4.5★
“…she flings him clear, out through the ornate window and onto the footpath, where he lies twitching, like the town drunk evicted from a Tombstone saloon. She kicks some shards from the edge of the window and climbs out after him. She wants to make sure he stays down.”

Aussie author and former journalist Chris Hammer writes compelling, often complex, stories with many threads and a couple of timelines, current and past. The past can include ‘historic’ past events as well as a storyline about the previous generation or two. It’s immersive stuff, and I love it.

This is the case with The Valley, a small former goldrush town in NSW, (Australia). The two characters who take us into the story are the police investigating a murder, which of course leads us back, mostly to 1994.

The reason for the opening quotation is to show that investigating detectives need to be able to hold their own, so to speak, in Hammer’s work. The “she” above is Nell, who can hold not only her own, but this guy, who deserved being chucked out.

But I’m getting ahead of the story, which begins here.

“Detective Senior Constable Nell Buchanan and Detective Sergeant Ivan Lucic come from the north, leaving Dubbo behind and moving from the haze of late summer into the clarity of autumn, traversing the rolling hills of the Central West, edging east through the uplands of the Dividing Range, green tinge defying the lateness of the season, pushing down past ridge lines crested with windfarms, edging onto the bleached periphery of the Monaro.”

The Valley is a small settlement wedged between two high escarpments with a river and tributary streams running through it. Old families still live here, and an old goldmine sits at the top of an escarpment where waterfalls cascade down to the river. The mystery and the action centre around this once productive mine which was abandoned when it was flooded by a horrific storm.

“An east coast low they called it, massive amounts of moisture coming in from the Pacific, an atmospheric river. The ocean might have been an hour’s drive, but as the crow flies, we were only forty kilometres inland. The weather was hitting the mountains, all that water-sodden air, lifted by the coastal range, the sky emptying upon us, flowing off the escarpment and into the valley like water flowing into a bathtub. A bathtub with no drain hole, just the Broken River, swollen and angry, overflowing its banks.”

It was dangerous to use diesel pumps underground to pump water out of the mine to get whatever gold might remain. When a new couple arrives in The Valley with plans, capital, and new technology to pump the mine and begin exploration again, they are greeted with enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, Nell has been told that the victim of the crime she and Ivan are investigating turns out to be a very close relative of hers. Nell’s mother died just after Nell was born, and she was raised by an adoptive family. Now she discovers her mother, Amber, once spent time in The Valley.

Murder, goldmining, family intrigue – Hammer has it all here, along with his wonderful sense of place. I’m a firm lover of maps and always appreciate the illustrations that accompany his books. They are in the e-book and Kindle versions as well.

Lest you think he needs to resort to maps, I’ll add this paragraph describing Amber’s first view of The Valley from above, before she and a friend drive down into it.

“The Valley spread beneath them, the mist rising in patches, the sun catching the western escarpment and the valley floor below it, painting the pastures and tree lines with dappled light. It looked like it was lifted from the pages of a fantasy book, with a waterfall coming off a cliff face far in distance, the wind transforming the falling water into a white veil.”

I’m glad I read it rather than listened to the audio. I think I’d have become lost and confused. I did sometimes have to go back to check which timeline I was in. Some chapters are in the first person, so I wanted to make sure whose memories I was reading.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Allen and Unwin for a copy of #TheValley for review.

Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic are back. A controversial entrepreneur is murdered in a remote mountain valley, but this is no ordinary case. Nell discovers the victim is a close blood relative. What did take place in The Valley all those years ago? What was Nell's mother doing there, and what was her connection to troubled young police officer Simmons Burnside?

After reading this, I’m convinced that Nell was always fated to be a police officer to sort out her family ordeals!

Our grumpy x sunshine pair, Ivan and Nell, are an established partnership by now. It was so good to see them working together like a machine. Just like other Chris Hammer books, the mystery was told in alternating chapters between past and present. I was fully hooked as this was Nell’s story.

