Murder in the capital: will bestselling author set a novel in Canberra?

Always breaking new ground, bestselling Canberra crime writer Chris Hammer's latest book Full Circle, is his most complex yet and first standalone novel, sitting outside the Martin Scarsden and Ivan and Nell series.

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Or, as Hammer half-jokes, depending on the public reception "It's either a standalone novel, or the first in a series."

Crime novelist Chris Hammer. Picture by Mike Bowers/supplied.

Former police officer Travis Somerland takes a job as a driver for billionaire Felix Clapton, living on the grounds of Clapton's estate Montechino, near Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula. Somerland is promptly drawn into Clapton's manoeuvrings against the business interests of a rival uber-rich family, including a short-selling attack.

Of course there are also several murders to be solved.

To complicate things, Somerland (and for that matter several of the other characters) has his own motivation for being at Montechino, which is not immediately obvious to the reader.

In previous novels, Hammer has taken delight in inventing his own small towns, some based on real places, with the books including maps of key locations.

After a visit to the Mornington Peninsula, Hammer decided to set a book there involving wealthy robber barons.

He briefly considered creating a fictional town. "But then I thought, well 'why not just call it Sorrento?'"

Which brings us to the obvious question: now that he's had nine novels published, will this Canberra-based former political journalist and foreign correspondent set one in the nation's capital?

"The sort of a natural thing to do if you're doing it, a book in Canberra, would be a book about politics, like a political thriller,'' Hammer says.

"And of course, I've got the background and the insight to write a book like that, but as yet it hasn't really appealed to me.

"I reckon doing a story set in Canberra, but on the periphery of politics might be the go."

Cover illustration of Chris Hammer's new novel Full Circle. Picture supplied

Hammer's character journalist Martin Scarsden would be an obvious visitor to the Canberra region and NSW police detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan could also be options.

"They're NSW homicide detectives, so it's hard to take them interstate. But they could easily have a crime in Queanbeyan or something," Hammer said.

So, while not against the idea, Hammer isn't promising anything, as he isn't the kind of writer who plans very far ahead.

The lack of planning seems to be working well for Hammer, with his career as a novelist taking off quickly since the publication of Scrublands in 2018 and his books proving popular as TV adaptations. The third series of Stan's Scrublands will be released in 2027 and the BBC has picked up the ABC TV series of Treasure & Dirt.

Chris Hammer will appear at The Canberra Writers Festival this week:

• On Friday he will discuss The library that made me with Sophie Gee, Corey Tutt and Phillipa McGuniess.
  
• On Saturday in conversation with Alex Sloan on The life and crime of Chris Hammer.
  
• On Sunday in a panel discussion with Rebecca Higgie and Michael Brissenden on Climate wars and political intrigue.

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