About the Author

Chris Hammer was a journalist for more than thirty years, dividing his career between covering Australian federal politics and international affairs. For many years he was a roving foreign correspondent for SBS TV's flagship current affairs program Dateline. He has reported from more than thirty countries on six continents.

Chris's non-fiction book, The River, published in 2010 to critical acclaim, was the recipient of the ACT Book of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the Walkley Book Award. Scrublands, his first novel, was published in 2018 and won the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger Award, as well as being shortlisted for Best Debut Fiction at the Indie Book Awards, and Best General Fiction at the ABIA Awards. It has also been longlisted for the Ned Kelly Best Crime Novel of the Year. Scrublands was released as a TV series in 2023, distributed in the UK by BBC Four.

Chris has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Charles Sturt University and a master's degree in international relations from the Australian National University. He lives in Canberra with his wife, Dr Tomoko Akami. The couple have two children.

Reviews

Shimmers ... A tortured tale of blood and loss
*Val McDermid on 'Scrublands'*

Stunning ... Scrublands is that rare combination, a page-turner that stays long in the memory
*Sunday Times on 'Scrublands'*

Compelling, original and brilliantly executed - an excellent thriller from a new master of Australian noir
*Charles Cumming, author of A Foreign Country*

Silver is the perfect sequel to Scrublands - dark, twisty and atmospheric, with writing so real you can almost feel the blistering heat of the Australian summer. I savoured every page, I didn't want it to end
*Lisa Hall, author of Between You and Me*