Another delicious Aussie thriller

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑  2018 delivered a year of strong Aussie thrillers making Scrublands the perfect choice to wrap up the year. What a corker! It started out as a perplexing mystery (why would a priest gun down parishioners on the church steps?) then evolved into a multifaceted, complex spider's web of deeper intrigue. Everything but the kitchen sink goes into this novel and it pays off great dividends.

Journalist Martin Scarsden goes to Riversend to cover the anniversary of the shooting tragedy. The town, in the middle of a record drought, is in steep decline with no hope of reprieve. Things are bleak. The surviving residents carry many scars and are less than keen to talk about them. But, bit by bit, Martin unearths facts behind the tragedy and is present when new developments make Riversend, again, the heart of a media firestorm. Martin seems to be a lucky guy in the middle of all the activity. With his finger on the pulse he seems to be the golden boy, but, the deceptive nature of the media cycle and secrets not wanting to be made public turn Martin's understanding of events upside down.

I appreciate the great skill that went into crafting this novel. It's stealthy, subtle move from sleepy tormented town at the end of its life to the hotbed of activity at the center of Australia's media focus is well done. Going from one journalist gradually befriending locals to a slew of newsmen poking about creates an uplift for the local community businesses but has consequences as well.

The characters are top-notch. A large number of diverse people, each with their own backstory and current day troubles, feed into this tricksy, genius book. As with all the Aussie novels I've read this year, this atmospheric gem makes the reader feel thirsty with sun-scorched skin as if you are physically there experiencing the day-to-day happenings. Brilliant. Thoroughly brilliant.