This was again another ride to remember. The audiobook narration was perfect for the story, with good pacing, intonation and performance. The twists and turns didn’t disappoint at all, and I can’t wait for the next Ivan x Nell book!

Loved everything about this book. Absolutely brilliant. The timelines, the tropes - found family, dna testing, missing people and cold cases. The setting, Chris mentioned so many places near where I live, the characters- so many characters and everyone plays a role in it. I connected with Nell the most as she navigated her way through her personal life vs her work ethic. This book is about corruption, connections, coincidences, politics, and the environment. Highly recommend.

The Valley, also titled The Broken River, is the fourth book in the Ivan Lulic and Nell Buchanan series by award-winning Australian journalist and author, Chris Hammer. While the murder in the mountain valley seems like one the district constabulary could handle, DS Ivan Lulic and DC Nell Buchanan are sent to investigate.

Local entrepreneur, Wolfgang Burnside, a personable man with a finger in many pies and ambitious plans for The Valley that don’t please everyone, has been found dead on the banks of the Broken River, drowned after a blow to the back of the head, with traces of cyanide in his system.

Ivan and Nell have soon decided that neither his current wife, nor his ex, are likely candidates for his murder, and are set to dig into connections of those who may have had a beef with the victim, as well as tracking down an elusive yellow van, when DNA proves that Nell has a much closer link to Wolf than she could have imagined. She’s ready to step back, but their boss, DS Packenham insists she stay.

The fact that Amber Jones, the mother she only recently discovered, spent time is the Valley is not the only surprise in store for Nell. Can she defer her curiosity about her origins to concentrate on finding who murdered the relative she never got a chance to know?

In a tale that features a massive cash and gold bullion heist, confrontations between loggers and environmentalists, a gold-mining scam, a dodgy lawyer, a dishonest accountant, and denied paternity, Hammer easily captures setting and eras. The story is told through three narratives, each with their own time-line, and there are some great twists, surprises, and red herrings.

Hammer dials back a bit on the ridiculous character names, but there are two power couples, corrupt cops and politicians, a fake photographer, and a journalist with integrity. Before matters are resolved, there’s an attempted abduction that results in a gunfight in the street, a grave is robbed, a man is thrown out of a window, and the body count exceeds ten. Again, there’s a very handy map at the front created by Aleksander Potočnik. Another exceptional dose of Australian rural crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Allen & Unwin.

Chris Hammer is one of the rare authors that is an automatic read for me. I just love his writing style and really enjoy the detective pairing that leads his current crime mystery series — Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic. While not topping the firecracker novel that kicked off this series (Treasure & Dirt #1), The Tilt/DeadMan’s Creek (#2) and The Seven (#3) were strong reads featuring compelling crime mysteries also.

The Valley features Hammer’s trademark evocative setting, another small-town microcosm steeped in history, secrets and generational trauma. Once again, Hammer skilfully depicts an authentic tension, wariness and mistrust of outsiders under the surface of everyday interactions, and with respect to the natural environment, you can almost smell the eucalypts…

Alternating historical timelines and multi-character narrative perspectives is always a construct I enjoy in my leisure reading. However, I found the historical voices in The Valley particularly engaging and with greater depth and nuance than some in the prior novel The Seven. As in previous homicide investigations in this series, in seeking to unravel the circuitous, multi-layered and linked crime web underpinning present-day events, our daring detective duo must tangle with threads from their own pasts too.

The Valley is another satisfying crime pageturner with substance from Chris Hammer that I highly recommend. That said, if you have not yet read Book 1 Treasure & Dirt, do start there!

This was not my favourite book in the series, but I still really enjoy the way that Chris Hammer tells a story. Highlights were learning more about Nell's family history. This book has great character development and fabulous descriptions of The Valley. I just didn't get as into the storyline of this book compared to the previous ones in the series. I can't wait for the next one!!

