Book Review: Full Circle, by Chris Hammer

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An Australian Succession-style thrill-ride, filled with twists, turns, greed and gratification.

Feature image credit: Simon & Schuster

There is a line from Sir Walter Scott – ‘Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!‘ – which could be the tagline for Chris Hammer’s latest novel: Full Circle. This is a finely crafted, twisting and turning tale of greed, power, deception, and the passages and paths taken to achieve an outcome – be it wealth, justice, or simple revenge, which is never simply achieved.

The book opens with a vicious act of cold and calculated murder, before jumping forward and introducing us to Travis Somerland, a former undercover police officer, who has been offered a job working with the Clapton Family. The Claptons are preparing for a major financial exercise which will shake the foundations of one of Australia’s most powerful families, the Murtries. In his previous life, while undercover, Travis met and fell for a woman named Judy Bleusky and, ultimately, revealed his identity and purpose for engaging with her employers: the Murtie family. The result was Judy’s death and Travis’ near death at the hands of hired thugs. Travis walked away from the job and now finds himself deep amidst a chance to see the Murtries taken down.

The successful financial power play is soon undermined when two employees die during the celebrations and Travis is asked by Felix Clapton to take the fall to help Felix’s daughter. Expecting a simple incarceration and a healthy payout for services rendered, Travis is sent to a maximum-security prison and nearly killed. Upon release, he is determined to find out the truth about the accidental deaths, but uncovers more than he expected, including the truth about Judy Bleusky.

With Full Circle, Hammer has shifted from his previous stylistic focus on locations to the intricacies of the financial markets and the way the game is played at the highest level. He weaves a timeline, across 12 chapters, that crisscrosses decades, moving back and forth, revealing details, links, and events with a deft hand. As each layer is peeled away to show where it dovetails, the reader is caught on the hooks and left wanting, in the most appealing of ways.

His characters are equally central to the story. He includes a gun-for-hire called Freddie Mercury, though we are never sure if he is a killer queen. Like Martin Scarsden before him, Travis is the lynchpin, headstrong, determined, caught up in a situation from which he can’t quite bring himself to walk away from — not without discovering the truth. There is even, despite its touting as a ‘standalone’ novel, a nod to its connection back to his Scarsden series.

Hammer has, once again, delivered another consummate Australian novel, filling it with pace, intellect, emotion and suspense. This story is driven by characters with depth of heart and fearlessness, against those who serve only self. He has woven an intricate tale that ultimately ties together its people and circumstances with guaranteed satisfaction.

Reviewed by Glen Christie