‘Full Circle’ by Chris Hammer

Published by Wildfire,
29 September 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-03544164-0
 

This book is as intricate as a nest of carved ivory balls and as explosive as a land mine. 

Chris Hammer takes the reader into the world of the uber-rich.  When hedge fund billionaires jockey for position, the fall-out tramples everyone in their path. Money buys everything. Mansions, servants, privilege, influence: the list goes on and on. The power of great Australian dynasties like the Murtries and the Claptons seems to be as formidable and unstoppable as the breakers crashing in on the Mornington Peninsula. 

Their battleground is the board room where financial takeovers are masterminded.  The risks are massive, but so are the potential profits. With enough nerve and preparation, a few hours of trading can create a roomful of new millionaires. When the stakes are that high, honesty and integrity are up for sale and even murder can be justified as collateral damage.  Rape and abuse become just another perk for the head of the Murtrie clan, who has been obeyed and indulged for so long that he seems to have forgotten that human beings are not commodities. 

Travis Somerland takes on what he believes to be a standard undercover police operation, working as a driver for Felix Clapton. A potentially corrupt financial coup is being prepared which threatens to destroy the Murtrie empire.  He is unaware of the sensitivity and breadth of the spider’s web he has just stepped into.  Its threads connect the highest and lowest levels of society.  He is not the only one hiding his true identity, and he is not the only one with a hidden agenda, reporting to another agency. 

Old crimes leave deep wounds.  There is one commodity which is not for sale, and that is revenge.
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Reviewer: Jane Andreoli

Chris Hammer was a journalist for more than thirty years, dividing his career between covering Australian federal politics and international affairs. For many years he was a roving foreign correspondent for SBS TV's flagship current affairs program Dateline. He has reported from more than thirty countries on six continents. His first novel, was published in 2018 and was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Debut Dagger Award, Best Debut Fiction at the Indie Book Awards, and Best General Fiction at the ABIA Awards. It has also been longlisted for the Ned Kelly Best Crime Novel of the Year. Scrublands was optioned for television by Easy Tiger (a Fremantle Media company). Chris has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Charles Sturt University and a master's degree in international relations from the Australian National University. He lives in Canberra with his wife, Dr Tomoko Akami. The couple have two children.

Jane Andreoli. I have been in love with words ever since my mother read me bedtime stories before I could read for myself. As a writer, I enjoy creating mysteries with twists in their tails, and I love a well-crafted plot. My literary heroes are Jane Austen for her superb social observations, Shakespeare for the amazing way he crunched the English language into new shapes to express his emotions, Margery Allingham for her satisfyingly convoluted plots and Phil Rickman for his masterful command of supernatural atmosphere.  I also love Douglas Adams and Sir Terry Pratchett for their humour, satire, and social commentary. I have an honours degree in English, but fortunately that was so long ago that I have forgotten all those pretensions and rediscovered the joy of creative writing.  I am now a published author, currently working on my next book. I have just reached that delicious stage where the characters become autonomous and start making their own decisions.  Anything could happen and probably will.