Chris Hammer is an Australian writer and master storyteller at the top of his craft. This fourth episode is a thrilling addition to his popular crime series, all set in small Australian rural towns. It all starts with the discovery of a murdered man, but as the investigation digs deeper, weaves in past crimes involving a gold heist, the mysterious disappearance of a mine owner, political scandal and police corruption. In fact, it’s everything we’ve come to know and love about Chris Hammer’s novels!

Somewhere in southern New South Wales not too far from the coast is The Valley, a lush and fertile, almost magical place with crystal clear lakes, waterfalls and abundant birds and native animals. At first sight it’s the very picture of tranquillity, but lurking below the surface there are dark dealings, secrets and lies.

The novel opens in 1988 with a group of men pulling off a massive bank heist, getting away with millions in cash and gold bullion. However, when a fight breaks out several are killed and two of the gang escape with most of the loot.

Moving forward to 2024, a man’s body is found drowned in Broken River in The Valley. He was a local mover and shaker and pro-development in a region populated by environmentalists. Usually, such murders would be handled by a local team, but the Head of Homicide has requested that DS Ivan Lucic and SC Nell Buchanan, from the rural flying squad, are sent in to head the investigation. Based in Dubbo, six hours away by road, they know he must have a good reason to send them there.

This complex, multilayered case has its roots firmly embedded in the past. Particularly the 1990s, when police were sent to manage environmentalists protesting against logging, attracting a lot of media attention. The disappearance of the owner of a local gold mine not long afterwards also has an impact on the case and on Nell’s personal history. She discovers that her mother Amber Jones lived in The Valley during the 1990s and was friendly with the mine owner’s wife and likely met Nell’s father there, someone Nell would love to find.

As with the previous books in this series location is an important feature of the novel and it is particularly well depicted here. You can almost hear the bellbirds and the rushing of the waterfalls and feel the cool greenness of The Valley. The characters are all well drawn with strong individual personalities. The main characters have grown a lot throughout the series, particularly Nell who is now a confident, capable detective, able to separate her personal connections from the case and concentrate on the investigation. Gripping and action packed, this might just be the best in the series yet and should also work well as a stand-alone.

This is my favourite series. I have to admit, I don’t read a lot of crime now. I don’t know what it is about me these days but the suspense and building gives me anxiety and not in an anticipatory way. But this series? It’s so damn good, I have to read every single instalment. Chris Hammer is a auto-read author for me. I really enjoyed the Martin Scarsden books but I feel like these ones might even be better.

This one is very much focused on Nell Buchanan when she and Ivan Lucic are called to investigate a murder down near the south coast of New South Wales. A young entrepreneur with big ideas has been found dead in a place called The Valley. Wolf Burnside was successful and seemed well liked. What could be a motive for his murder? His wealth? His ideas of development? Politics? It’s going to be up to Ivan and Nell to find out and they’re being told by a few people from a certain division, to keep things quiet. To investigate themselves thoroughly and don’t necessarily trust anyone. It’s a curious order and both of them feel like there’s a lot more going on than they’re aware of.

This book starts with an incident in the late 80s and then divides its time between the present day with Ivan and Nell investigating the murder and the mid-90s, when a married couple were trying to revive a mine in the town. The local area was a hotbed of issues then – logging, environmental protection, interest rates and the 90s recession, etc. The sections in the 1990s are told through the eyes of Simmons Burnside, a young police officer who is stationed in The Valley as a liaison between the loggers and the protestors, trying to keep things from boiling over. He becomes involved in other areas as well and he has his own mysteries that he is trying to puzzle out.

