What could be more Australian than an opal mining mystery, and crime on the streets of Sydney? Two homegrown heroes Chris Hammer and Tim Ayliffe will be interviewing each other in a true demonstration of Aussie mateship in two FREE events presented by BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival.

TREASURE AND DIRT
6pm Wednesday, 13 October 2021

In this stunning standalone thriller, a miner is found crucified and left to rot down his mine in the desolate outback opal mining town of Finnigans Gap. Nothing about the death is straightforward, not even who found the body. Sydney homicide detective Ivan Lucic (from the pages of Trust) is sent to investigate, and assigned young investigator Nell Buchanan who has her own history in the town. The more secrets Ivan and Nell uncover, the more complicated the mystery becomes. Previous deaths, mining takeovers, pushy billionaires, and religious fanatics with a secret cult muddy the waters. Even their own integrity is questioned, as events from years ago take on a startling new significance. Will they find the killer before their own careers are damaged or ended?

Speaker: Chris Hammer
Facilitator: Tim Ayliffe
Tickets: Free of charge but booking essential
Those who ask the two best questions on the night will win a pack of all Chris’ books thanks to Allen & Unwin.

THE ENEMY WITHIN
6pm Wednesday, 27 October 2021

Former war correspondent John Bailey is turning his life around after a tragedy with a new job and no booze, but one thing hasn’t changed. He will still risk everything to get to the truth. When the body of a man he’s interviewed falls out of the sky, one of his key sources washes up dead on a beach, and the Federal Police raid his home, he knows he’s on the right track. Someone is trying to stop Bailey from exposing the rise of a global white supremacist group, and involved in deadly racist attacks on Sydney’s streets. Will he get to them before they silence him?

Speaker: Tim Ayliffe
Facilitator: Chris Hammer
Tickets: Free of charge but booking essential
Two packs of all Tim’s books will go to those who ask the two best questions on the night thanks to Simon and Schuster.

MEET THE AUTHORS

CHRIS HAMMER

Chris Hammer was a political journalist and foreign correspondent for more than thirty years, before turning to crime. Treasure and Dirt is his latest book His first novel Scrublands won the prestigious UK Crime Writers New Blood Dagger for the best debut published in the United Kingdom in 2019. Silver was published in 2019 and was shortlisted for Best General Fiction at the Australian Book Industry Awards, shortlisted for the 2020 ABA Booksellers' Choice Book of the Year Award, and longlisted for the UK Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award. Trust was published in 2020 and was longlisted for Best General Fiction at the Australian Book Industry Awards.

TIM AYLIFFE

Tim Ayliffe has been a journalist for more than 20 years and is the Managing Editor of Television and Video for ABC News and the former Executive Producer of News Breakfast. He has travelled widely and before joining the ABC he worked in London for British Sky News. A few years ago he turned his hand to writing global crime thrillers featuring former foreign correspondent John Bailey. He is the author of The Greater Good, State of Fear and his latest thriller The Enemy Within was published in August.

You can buy copies of the authors' new titles at Booktopia.