Those Who Perish

Written by Emma Viskic

Narrated by Lewis Fitz-Gerald

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 …

"Tense and atmospheric." GARRY DISHER

‘I rate Emma Viskic as Australia's best crime writer – vivid characters, ingenious plots and a passionate social conscience' PHILLIP ADAMS

‘Compelling.' CHRIS HAMMER

‘Addictive.' DERVLA McTIERNAN

‘Thrilling.' CHRISTIAN WHITE

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wavesound from W. F. Howes Ltd
• Release date: Mar 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781004077908

Emma Viskic

Emma Viskic is an award-winning Australian crime writer. Her critically-acclaimed debut novel, Resurrection Bay, won the 2016 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction, as well as an unprecedented three Davitt Awards: Best Adult Novel, Best Debut and Readers’ Choice. Resurrection Bay was iBooks Australia’s Crime Novel of 2015. Emma learned Auslan (Australian sign language) in order to write the character of Caleb Zelic. Also a classically trained clarinetist, Emma’s musical career has ranged from performing with José Carreras and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, to busking in the London Underground. She lives in Melbourne and divides her time between writing, performing and teaching.

Reviews for Those Who Perish

[Duchess Sarah Ferguson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

My thanks to the author, Emma Viskic, publisher Pushkin Press (Pushkin Vertigo), and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

[Mari Melting · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Found the final instalment in this series to be very satisfying. The characters remained true to themselves, which I really appreciated.