This is one of the books where you just have to trust the process. You don’t know where it’s going and why we are spending so much time in the 1990s, but like the previous book in this series, The Seven, it all comes together and it is so good! The further I got into it, the more invested in everything I was, the more I was trying my own guesses and trying to figure out why we had the prologue and where it fit into everything. What comes out about Nell’s past is fascinating and also raises questions and helps to flesh out her background for her personally. It also brings up questions about her working on the case but the powers that be are content to let it go for now and Ivan follows suit but keeps an eye on Nell and how she is coping. I really enjoy their partnership, even though it’s usually portrayed or described in a very understated way. It was interesting reading Ivan in this from basically entirely Nell’s perspective. She focuses a lot on the way he receives information, his facial expressions when he’s thinking or listening or judging what he’s hearing. Ivan is protective of Nell, both of her as his partner and also of her emotions with some of the stuff that comes out in the course of the investigation and he’s not above pulling rank and ordering her to rest, eat, etc when she needs to. I liked bossy Lucic, taking care of his team member and making sure she was taking care of herself.

Chris Hammer really is the best at showcasing rural towns, at describing their idiosyncrasies as well as the environmental features of various places. The locals are always so well rendered, the characters fleshed out well, no matter how minor a role they play. I enjoy the look at small town politics and the various issues that face different places. In this one, logging is a hotbed issue in the 90s, the town is struggling in the face of a recession and interest rates that are at 19%. I was a child in the early 90s but I know my parents had an interest rate of 17% on their house and it was a crippling time for a lot of people. Interest rates are a hot topic now, after bottoming out in COVID they are steadily rising, doubling people’s mortgages and forcing up rental prices, creating a housing crisis. It’s a bit scary to imagine what things would be like if interest rates were to reach that height again, mortgages are a lot more expensive now, housing prices have skyrocketed. In the present day, Wolf Burnside has ecotourism plans, development plans and not everyone in the small town is on board with his big ideas. He’s a man of vision, it’s clear he’s been quite successful at many things and is responsible for things like fast internet existing in the town. He also has plans for the abandoned mine and some sort of power plant, that would generate power for the town. He was also rumoured to be dabbling in funding a local political candidate as well. The possibilities for Wolf’s murder seem quite numerous, it’s up to Nell and Ivan to wade through the information they have, which is mostly background with not a lot of actual evidence, and trace the right information back to the killer.

Loved every twist and turn of this, every dip back into the 90s and every chapter that dealt with Ivan and Nell both investigating and Nell’s feelings about the information she received about herself in the course of this investigation. I hope this series continues on for many more instalments because it’s just so good.

9/10

I am loving this series, when Ivan and Nell are sent on another case this time to small town down south a long drive from home base in Dubbo, it ends up being very personal for Nell when the body of a well -known entrepreneur is found, it is discovered through DNA that Nell is a close blood relative, what else will they uncover in this investigation?

It seems that the past in encroaching on the present in this investigation, an old gold mine that some locals tried to re-open thirty odd years ago, a robbery a couple of years before that what really happened in The Valley all those years ago and what has Nell’s mother got to do with it, is it linked to police and political corruption and is it linked to the this murder? What will Ivan and Nell uncover, will the truth come out and will Nell finally find out who her father is?

This is such a brilliant story, I love Chris Hammer’s writing style he pulls the reader in with so many scenarios of what could or could not have happened he had me thinking throughout and wanting to get to the end to get all of the answers, I think Ivan and Nell are fabulous characters and they team up together so well, this one has a cast of wonderful characters who all added to the story and it is one that I highly recommend to any lover of a good crime mystery.

My thanks to Allen& Unwin for my copy to read and review.

This is book 4 in the Lucic & Buchanan series, it is set in a small regional town in regional NSW where a young entrepreneur has been found murdered. Ivan and Nell are called in, but not sure what their role is to be in this investigation. However, it soon becomes apparent that there is a lot more at stake, with dirty politics and police corruption being in the background.
There are a few twists in the story and one results in the case becoming very personal for Nell in particular. Told in parallel storylines, the story moves between the present and 1994 when a young police officer is sent to look into a logging protest.
Once again Hammer has managed to pull out more atrocious names and it certainly makes the characters memorable.
A great story that is fast paced. Thank you Allen & Unwin and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

Cowboy lawyers, conmen, bullion thieves, and grave robbers; detectives Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic must almost feel like they’re up against villains and foes from centuries past when investigating the murder of a controversial entrepreneur in Chris Hammer’s compelling new novel.

