resurrection bay caleb zelic series volume one emma viskic

There’s a challenging but credible plot that’s exposed in a well-paced series of events. She illustrates another dimension to Caleb’s character as well as rounding out our understanding of his life.Īs a crime novel, it’s outstanding. On the other hand, Caleb’s ex-wife Kat – also a strong and vivid character – expresses some of the frustrations often felt by those who care about a deaf person. She’s developed an understanding of some of his limitations, and generally accommodates them. An ex-cop, she’s an excellent investigator herself. Other characters are equally strong, particularly Caleb’s business partner Frankie. His additional challenges add a different dimension to the task of solving a murder. Caleb is vivid and real, and his experiences ring true. Viskic shows an excellent understanding of these things, and of how they affect everything from ordering a coffee to solving a murder. People who have met one deaf person and think they now understand the capabilities and limitations of all deaf people… so many small experiences which happen every day, and which shape how a deaf person interacts with the world. Frustration at yourself when you know you haven’t fully understood something. Frustration from people who don’t like repeating themselves. People accidentally sneaking up on you because you just don’t hear them. Worrying about water getting into your hearing aid. However, there’s a bedrock of universality too, and that’s what Viskic depicts so well. Deaf people are individuals, with different life experiences, degrees of deafness, and communication choices. Viskic has done an outstanding job of capturing the day to day experiences of being deaf. Caleb Zelic is deaf, having lost his hearing to illness at five years old. It stands up well to re-reading although I of course knew the “who’s done what to who” answers, there was plenty to enjoy in re-visiting the characters.Īnd the characters are one of the things that makes this novel stand out. I read “Resurrection Bay” on its’ first publication in 2015, and it’s now been re-issued at a great price. There are enough clues that you could work the plot out, but they’re subtle enough to keep most readers guessing to the end. The writing style is easy to read, but there’s a lot of meat in the content. Our hero is tough, but not invincible the bad guys are violent, in a personal fists-and-knives way it’s hard to know who to trust.

This novel inclines towards the hardboiled style of writers like Peter Corris and Lawrence Block. As the violence escalates, so does Caleb’s urgency to identify Gary’s killers, and so does the shock factor of the secrets he uncovers.

Resurrection bay caleb zelic series volume one emma viskic