Investigative journalist, Martin Scarsden, makes a return in Chris Hammer’s latest thriller, Legacy. The novel starts with a bang, sending Scarsden into hiding in the outback town of Port Paroo. There he discovers feuding families, a historical mystery, stolen paintings, reported treasure, an unsolved murder, and a missing woman alleged to have shot her fiancé.

Scarsden’s life on the run crosses paths with that of Ekatrerina Boland (Ecco), a ghostwriter commissioned to write the history of Longchamp Downs, a property owned by the Carmichaels—one of the feuding families. Ecco is desperate for money, a job and a good story.

Add in the sweeping, sunburned landscape of the outback simmering on every page and you have a novel I couldn’t put down. 

A lot for one story? For another writer, it might be. But not for Chris Hammer—he’s known for his multi-layered stories full of intrigue. There were times, I admit, when my suspension of belief was stretched to the limit—but as the author acknowledges, “It is, after all, fiction.”

Lovers of Chris Hammer’s work will devour this one and I wouldn’t be surprised if it attracts plenty of new readers as well.

Thank you Allen and Unwin for the advanced copy.