Treasure and Dirt by Chris Hammer.
Treasure and Dirt is the fourth of Chris Hammer’s five novels written since his debut ‘Scrublands’ in 2018. While this may seem like production line writing, it is far from such. Treasure and Dirt is very well written with a carefully thought through plot. This is not surprising given that Chris has a Bachelor Degree in journalism and a Masters in in international relations. He has been a journalist for thirty years, including as senior political journalist for The Age, and foreign correspondent for SBS TV.
Treasure and Dirt is set in Finnegan’s Gap a small inland community in Northern NSW. The community is supported by a nearby long established coal mine plus a number of opal miners who work their claims in the area. With coal mining a dying industry and the opals almost worked out the town’s future is not bright. A ray of hope is the rumour that a small mining exploration company has discovered rare metals in a dried up lake bed in the area
When a well liked opal miner is found dead in mysterious circumstances detective sergeant Ivan Lucic is sent from Sydney to help the local police investigate. Detective constable Narelle Buchanan is despatched from Dubbo, the area police centre, to assist him.
The death places the two detectives in Finnegan’s Gap. The story then branches in many directions each adding questions. Why the coal mine’s super security? What about the strange activities at the nearby commune? What are the two fiercely competing mining millionaires up to? Plus why are the local police ignoring a drug production operation and the report of opal thefts? Added to this is the detective’s realisation of political interference and police corruption back in Sydney.
It takes five hundred pages of really enjoyable reading to sort it all out. What makes this novel is that Chris keeps the tale believable, the reader is never asked to suspend credulity. As the tale evolves he seamlessly slots interesting descriptions of life in the outback. The ramshackle town with its pub, the local club (the clubbo), grocery, bank, mining supplies are exactly right. The description of an opal mine is really interesting and description of a desert sunset or an eagle circling looking for clarion are the kind of extras not usual in thriller type books.
Treasure and Dirt is one of those kind of books which at the end the reader has a feeling of wishing it could go on for a bit longer.
