Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
A commanding, consuming and outright thrilling mystery. Chris Hammer's first-class series goes from strength to strength.' - Chris Whitaker, bestselling author of We Begin at the End The Tilt (aka Deadman’s Creek) is the second book in the Ivan Lulic and Nell Buchanan series by award-winning Australian journalist and author, Chris Hammer. The audio version is narrated by Dorje Swallow. Detective Constable Narelle Buchanan sees her inclusion in the Rural Homicide team with DS Ivan Lulic as a promotion, although the remains they’ve been sent to investigate in Tulong on the Murray River turns out to be eighty years dead, so really not their remit. Ivan sees the team as more of a demotion, which is perhaps why he leaves Nell to tidy up the details and close the case. In present-day Dubbo, Detective Nell Buchanan and DS Ivan Lucic are summoned to headquarters. They concluded a successful criminal investigation in the previous book, and Ivan gave her major credit. To Nell, who learns she has been promoted to Homicide Detective, this is the fulfillment of her dreams. Ivan is suspected of leaking information to a Sydney reporter but is considered too valuable and skillful to be fired. He is assigned to head a rural homicide unit based in Dubbo. He considers this a demotion as he longed to return to the Sydney police force. Whilst there are a lot of characters I never feel out of my depth as it’s inevitable in a plot of this magnitude. All characters are very well portrayed, some are colourful, most are very likeable and honourable and a few are downright odious True to life then! Chris 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 with his wife, Dr Tomoko Akami. The couple have two children.
In 1973, fifteen-year-old Tessa Waters is thrilled to have attracted the eye of Tycho, the eldest of the musical Buchanan brothers, who has a cool car and a job as a reporter for the Western Explorer. He’s writing stories about a new winery, about the Mafia in Griffith, about the forest dwellers who have withdrawn from society, and about sly groggers in the forest. They are heavily involved by the time he mysteriously goes missing. The Tilt is a complex multigenerational story set over three time periods: the 1940s, the 1970s and the present day. The storyline gradually unfolds when newly promoted Nell Buchanan and her boss Ivan Lucic are called in to investigate the discovery of a skeleton when a water regulator is sabotaged. Neither Nell nor Ivan have high hopes of solving this historic case, but then a second and more recent body is discovered close by. This is my first Chris Hammer novel and definitely won’t be my last as I’ve just got one word to sum up his writing abilities and that is talent. For a start, he absolutely transports me to Australia (I wish) as it oozes Aussie atmosphere, there are some superbly evocative descriptions of the locations especially the river and the surrounding forest but also the wildlife. In a country where the most exciting thing to cross the road is either a pheasant, a hedgehog or the occasional fox or deer that stand more chance of survival than the first two, I revel in what car headlights reveal to Nell!!! Recently promoted to Homicide, Nell Buchanan is given a cold case when a skeleton is unearthed near her old home town. With long held feuds and family secrets this case could be closer to home than Nell could ever have imagined!
Netgalley Approved
Nell's investigation stirs up old family feuds and rearranges a family tree. Parts of this investigation are very personal to Nell's own family.
Chris Hammer is at the height of his power here. Dead Man’s Creek is a superb piece of storytelling’– William Shaw Each of the three storylines make up crucial parts of the mysteries contained within the town and its surroundings. The process of skipping from one timeline to the other works very effectively and has the effect of speeding the story along rather than slowing it down. This is Hammer's best. He lived in the area the text is set and has applied that knowledge and his research to create a most valid and real setting. After reading “The Tilt” I have decided I must visit this area of the Murray and see how regulators operate and see the great Red River Gum Forest. I have read Margaret Simmons “Cry Me a River: The Tragedy of the Murray Basin.” (Quarterly Essay #77) so have some idea of the challenges environmentalists have had saving water for places like the forest. From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery. Shipments to the USA & Canada:
Socials
THE AUTHOR: Chris Hammer was a journalist for more than thirty years, dividing his career between covering Australian federal politics and international affairs. For many years he was a roving foreign correspondent for SBS TV's flagship current affairs program Dateline. He has reported from more than 30 countries on six continents. In Canberra, roles included chief political correspondent for The Bulletin, current affairs correspondent for SBS TV and a senior political journalist for The Age. Overall I thoroughly enjoy this compelling and well written book and look forward to the next instalment. The Tilt is Chris Hammer’s best yet, and I can honestly say the writing is incredible. This is prime Aussie crime fiction, the way the Australian landscapes are described throughout the book is mesmerising, it blew me away. The plot is multi-layered, skilfully plotted and just utterly immersive.
