The peerless Chris Hammer recaptures the magic of his previous outing, Scrublands, in this intricate thriller full of Aussie charm. Having loved Scrublands, it was a joy to catch up with Martin and Mandy as they relocate to Port Silver, Martin's childhood home town. But, as you would expect, there is quite a lot happening in the shadows, both present day and in the past, with personal demons for Martin to dispatch if he is to find a peaceful life with Mandy. The brilliance of Hammer's novels lies in the onion-peel level of intrigue. There's not just one mystery to solve but quite a few. The depth of characters and potential crimes is always more than meets the eye. So whilst you are liking a certain character for one crime or slight, there is more to it than you suspect. It's excellent writing, if not a bit confusing at times. Lots of moving pieces to keep track of but a joy to behold how it all fits together. Not one bit of a cookie cutter thriller, this kind of story tears up the rule book. As a character, I felt engaged with Martin, the quick thinking journalist who has the uncanny knack to be in the right place at the right time in regards to murder and nefarious activities. Silver may have an edge over Scrublands, but just slightly, as the story takes us down a path more personal for Martin. I honestly loved it and cannot wait for the next novel. Silver is an excellent book that is sure to keep the reader on the hook.

This is a crime thriller there is no doubt about that and one of my favourite kind with its slow, steady pace and sombre atmosphere as the story gradually weaves into a dark tale. But it is also so much more than that, it is full of beautiful writing, and poignant observations. This book is as good as any Scandinavian noir using the Australian landscape to great effect to create and tell this perfectly dark story. The descriptions of the landscape, the environment and the people are pitch perfect creating a sense of desolation in places and a real sense of a struggling coastal town and the dilemmas its community faces. The story gradually builds as we get to know the characters, and some of their dark pasts and present. The second half actually picks up pace and becomes quite explosive! This book is one of my favourite crime thrillers this year. This is the second in the series and although it didn’t effect my enjoyment of this book, I wish I’d known about the first book, as I now feel like I’ve missed out. Definitely a recommended 5 star read.

After reading Scrublands earlier this year I was pleased to get this book, the second one with Martin Scarsdale the disgraced journalist, Having moved away from the isolation of the outback, he moved to Sydney where he wrote a true crime book chronicling what happened in Scrubland. The book had been a success. He has now moved back to his hometown of Port Silver (a made up place) on the coast. Martin was looking forward to starting his new life with his girlfriend Mandalay Blonde (Mandy). Martin hasn’t been back to his hometown in years, things had changed. Mandy had inherited a house there, which they were going to move into as a family. However, as Martin arrives at the property Mandy has rented whilst awaiting the keys to their new home, he finds her sitting on the floor, covered in blood and looking at a dead body. Martin soon recognised who the body was, an old school friend. Mandy finds herself as the prime suspect in his murder. Whilst he isn’t currently working as a journalist, a friend of his mother has asked him if he would help find the person who killed her son. So not only is Martin doing that, but he is also trying to clear Mandy. The press are in town, we see some of the characters from Scrublands. Martin is caught in the middle. Could the cases be related? Within this story you get to learn more about Martin, being in his home town there are people that know him, and knew him growing up. Martin himself is quite secretive about us past. As we learn things about him it explains quite a bit. The story is very slow for the first 100-150 pages, which can be a little off putting, as you find your mind wandering and lose focus on the story. This is a long book with over 550 pages. Once the characters are introduced the story begins to pick up in pace. The investigation is done over 8 days, the towns residents pointing fingers at each other regarding the dead body. Martin is poking his nose in lots of places, the police don’t like him snooping round, as it’s their investigation. But he is a journalist and one thing they know how to do is snoop. Whilst I enjoyed this book, I struggled with the slow start, the length, despite the pace picking up there were times when it dipped again. Having said that there are some good characters in the story. The side plots worked well and the ending, well that’s up to readers to find out. I would like to thank #netgalley and # Wildfirepublishers for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

A thoroughly enjoyable book, good plot, fabulous characterisation, great sense of place, what more could you ask for. I enjoyed Scrublands and Silver didn't disappoint, if you like this genre you will love this one.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with Martin again and join him in investigating a complex crime and also exploring his past. It is a very long book however, and I did feel the story could've been told just as well more concisely and, despite its length, I felt while I know more about Martin the other characters, particularly Mandy remain fairly 2 dimensional