“I’m continuing with characters from The Tilt, homicide detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan,” Mr Hammer said.
“But you can absolutely read The Seven as a stand-alone book, and you don’t need to read the previous books.”
The Seven features homicide detectives Ivan Lucic and Nell Buchanan, who set out to solve a murder in the town of Yuwonderie.
Yuwonderie is an irrigation town formed by seven founding families who have become more powerful and rich with time.
But when one of The Seven is murdered, both Ivan and Nell have to figure out who did it and fast.
With a killer on the loose, chaos erupts, and events start spiralling out of control.
The book also features the unique perspectives of two other protagonists.
One, a young man who was also a member of The Seven from the 1990s, and the other, a servant girl from the early 20th century on the brink of World War I whose stories are somehow involved in the murder.
Mr Hammer said his idea for The Seven stemmed from the setting of his previous novel, The Tilt, making this his third book based on areas of the Riverina.
“When I was writing the previous book, The Tilt, it was set on the Murray River so I thought that the irrigation scheme would be a good setting for this book,” he said.
“I did some reporting in Leeton and Griffith back in my journalist days, so it’s vaguely based on the Murrumbidgee irrigation area.
“The main difference is that the irrigation is privately owned in The Seven whereas, in Australia, it’s owned by the government.”
Mr Hammer’s time as a journalist has also helped him paint a picture of what’s happening in his novels.
“As a journalist, I worked as a print journalist, and I worked for a long time as a TV reporter, so I think I’m quite visual as I write a scene because I try to visualise it in my head,” he said.
A good read: Chris Hammer's new novel, The Seven, is available for purchase.
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Mr Hammer is eager to tour the area and visit Shepparton as last year’s tour for the novel, The Tilt, was cancelled due to the October floods.
“I hope readers enjoy it,” he said.
“Different readers get different things from books; some like the plot, some like the writing, others like the characters.
“What I like is an immersive reading experience – to lose myself in the book.
“If that’s the experience of my readers, I would be delighted.”
Chris Hammer will visit the Shepparton Library on Wednesday, October 11, at 7pm.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event.
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