Running for his life...
A bomb at his book launch. Gunfire in his home town. Someone wants to kill journalist Martin Scarsden.
Fleeing for his life into the Outback, he learns nowhere is safe. The killers are closing in; it’s all he can do to survive. But who wants him dead – and why?
With nowhere left to run, Martin finds himself embroiled in a century-old feud, relying on the help of the scandal-ridden former wife of a football hero, and chasing a fugitive accused of a decades old murder.
And in the background – the mystery surrounding two nineteenth century explorers from a legendary expedition.
This is Martin Scarsden’s most challenging assignment yet, as he battles for survival even as he strives to uncover the truth.
'Legacy aims for a very high bar – and sails over it with ease. Bravo, Mr Hammer!'
Events
Booking links in white
Thursday 23rd April – 10:30am – The Art of First Person Writing – Sorrento Writers Festival, Victoria
Thursday 23rd April – 1:30pm – Writers on Writing – Sorrento Writers Festival, Victoria
Thursday 23rd April – 4:30pm – Drinks with the Crime Writers – Sorrento Writers Festival – Victoria
Saturday 25th April – 4pm – Seas, Rivers & Oceans: A love letter – Sorrento Writers Festival, Victoria
News
The Coast – new edition
My book The Coast is back in bookstores, with a new edition released by Melbourne University Press. The book was originally published in 2012. Now MUP
13/01/2026
Legacy longlisted for the Indies
I’m very happy about this – Legacy has been longlisted for the Indie Book Awards among some very fine novels indeed. I’m conscious of some
09/12/2025
Treasure & Dirt coming to TV!
iThe first of the Ivan and Nell books is being adapted for TV. The six-part series is currently in production and will screen on the
20/11/2025
Martin Scarsden is back!!
Yep – Martin is back for his first investigation since Trust, five years ago. His new adventure is called ‘Legacy’, and will hit Australian and
30/06/2025
Shortlisted: BookPeople Awards
The Valley finds itself in some very distinguished company indeed: shortlisted for the BookPeople Award for fiction. And I’m blown away. Just to be listed
22/04/2025
Scrublands: Silver premieres
The television adaptation of Silver has hit the screens on Stan in Australia and New Zealand, debuting at number one. It’s branded as Scrublands: Silver
17/04/2025
Books
The River (2010) and The Coast (2012) are Chris’ first two books – narrative non-fiction published by Melbourne University Press – click on the image to go to MUP.
Told in the first person, they tell the story of his travels through the drought-devastated Murray Darling Basin and down the east coast of Australia.
Through his travels and the people he meets, Chris explores issues including the environment, agriculture, climate change, indigenous heritage, colonial history, small town Australia and the importance of the bush and beach to the country’s contemporary identity.
Writing the books was a wonderful experience for Chris, teaching him so much about his craft. It also gave him the opportunity to research some of the locations that later appear in his crime fiction: the western Riverina (Scrublands); the NSW north coast (Silver); the Barmah-Millewa Forest (The Tilt); and the Paroo River (Legacy).
A new edition of The River was published in July 2025, and The Coast will be re-issued in 2026.
The multi-award winning Martin Scarsden series includes Scrublands (2018), Silver (2019) and Trust (2020), and now Legacy (2025). Click on the image to go to publishers Allen & Unwin.
The novels follow the ongoing exploits of damaged journalist Martin Scarsden as he comes to terms with his own past, even as he solves crimes in pursuit of newspaper scoops, and builds his relationship with Mandalay Blonde.
The novels have won praise for their sense of place, their intricate plots, their colourful characters and their emotional depth.
Published under the same titles in the UK by Wildfire Books – click on the image to go to Waterstones.
This prize-winning and best-selling series follows experienced homicide detective Ivan Lucic and his novice partner Nell Buchanan as they contend with personal challenges even as they catch killers.
Treasure & Dirt (2021), The Tilt (2022), The Seven (2023) and The Valley (2024) are all set in the dramatic landscapes of Australia, and can be read as a series or as stand-alone novels.
They typically weave together multiple timelines and points of view, presenting readers with a rich and immersive experience.
They are published in the UK and internationally as Opal Country, Dead Man’s Creek, Cover The Bones and The Broken River. Click on the image to go to Waterstones.
Maps
Click on a map to enlarge, download and print!!
Each book has a map: Riversend (Scrublands); Port Silver (Silver); Sydney (Trust); and Port Paroo (Legacy) from the Martin Scarsden/Mandalay Blonde books.
Finnigans Gap (Treasure & Dirt/Opal Country); Tulong (The Tilt/Dead Man’s Creek); Yuwonderie (The Seven/Cover The Bones); and The Valley (The Valley/The Broken River)
They’re created by the amazing Aleksander J Potočnik. Enjoy!
chris hammer
Chris Hammer is a leading Australian crime fiction novelist, author of the internationally bestselling Martin Scarsden series: Scrublands, Silver, Trust, and now Legacy.
Chris’s other award-winning series features homicide detectives Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic: Treasure & Dirt/ Opal Country; The Tilt/Dead Man’s Creek; The Seven/Cover The Bones; and now The Valley/The Broken River.
Scrublands was an instant bestseller upon publication in 2018, topping the Australian fiction charts.
It was shortlisted for major writing awards in Australia, the UK and the United States. In the UK it was named the Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Year 2019 and won the prestigious UK Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award.
Scrublands, Silver and Trust all feature troubled journalist Martin Scarsden and his partner Mandalay Blonde, while the next four novels follow homicide detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan.
Chris’s books are well known for their atmospheric Australian settings, a range of colourful characters, intricate plots, descriptive language and emotional depth.
Before turning to fiction, Chris was a journalist for more than thirty years. He reported from more than 30 countries on six continents for SBS TV. In Canberra, roles included chief political correspondent for The Bulletin, senior writer for The Age and Online Political Editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Chris has written two non-fiction books The River (2010) – winner of the ACT Book of the Year – and The Coast (2012), published by Melbourne University Press. A new edition of The River was published in 2025 and The Coast will be re-issued in 2026.
He 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, Australia.
Scrublands Television
Television! The second season of Scrublands is now hitting screens around the world. It’s branded as Scrublands: Silver and is based on Silver, the second book in the Martin Scarsden & Mandalay Blonde series.
In Australia, it’s streaming on Stan from April 17th. Meanwhile, the first series is being broadcast free-to-air on the nine network and can be watched on nine’s free streaming service NineNow.
Internationally, Scrublands: Silver will again be on BBC 4 and iPlayer in the UK, and streamed on SundanceNow in the USA, as well on other outlets in different territories.
Allen & Unwin in Australia has published tie-in editions of the books, with these stunning covers.
Contacts
Chris can be contacted directly via his facebook author page
1
Australia
- Agent – Grace at a4 Literary
- Publicity – Bella at Allen & Unwin
- Speaking engagements – Booked Out