While Hammer is a new king of ‘Outback Noir’, he has soaked readers in a diverse array of evocative Aussie landscapes across his multi-layered mysteries, from a church shooting in drought-stricken farmlands in SCRUBLANDS (now a TV series screening in several countries) to the corrupt underbelly of privileged Sydney in TRUTH, to crimes old and new among Red Gum wetlands on the Murray River in THE TILT (aka DEAD MAN'S CREEK in UK)

Now, in THE VALLEY, Hammer takes his heroes, and readers, into a unique mountain valley he brings to vivid life, while nodding to the idea that rural noir is akin to modern westerns. A tense tale entwining past and present narratives, political scandal and police corruption, and unexpected familial connections for Nell Buchanan, THE VALLEY shows a storyteller at the top of his considerable game. Masterful.

There is a mastery in the ability to carry two timelines through one story in a way that provides depth and detail to both characters and plot. This is no exception in the latest book from Chris hammer. The Valley is set in a glorious place almost like an Australian version of Shangrila with lush bushland waterfalls clear blue lakes of tranquil water and murder and mystery, and a whole lotta bad things going on
You would think that Detective Sergeant Ivan Lucic and Senior Constable Neil Buchanan would be secondary to the story but in fact they are so closely intertwined with what they discover and what unfolds that you might need to put the book down and shake your head in amazement of how it all unravels before your eyes. Chris hammer has a knack for tying in the environment into his storylines and this is so evident with the way that he captures the history of this fictional place, and the environmental impacts from mining and the logging of forests. Even the map of Saltwood at the beginning of this book is full of detail and also full of mystery with so many back roads in this lush bushland area leading nowhere or leading to things that both Nell and Ivan would discover.
Even though this is a book that is late and with mystery and crime, it is also a very personal and emotional story for Neil especially when connections to her past emerge and as they are uncovered the date has become unsettling and also more needing of resolution. Not just for the case to be solved but to provide Nell with some stability and peace of mind. An outstanding book from #chrishammer.

My first Chris Hammer book, but definitely not my last, The Valley grabbed my attention during the Prologue, a 1988 gold bullion heist which ended in a blaze of gunfire and a warehouse blaze.
The book proper runs in two distinct timelines. the first during the 1990s and the second in 2024, when the murder of a wealthy eco-tourist resort developer sparks a homicide investigation. The driving thread is the murder investigation carried out by Detective Senior Constable Nell Buchanan and her boss, Detective Sergeant Ivan Lukic, which is complicated by DNA links between Nell and the victim.
Seemingly unrelated events, the Gryphon gold mine a number of murders and an apparent suicide, all over a period of 36 years kept me guessing. Greed, blackmail and corruption are very prominent features in both threads, while numerous misdirections keep things interesting along the way.
The twists in this story continue right to the end and while I was guessing at who was responsible for things and why, I really didn’t unravel all the clues until the last few pages.

The small town Australian crime novel has become the reliable domain of Chris Hammer and, once again, we find ourselves in the rural environment of The Valley, sinking our teeth into another complex crime. It’s the 4th outing for Nell Buchanan (recently promoted to Senior Constable) and her partner of 3 years Sergeant Ivan Lucic.

Before the case is introduced we’re given a teaser to set the scene. In 1988 a crew has just successfully pulled off a massive heist getting away with cash and gold bullion worth hundreds of thousands. But there’s a falling out, suspicions of a wire, gunplay and a fire at their hideout. Some of the crew die, some get away.

In the present day, Nell and Ivan have been called in to investigate a suspicious death - a drowning - in the tiny community called The Valley. This place, idyllic gauging from Hammer’s wonderfully rich description as they drive in, is located on the South Coast of New South Wales somewhere to the west of Batemans Bay.

