator Nell Buchanan who, despite her inexperience, knows the lay of the land in Finnigans Gap, and the two of them set to work trying to discover just how and why anyone would want to nail a local man to a cross underground in his mine.

As the case proceeds, they find themselves chasing leads that have them delving deep into the mechanics of the mining industries that dominate this town, and into the history of the menacing religious sect that has been established on its outskirts, and it becomes clear that there is more at play here than a grudge against a miner who seems to have struck it lucky.

Both Lucic and Buchanan find themselves under close scrutiny in the face of allegations and internal investigations designed to deter them from finding out the truth, and they begin to suspect they may have been lured here to be the fall guys for someone else's crimes. The only way to get themselves out of this sticky situation with their careers in tact is to get to the bottom of this mystery and bring the guilty to justice.

I absolutely love an outback noir tale and this is one is an absolute corker. It has everything I love about the genre - the tense, small town atmosphere, ramped up to the max by oppressive heat, hostile locals with secrets to hide, and the undeniable feeling that violence lies just under the surface. But Opal Country also has a few tricks up its sleeve that make it very interesting reading indeed.

The way Hammer uses the mining industry as the background to this story is genius, weaving in elements of miners working small-scale claims through the opal mining thread of the story, the reality of massive corporate operations like Cattamulla Coal, and how the business of mining is heading into the search for rare earth metals. This beautifully mixes up past, present and future, almost like you are walking through time, but my favourite thing about this is the way Hammer shows that whatever the scale or nature of the operation, everyone involved is hoping to strike it lucky - whether through legal means, or otherwise.

But that's not all, because in addition we have two very different cops with their own ghosts to lay to rest, making them both ideal candidates for manipulation, but also allowing them to forge a strong bond; families and partners with scores to settle; the kind of poverty that drives ordinary people to resort to desperate measures; and the frisson of excitement created by a religious fanatic who may well be tied up with the mystery to boot.

All these elements serve to offer a rich seam to plunder, if you will pardon the pun - one that feeds twisty storylines of corruption, greed, revenge and redemption - and Hammer knows how to use them all to perfection.

For a book that is a smidge short of 500 pages, this was a fast-paced and thrilling read that flew by. It is linked to Hammer's previous Martin Scarsden series, which I have not read, but can easily be read as a standalone and has certainly inspired me to add them to my tbr pile, because this is just about as good as it gets on the outback noir front. I loved it!