An entertaining and satisfying murder mystery set in a close-knit rural community, with deeply personal connections to the lead investigator.
Feature image credit: Allen & Unwin
Chris Hammer returns with his seventh novel The Valley, which follows on from his sixth novel (somewhat ironically titled The Seven) and marks the fourth outing for Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic.
Buchanan and Lucic are sent out to a remote community, set deep within a valley, to investigate the possible murder of a young entrepreneur. What seems like a straightforward investigation takes a drastic turn when it is discovered that the victim is a close – and previously unknown – sibling of Nell Buchanan’s.
Despite the obvious conflict, Buchanan and Lucic are told that they must and will investigate the case. Their investigations lead to further revelations about Buchanan’s parental history, not just who her father might be, but that her mother spent time in the area, prior to her untimely passing. Not only that, but they also discover that her mother was closely associated with the long-closed goldmine at the centre of their investigations.
As Hammer has done with his previous novels, the narrative shifts across various time periods: from the prologue of 1988 through to the key events of 1994 and back to the current day investigation. An interesting additional narrative choice is the inclusion of one portion of the historical backstory being in the first person, while the surrounding and current events are all in the third person. Hammer identifies and cements this difference simply and satisfyingly.
Overall, there are a lot of storylines taking place across the more-than-30 years of The Valley, all of which do come together in the end. The flow is relatively simple to keep track of, except for the prologue incident, which comes to a head late in the piece in a circling-back motion. There are also several minor players, across the novel, who come to prominence within the resolution, which does bombard the reader quite suddenly with detail.
The Valley fits nicely into the world that Hammer has created and continues to flesh out the current focus characters, particularly Nell Buchanan. It also includes a few “name only” cameos, such as his original Scrublands protagonist, journo Martin Scarsden.
While it may not delve as deep as its setting, The Valley will satisfy Chris Hammer fans and those who enjoy an Aussie murder mystery.
Reviewed by Glen Christie
The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.
Distributed by: Allen & Unwin
Released: October 2024
RRP: $34.99
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