The dead man’s name is Wolfgang Burnside and clearly his drowning death is a murder case. But very early on we discover that there’s a personal connection to the case, a bit of a bombshell that’s going to make this just a little more of an emotional investigation than usual.

This is a story told across a couple of time periods as we alternate from the present before flicking back to 1990 and then 1994. In 1990 Simmons Burnside arrives in The Valley as part of the police force tasked with keeping order between loggers and protesting environmentalists. We’re given his first person account of the events and the people involved at the time. This includes his traumatic near death experience at Gryphon Mine.

Amber Jones, Nell’s mother, comes to the Valley in 1994 having inherited the property that includes a house and land, called Watershine, and the now abandoned Gryphon Mine. The mine sits on the escarpment overlooking the house and is the centrepiece of the story, linked by the tragedy that occurred there 4 years earlier and its potential for providing wealth and prosperity if it were made operable again.

Using the details from the past and present, Hammer gradually pulls the story together. We’re given two suspicious deaths from the past and one from the present to think about. In the meantime, Amber meets Lucas Trescothic and forms a friendship that slowly develops into something more. The more we learn about Amber the more you wonder how she’s involved, a job made increasingly difficult as the twists and unexpected changes of direction begin to come thick and fast.

Once again Chris Hammer has managed to place a large scale crime within a majestic New South Wales landscape. Familiar local environmental issues give depth to the storyline and the question of Nell’s origins (although tinged with the old coincidence brush) adds further intrigue. There’s no doubt that the sense of place is profound with beauty found in every described panoramic vista, lake, leaf and tree.

The Valley is an epic crime story, masterfully crafted, intricately plotted and well executed. Although it’s nominally a Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic police procedural, they actually take a backseat to the more complex cast of characters from the past. The question of Nell’s lineage hangs tauntingly for the majority of the story and is cleverly worked into the case as things are brilliantly wrapped up.

This is another small town Australian crime story that draws you deeply in and makes you care about the local people and the surrounding countryside.

My thanks to Allen & Unwin and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC giving me the opportunity to read, enjoy and review this book.

The Valley by Chris Hammer is the fourth in the Ivan Lucic / Nell Buchanan series and again the former journalist offers an investigation that becomes personal with Nell discovering a link to a murder victim. And again Hammer is able to combine a whodunnit with social commentary on the (former) logging industry and its workers clashing with environmentalists; the impact on mining as well as mother nature on their surrounds; the need to balance the environmental AND economic sustainability of small communities; also moving into ecotourism, clean energy and pumped hydro.

Hammer opens this in 1988 with the aftermath of a bank robbery-gone-wrong, resulting in a heist of $25m in cash and gold bullion and most of the thieves dead. He moves on then to the present and the murder of a local entrepreneur who ends up - VERY coincidentally - being related to Nell. And yes, it does seem overly coincidental though interestingly Hammer doesn't make any attempt to include any motivation behind the coincidence as the connection is only discovered during the investigation rather than being a motive to have Nell and Ivan involved (which would have felt more feasible). Though after the discovery the pair are surprised their boss prefers them to lead the case rather than hand it over.

Although this is part of a series I hadn't really remembered much about Nell's mother Amber, or her backstory from previous books but it didn't matter as some of those gaps are filled here. In fact much of this is set in the early to mid 1990s when Saltwood was trying to re-establish a gold mine that would again resurrect the dying town following the loss of timber industry. During that time we're hosted by a young cop, Simmons Burnside, as well as Amber.

And in the present Nell is front and centre, given her links to the victim and a connection to the town she never knew existed. Initially it seems the events from the 1990s are merely a backdrop, but we learn there's far more to it with the past igniting everything in the present when old secrets are (inadvertently) revealed. 

I should mention, fans of maps (cos I know there are some!) will appreciate that one of the area is included, which we've seen in Hammer's previous books, offering up visual imagery that reflects his emotive descriptions of settings and surrounds.

