Resurrection Bay by Emma Viskic – Review.

About the Book

CALEB ZELIC IS ON THE HUNT FOR HIS FRIEND’S KILLER

His childhood friend has been brutally murdered – fingers broken, throat slit – at his home in Melbourne. Tortured by guilt, Caleb vows to track down the killer. But he’s profoundly deaf; missed words and misread lips can lead to confusion, and trouble.

HE NEVER FORGETS A FACE

Fortunately, Caleb knows how to read people; a sideways glance, an unconvincing smile, speaks volumes. When his friend Frankie, a former cop, offers to help, they soon discover the killer is on their tail

IT MIGHT JUST SAVE HIS LIFE

Sensing that his ex-wife may also be in danger, Caleb insists they return to their hometown of Resurrection Bay. But here he learns that everyone – including his murdered friend – is hiding something. And the deeper he digs, the darker the secrets…

My Review

One of the reasons I love Australia is because the people are so refreshing, open and honest. And their fiction is exactly the same. Resurrection Bay had been on my kindle about eighteen months when I became aware that it was due to be released in paperback, ready for book two following in hardback. After reading this book, that release can’t come quickly enough.
It takes place in Melbourne, somewhere I am familiar with so I enjoyed revisiting areas I knew and learning about the communities that I hadn’t seen. But whether you know them or not it doesn’t matter, this book is mainly about people and the way they are with each other.
As I said at the beginning of my review, Australian fiction is refreshing. One of the reasons why is because it so frank, where people say what they want to without causing any offence. Where people accept that nobody is perfect.
The main characters are Caleb and Frankie. Caleb has been deaf since he was a child after suffering from meningitis. I felt his frustration at missing fragments of conversation and how easy it was to misunderstand somebody. Especially if they weren’t looking at him whilst they were speaking. And the way he didn’t help himself by explaining to a stranger why he struggled. He is loyal, devastated over a friend’s death and determined to find out why he died .Frankie is an ex detective. She struggles with alcoholism like many in other books but because of her age, her wackiness, and her determination it all feels new. But there are more characters than Caleb and Frankie who stand out. Even those who only say a few words are so well drawn you can almost be stood next to them. They feel that real. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where that has happened.

For much of the novel I felt tense, hoping that everybody would be ok and with a hope that there would be a reconciliation but the ending was one that shocked and upset me. I had no inkling that the storyline would go the way that it did. I really need to know what happens next.