Martin Scarsden Books In Order

Publication Order of Martin Scarsden Books

Chris Hammer is an Australian published author and journalist.

Born in 1960, the author is known for writing the Martin Scarsden series, which have been best-selling novels in multiple countries. He says that when writing crime novels, he lets the story develop on its own as opposed to plotting it out ahead of time.

Chris has also worked as a journalist for over thirty years. He split his career between covering international affairs and Australian federal politics. He served as a roving correspondent for Dateline, a current affairs program on SBS TV. He has also worked for Fairfax and served as a chief political correspondent for The Bulletin. Chris has reported from over thirty countries on six different continents. He also served as a senior political journalist for The Age.

Chris attended Charles Sturt University, where he graduated with his bachelor’s degree in journalism. He attended Australian National University where he received a master’s degree in international relations. He is married to Dr. Tomoko Akami, his wife. The two share two children together and live together in Canberra.

His first book to come out was a non-fiction book titled The River. The book was published in 2010 and received a good deal of critical acclaim. Chris earned the ACT Book of the Year Award in 2011 for the book and ended up being shortlisted for the Manning Clark House National Cultural Award and the Walkley Book Award.

Chris Hammer created and wrote the Martin Scarsden series. The series started in 2018 with the publication of the debut book, Scrublands. The book was an instant best-seller in Australia and would end up getting the John Creasey Award in 2019 at the U.K. Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Awards. The debut novel was also shortlisted for many writing awards in the U.S., U.K., and Australia. It also was named the Sunday Times crime Novel of the Year in 2019. The series continued in 2019 when the second novel, Silver, was released. The third book in the series is titled Trust. The series follows along with a journalist named Martin Scarsden and Manadalay Blonde, his partner.

Scrublands is being made into a streaming television production and Chris Hammer is very happy with the cast, crew, and production company involves. He divulges on his home site that production is underway, and the series will be four parts. It is being filmed in regional Victoria, produced by Easy Tiger (responsible for Jack Irish, based off of the crime novels by Peter Temple, and Rake) with Vic Screen. The author reports that the series will first be screened on Australia’s STAN streaming service before moving to be on broadcast television on the Nine Network. It is directed by Greg McLean, written by chief writer Felicity Packard, and Martin Scarsden will be played by Luke Arnold, Mandalay Blonde will be played by Bella Heathcote, and Byron Swift will be played by Jay Ryan.

Hammer has also written the book Treasure & Dirt, which features Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan, both homicide detectives. All of his books are known for having atmospheric settings in Australia, colorful characters, descriptive languages, emotional depth, and intricate plots. He has also written non-fiction, such as the 2010 The River and the 2012 book The Coast.

Scrublands is the first book in the Martin Scarsden series by Chris Hammer. If you are a big crime novel fan and are looking for something new to add to the mix, check out this story that was a huge hit in Australia!

Things can get stranger than you would believe, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t happen. In a small town in the country, isolated and dealing with terrible effects of endless drought, something unthinkable happens. A young priest known for being dedicated to his church and charismatic shocks everyone when he turns on his congregation and calmly opens fire.

The priest ends up killing five of the parishioners before shots are returned and he is shot dead too. A year after the terrible incident, Martin Scarsden goes to Riversend. The troubled journalist is on the scene so that he can write a feature on the tragedy on its anniversary. He starts looking into things, but the stories that he is hearing from the people that live locally about the priest and what led up to the shooting aren’t seeming to fit together with the events that his paper reported in an investigation that won awards.

Martin has doubts, and they’re nagging him too much to ignore. Some of the locals are even urging him to try and look further into the reasons why the priest went on his rampage in the first place. Martin thinks that he is making some progress, but just as he’s going along, a new development sends shock ripples through the town and becomes Australia’s biggest story. The media goes down to Riversend to cover it all and now Martin is in the spotlight– and his reasons for looking into the shooting have become personal.

Martin is dealing with his own demons and finds that he is willing to risk just about everything so he can get to the bottom of a truth that keeps getting more complicated and darker with every step. It also appears that there are forces out there that want to stop him and keep the secrets of the town hidden away. How far will they go? Read this thriller to find out!

Silver is the second book in the Martin Scarsden series by Chris Hammer. If you liked the first book in this series, check out the second installment that is just as thrilling!

Martin Scarsden is no stranger to running from the past. He’s been doing it for half of his life. But now, there may be no getting away. He promised himself that he would never go back to Port Silver, his hometown full of traumatic memories. However, Mandy Blonde is his new partner and she’s been fortunate enough to inherit an older house in this seaside town.

Martin knows that they’re not going to get the chance like this for a new life together again, so he might have to change his reluctance over to optimistic expectations. But when he shows up, his old best friend from school has been murdered. Worse, Mandy is the main suspect. Martin decides it’s up to him to find the killer but isn’t ready for the past to find him.

He’s not making progress, but a new crime starts to reveal itself. The media comes down to cover it, and Martin’s reporting on it once again. He must shake the past and try to stay focused if he wants to catch a killer and clear Mandy’s name. Can he do it? Read this book to find out!