As an aside, I must say I was confused by some of the names here as many are long or unusual: Wolfgang Burnside, Hannibal Earl, Cornell Obswith, Teramina Cloverton, Willard Halliday and Fred Wallington. Some were hard to remember so on a few occasions I had to flick back to remind myself who was who. But that's a minor and probably very personal gripe and I've noticed I often struggle with large numbers of characters when I don't read a book in a sitting and have to come back to it.

I very much enjoyed this book and Hammer continues to frame his prose and deliver a narrative in a way that doesn't belabour the setting but places readers firmly in his fictional word, as if we're privy to the events unfolding.

Another brilliant story by Chris Hammer. The Valley is multi layered, with several time zones, that takes you on an incredible journey in a small, almost rural, country town somewhere in New South Wales, Australia.

Gripping story line with captivating characters! Police corruption, political scandals and personal tragedies combine to create a crime based thriller. There are many stings to this story and the twists and turns come fast and furious but there are many that take you by surprise with unexpected outcomes.

The main character Senior Constable Nell Buchanan is central to the story in both professionally and personally and is greatly supported by her colleague Detective Sergeant Ivan Lucic who a balancing force in the team. Although this the fourth book in this series it is easily a stand alone read.

While the story travel through several time zones the story flows and the complications and mysteries are both intriguing and perplexing.

The publisher’s blurb is a great introduction:

“Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic are back – as Nell is thrown into her most emotionally fraught investigation yet.
A controversial entrepreneur is murdered in a remote mountain valley, but this is no ordinary case. Ivan and Nell are soon contending with cowboy lawyers, conmen, bullion thieves and grave robbers.
But it's when Nell discovers the victim is a close blood relative that the past begins to take on a looming significance.
What did take place in The Valley all those years ago? What was Nell's mother doing there, and what was her connection to troubled young police officer Simmons Burnside? And why do the police hierarchy insist Ivan and Nell stay with the case despite an obvious conflict of interest?”

Highly recommended read.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from Allen & Unwin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#TheValley #NetGalley

Chris Hammer explores another part of rural Australia in his latest crime novel – The Valley. Hammer fans will know the drill by now: a mysterious cold open, a murder that draws the investigative team of Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan to a remote/isolated part of Australia, potentially some personal connection for one of them to the place or crime and a generations long history that impacts on and continues to influence current events.
In this case the setting is ‘the Valley’ (which does not have any other name), an idyllic piece of forest sitting below an escarpment in the South East of New South Wales. It is based on a place called the Araluen Valley which sits near the town of Braidwood on the Western side of the Great Dividing Range between Canberra and the coast (Bateman’s Bay). The area has long been prized for its timber but also, at one time as a source of gold. Both the gold mining and logging histories of the area get explored through the investigation.
After a cold open involving the violent aftermath of a gold robbery, Hammer switches to the investigative team from his last few books – Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan. They have been brought in over the top of local police to investigate the murder of a local entrepreneur Max Burnside in the Valley. Max was planning to convert the old gold mine above the town into a hydro scheme. He was the son of a former police officer in the town, Simmons Burnside. and it is through his recollections that readers learn of some of the shady history of the Valley from back in the 1990s. To make matters more complex, Nell finds out that she has a family connection to the victim, a connection that eventually shines a light on her mother’s life from before she was born.
As already noted, The Valley follows the blueprint of the other Lucic and Buchanan books. Hammer uses the investigation and the backstory to explore the unique recent history of the landscape. From gold mining in the 1920s to forestry in the 1980s and 90s to the green protests in the 1990s that led to much of the area being declared national park, through to the present day. But in doing so there is a lot of exposition. Hammer does his best to wrap the information up into story and draw readers in through the family connections to one of his investigators (who is allowed to keep investigating despite this connection) but the narrative still too often falls back on to telling rather than showing.
Ever since Scrublands, Hammer has used crime fiction to range around New South Wales and illuminate the environmental and developmental histories of different parts of the landscape –whether it be the opal fields (Treasure and Dirt) or the river red gum forests of the Murray River (The Tilt). In The Valley Hammer explores and exposes the landscape and recent history of another fascinating and beautiful part of the state. And he does it, once again, by drawing readers in with a double mystery and his redoubtable pair of investigators. And with more parts of the State to discover, it is likely that Lucic and Buchanan will be back again.

