Scrublands is the first novel by Australian author Chris Hammer. The story is set in the fictitious town of Riversend in New South Wales during a period of intense drought, and revolves around a small-town priest who kills five of his parishioners before being shot himself, and a journalist's investigation into his motivations. The novel is a crime thriller told in third person present tense.
In the drought-stricken town of Riversend, the charismatic priest Byron Swift, who was well-liked by the community, suddenly turns violent, shooting five parishioners on a Sunday morning. Swift is then shot and killed by a local police officer. A year later, journalist Martin Scarsden, haunted by war memories, arrives in Riversend to write about the crime's impact on the town. As he interviews locals, he discovers that the official story, as reported by his newspaper, might not be entirely accurate. Martin delves into the community, uncovering differing opinions about the priest, and finds that the town has hidden complexities not evident at first glance.
The book has been met with generally positive reviews - the Sydney Morning Herald described it as a work of "remarkable breadth and depth", [1] with other publications calling it stunning [2] and a brilliant debut. [3]
The book's detailed setting (aided by research for Hammer's previous non-fiction book, The River) is emblematic of the isolation and drought experienced in many rural Australian communities; one publication described it as "full of Australianness". [4]
Hammer was awarded the 2019 John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger by the UK Crime Writers' Association for the book. [5]
In 2019, Scrublands was optioned for television. [6] Luke Arnold, Bella Heathcote and Jay Ryan were cast in the lead roles in February 2023, with Stan and the Nine Network joining as broadcasters. Greg McLean will direct, with Felicity Packard, Kelsey Munro and Jock Serong as writers. [7] [8]
In November 2023 the series was televised on BBC Four in the UK. [9]
Hammer's second novel, featuring the same protagonist, was Silver (2019).
Thomas Michael Keneally, AO is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor. He is best known for his non-fiction novel Schindler's Ark, the story of Oskar Schindler's rescue of Jews during the Holocaust, which won the Booker Prize in 1982. The book would later be adapted into Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Schindler's List, which won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
David Wenham is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Friar Carl in Van Helsing and Van Helsing: The London Assignment, Dilios in 300 and its sequel 300: Rise of an Empire, Al Parker in Top of the Lake, Lieutenant John Scarfield in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and Hank Snow in Elvis. He is known in his native Australia for his role as Diver Dan in SeaChange and Price Galese in Les Norton.
Stan Grant is an Australian journalist, writer and radio and television presenter, since the 1990s. He has written and spoken on Indigenous issues and his Aboriginal identity. He is a Wiradjuri man.
Jeffery Deaver is an American mystery and crime writer. He has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a J.D. degree from Fordham University and originally started working as a journalist. He later practiced law before embarking on a career as a novelist. He has been awarded the Steel Dagger and Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association and the Nero Wolfe Award, and he is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Reader's Award for Best Short Story of the Year and a winner of the British Thumping Good Read Award. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including The New York Times, The Times, Italy's Corriere della Sera, The Sydney Morning Herald, and the Los Angeles Times.
Karin Slaughter is an American crime writer. She has written 24 novels, which have sold more than 40 million copies and have been published in 120 countries. Her first novel, Blindsighted (2001), was published in 27 languages and made the Crime Writers' Association's Dagger Award shortlist for "Best Thriller Debut" of 2001.
Peter Temple was an Australian crime fiction writer, mainly known for his Jack Irish novel series. He won several awards for his writing, including the Gold Dagger in 2007, the first for an Australian. He was also an international magazine and newspaper journalist and editor.
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Kerry Isabelle Greenwood is an Australian author and lawyer. She has written many plays and books, most notably a string of historical detective novels centred on the character of Phryne Fisher, which was adapted as the popular television series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. She writes mysteries, science-fiction, historical fiction, children's stories, and plays. Greenwood earned the Australian women's crime fiction Davitt Award in 2002 for her young adult novel The Three-Pronged Dagger.
Adrian McKinty is a Northern Irish writer of crime and mystery novels and young adult fiction, best known for his 2020 award-winning thriller, The Chain, and the Sean Duffy novels set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. He is a winner of the Edgar Award, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, the Macavity Award, the Ned Kelly Award, the Barry Award, the Audie Award, the Anthony Award and the International Thriller Writers Award. He has been shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière.
The CWA New Blood Dagger is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association (CWA) for first books by previously unpublished writers. It is given in memory of CWA founder John Creasey and was previously known as The John Creasey Memorial Award. Publisher Chivers Press was the sponsor from the award's introduction in 1973 to 2002. BBC Audiobooks was the sponsor in 2003.
Michael Robotham is an Australian crime fiction writer who has twice won the CWA Gold Dagger award for best novel and twice been shortlisted for the Edgar Award for best novel. His eldest child is Alexandra Hope Robotham, professionally known as Alex Hope, an Australian producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
Isabella Heathcote is an Australian actress. Following her film debut in Acolytes (2008), Heathcote had a recurring role as Amanda Fowler on the television soap opera Neighbours (2009). She gained further recognition for her dual roles as Victoria Winters and Josette du Pres in the dark fantasy film Dark Shadows (2012), and Olive Byrne in the biographical drama film Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017).
Australia and Fiji have played each other a total of twenty-three times, of which Australia has won the most with nineteen, including three at the Rugby World Cup's (RWC) of 2007, 2015 and 2019. Fiji won two of the first four matches between the two teams, however did not beat Australia again until 2023, at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Bereft is a 2010 novel by the Australian author Chris Womersley.
Life or Death (2014) is a crime novel by Australian author Michael Robotham. It won the 2015 Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award. This is his first book to not involve either of his two main characters; Joe O'Loughlin and Vincent Ruiz.
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This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2018.
The Dry is the 2016 debut novel by Australian author Jane Harper. The book has won numerous international awards and has sold more than one million copies worldwide. A film adaptation starring Eric Bana was released on 1 January 2021 with great success, placing it as one of the highest grossing Australian film opening weekends ever.
Pieces of Her is an American thriller drama streaming television series created by Charlotte Stoudt, based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Karin Slaughter, that premiered on Netflix on March 4, 2022.
Chris Hammer is a bestselling Australian crime-writer and journalist.