Reviewed by Craig Sisterson
Travis Somerland is man accustomed to danger – but nothing can prepare him the for the peril, the intrigue or the ruthlessness that confront him at Montechino. Or the murders.
Montechino: part palace and part fortress, the secluded estate of the uber-wealthy Claptons, modern-day robber barons who live by the credo: business is arithmetic, not morality.
Now Travis finds himself entangled in the ultimate power struggle, generations in the making, as the Claptons challenge the authority of one of the country’s most formidable families. Can he survive the dynastic rivalries to bring some measure of justice to an unjust world?
A master of compelling, multi-layered crime series set among Outback and other rural Australian landscapes, Canberra author Chris Hammer now turns his talents to a standalone thriller set in the murky world of high finance, hedge funds, and short selling shares.
A different kind of deadly landscape.
Travis Somerland is a former federal cop now on the outs after an undercover operation went horribly wrong, who thanks to his old boss gets a job as a chauffeur with Felix Clapton, a charming but financially ruthless hedge fund manager who lives on a secluded estate on the Mornington Peninsula.
For the Claptons, business is arithmetic, not morality. They specialise in targeting over-valued companies, and making millions by short selling shares, tanking the target’s value with well-researched reports exposing all sorts of flaws. For Travis, the next target is familiar, and personal: the Murtrie mining and media dynasty that he’d infiltrated, then ruined his career, and nearly cost him his life.
But when celebrations of financial wizardry are upturned by multiple deaths, Travis is cast into new dangers. Can he uncover the truth about what’s happened, now and in the past, if he can survive?
Oscillating narratives from the present day, Travis’s past Australian Federal Police undercover operation with the Murtrie organisation (akin to the Murdochs but not, as they exist separately in this universe), and excerpts from a book about the history of the Murtrie dynasty, Hammer layers in plenty while keeping the storyline propulsive. Memorable characters season a thriller living at the nexus of white collar and violent crimes. Another terrific read from an exceptional storyteller.
Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.
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