The fifth Detective Nell Buchanan police procedural, The Valley by Chris Hammer has the team back together investigating a drowning in rural New South Wales. The homicide fly-in squad team investigate the death of a local developer and find some links to a 1990s case that had conservationists and locals at loggerheads. Then the question of Nell Buchanan’s lineage becomes an issue, with DNA samples connecting her to the victim. The narrative has alternating time periods, with the historic forest protest, a flooded mine and a Sydney heist all becoming embroiled in another riveting murder mystery in the small rural town of The Valley. Although part of a series, this crime mystery makes for a typical standalone Aussie noir, with a sophisticated mystery and two separate shootouts, that is a five star do not miss read rating. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without any inducement. With thanks to Allen & Unwin and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes.

This is an author who never disappoints. His novels are so full of great characters and details, a real sense of place with the settings, they are a step above the rest in my opinion.
Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic are back. They are called in to investigate the murder of an entrepreneur, Wolfgang Burnside, killed in a remote mountain valley.. The same valley where in the 1990s a series of murders happened and they all seem to be connected to the gold mine there. The case takes on a personal tone for Nell when it is discovered through DNA that Wolfgang was her half brother. Despite a conflict of interest, the powers that be insist Ivan and Nell stay on the case, As the story goes back and forth from the 1990s, where Simon Burnside is investigating the disappearance of Francis Hardcastle, first thought to be missing, presumed dead, then in 94 his body is discovered with a bullet to the head, to present day . Following along with the two investigations the reader can see how all the little threads of the story are slowly being woven together. For Nell, finding and meeting her father is something she wants and dreads and it turns out he is not who she thought.

#TheValley #NetGalley

“The Valley” is another absorbing and fascinating crime novel from Chris Hammer, who has never yet written a bad book. Although we revisit continuing characters, this could easily be read as a stand alone for new readers. It’s one of the best books I’ve read recently.

Detective Senior Constable Nell Buchanan and Detective Sergeant Ivan Lucic are on their way to Saltwood, where a prominent citizen has been murdered. The two quickly realise that there’s a hint of political involvement, which is why they’ve been called in so quickly. However, they soon realise that there’s another reason they’re here: a reason that their boss won’t articulate to them. A reason that will color their whole investigation.

As with all of Hammer’s novels, this is an entirely absorbing and fascinating puzzle. Hammer relies on human nature, good and bad, to construct much of his plot. This very human approach will draw readers in and engage their attention deeply.

Both Nell and Ivan are familiar characters to readers who’ve read earlier Hammer novels. You can easily read this one without prior knowledge, but it has some particular strengths for those who’ve read other novels featuring Nell and Ivan. In this one, Nell’s personal history becomes entwined with the investigation. This adds an extra layer of interest and engagement for readers who already know Nell.

The characters are strong and vivid, although in this novel Ivan takes something of a back seat to Nell. Even the most minor of characters is strongly drawn, and the interpersonal conflicts and relationships are consequently believable and very real.

This is set in small town – almost rural – Australia, and as usual Hammer sets the scene with confidence and vivid imagery. Readers will feel very present in Saltwood and surrounds.

Although the plot seems complex initially, it is also very credible. When Ivan and Nell find the right threads to tug on, the consequent unwinding is easy to follow and to believe.

I really enjoyed this novel. I was able to lose myself in it completely, immersing myself in the characters and the challenging investigation. I empathised with multiple characters, and found the ending – well, not satisfying exactly, but appropriate.

Highly recommended.