Though the investigation plays out over only a week, the story spans decades. Hammer touches on historical events of note such as the diversion of the Murray River, and the POW labour camps established during WWII. A commanding, consuming and outright thrilling mystery. Chris Hammer's first-class series goes from strength to strength.' - Chris WhitakerI enjoyed 'both' mysteries here and this is probably my favourite of Hammer's novels since Scrublands. Having said that - the star again is his beautiful prose. In EVERY review I've written of his work I comment on his writing... seemingly surprised that a facts-focussed journalist is able to so eloquently set a scene. On reading this though I wondered if it's not unusual. Perhaps the most talented journalists are also able to place readers fully in their story. The Tilt is the second stunning crime fiction novel from bestselling author Chris Hammer to feature Detective Sergeant Ivan Lucic and Detective Constable Nell (Narelle) Buchanan, who were introduced in Treasure and Dirt (Opal Country).
They intend to sell them to raise money for their families at a POW camp in the nearby forest. The prisoners are captured Italian soldiers and are guarded by members of the Australian military. We meet a vile and vicious Aussie officer and guard, and also a soldier wounded in New Guinea who lost an eye along with other injuries. An Italian POW commits an act of heroism. The two guards disappear and are thought to have gone AWOL after stealing army money. Home isn't a place Nell Buchanan visits if she can possibly avoid it. She has little choice however, as she's been sent to Boonlea for work, to investigate after a body, or what's left of it, is discovered after an explosion demolishes a river regulator. With partner DS Ivan Lucic she begins the task assigned but is dismayed to discover the case, her first as a homicide detective, is likely to be nothing more than the identification of a decades old victim where any suspects are long since deceased themselves. The plotline is complex, with the hard work taken to keep up rewarded at the end. All the distinct voices of each character felt so real, the familial bonds and secrets all so emotive, cumulating to a palpable conclusion. So many people harbouring secrets with many reasons, and I loved the goodies v. baddies concept here, as there were many grey areas leaving Nell to distance herself many times as this is all to do with her own family. As the investigation proceeds and more facts regarding the remains become known we also start to learn more about Nell’s family, particularly her mother and her grandfather whose own stories are told in separate, alternating chapters. Nell will get around to visiting her family in due course and strands will start to form an overall picture but it’ll take some time. In the meantime, we’re left to sift through what feels like a fascinating but impenetrable series of discoveries and accounts of past events. This may well be Hammer’s best work yet. Atmospheric and thrilling. I was gripped.’ Victoria SelmanThe nearer Nell comes to uncovering the secrets of the past, the more dangerous the present becomes for her, as she battles shadowy assailants and sinister forces. Can she survive this harrowing investigation and what price will she have to pay for the truth? Chris Hammer is at the height of his power here. Dead Man's Creek is a superb piece of storytelling' - William Shaw But this is no ordinary cold case, her arrival provoking an unwelcome and threatening response from the small-town community. As more bodies are discovered, and she begins to question how well she truly knows those closest to her, Nell realises that finding the truth could prove more difficult – and dangerous – than she’d ever expected. I must be getting used to narrator, Dorje Swallow, as I found his narration much smoother than previously. Utterly brilliant, a darkly simmering mystery .' - Dervla McTiernan, bestselling author of The Ruin
Great Deal 
New Comment