Silver - Chris Hammer

Silver - Chris Hammer (Wildfire Hardback £16.99)

Continuing the adventures of journalist Martin Scarsden the action starts early on this time as he and his new partner Mandy (picked up in Hammers's previous novel Scrublands) find themselves with a dead body and both suspects in a murder.

The dead man is a childhood friend of Martin's and he's holding a postcard of Jesus in his hand, A clue or an irrelevance. What has property development, a mystical guru and a surfer got to do with both his past and are the hitchhikers more than they seem?

There's a lot going on in Port Silver and Martin is as unpopular with the police as ever even here in the town of his birth. And the old school bully is one of the cops much to his chagrin. Martin has to drive very carefully.

Still there's always good old Uncle Vern and his family plus Martin has to baby sit whilst Mandy spends far too much time in custody. Who killed his old mate and why is someone trying to frame his partner?

Overall not a bad story but nowhere as exiting as Martin's outing in the previous novel. You don't need to read Scrublands but it helps. At a guess I'd say we'll see another novel with our Martin in a year or so's time. The jury is still out on whether I'd pick that up, especially in hardback.

Do read Scrublands though. That's very good.