An addictive new thriller from multi-award-winning author Emma Viskic.
A REMOTE ISLAND
AN ISOLATED COMMUNITY
A KILLER PICKING THEM OFF ONE BY ONE ...
'You should be careful, Mr Zelic. Because the person who killed Peter Taylor will almost certainly kill again.' The detective's glassy eyes didn't blink. 'And you're already in their sights.'
Deaf PI Caleb Zelic has always been an outsider, estranged from family and friends. But when he receives a message that his brother, Anton, is in danger, Caleb sees it as a chance at redemption.
He tracks Anton down to a small, wind-punished island, where secrets run deep and resentments deeper. When a sniper starts terrorising the isolated community, the brothers must rely on each other like never before. But trust comes at a deadly price ...
PRAISE FOR THOSE WHO PERISH:
'I rate Emma Viskic as Australia's best crime writer - vivid characters, ingenious plots and a passionate social conscience' - PHILLIP ADAMS'Emma Viskic is a terrific, gutsy writer with great insight' - EMILY MAGUIRE
'Tense and atmospheric' - GARRY DISHER
'Compelling' - CHRIS HAMMER
'Addictive' - DERVLA McTIERNAN
'Thrilling' - CHRISTIAN WHITE
PRAISE FOR THE CALEB ZELIC SERIES:
'A mazey delight of a mystery' - IAN RANKIN
'Outstanding, gripping, violent' - THE GUARDIAN
'An Australian thriller at its finest' - JANE HARPER
'Superb cast of characters' - THE TIMES
'Trailing literary prizes in its wake ... superbly characterised' - FINANCIAL TIMES
Another solid instalment in an intriguing series
Those Who Perish is the fourth and - according to the blurb - final book in Emma Viskic's series featuring deaf private investigator Caleb Zelic. I'd recommend it as an interesting read to those who are looking for something a little different in what's become a very competitive genre.
Summoned by an anonymous text, Melbourne-based private investigator Caleb Zelic stumbles into a dramatic standoff in his hometown of Resurrection Bay. A sniper is positioned in a public toilet block and his troubled brother Ant is cowering in a garden bed, the security of which is rapidly lessening as the sun begins to rise. Caleb is drawn to nearby Muttonbird Island, where Ant is currently an inpatient at a rehab clinic. The stakes are further raised when Caleb and Ant discover a human body part on a secluded beach, again coming under fire from an unseen gunman. Meanwhile, Caleb has been retained by his old friend Mick to investigate a bizarre form of poison pen active amongst the Resurrection Bay footy club community. Will the Numbats overcome the scandal to survive for another season?
Returning to Resurrection Bay also enables Caleb to spend much-needed time with his wife Kat, who's now in the last stages of a much-awaited pregnancy. Emotions are understandably running high, and Caleb is feeling the pressure to move their family base back to their home town of Resurrection Bay, away from most of his professional opportunities and the support of Melbourne's deaf community.
Author Emma Viskic's prose style is well-fitted to the genre and subject matter, comprising as it does a stream of consciousness with an impressionistic vibe, frequently utilising sentence fragments, rather than traditional "longhand" narrative prose. This gives the reader an experience of punchy immediacy. Viskic also uses the device of a non-hearing protagonist to full effect, as while there are many situations in which Caleb struggles, he does put his lip-reading skills and the acuity of his other senses to good use in the course of his work as an investigator..
Sarah, 03/08/2022
