Book Review – Resurrection Bay by Emma Viskic

I’m a bit late to the party with Resurrection Bay, as it came out in 2015, but I enjoyed it so much when I recently read it, that I wanted to write a review. It has won numerous awards including the 2016 Ned Kelly award for Best First Fiction. How could I have possibly missed it? How ever that happened, I’m glad I finally found what turned out to be a great read.

Since reading Resurrection Bay, I’ve recommended it to other people, who have enjoyed it just as much as me. I ordered this book from my local library after watching an online event in which Emma Viskic participated. If I’m completely honest, I forgot what the book was about when I picked it up – it took a few months to become available. I think I enjoyed the book even more as the story was a relative surprise – I hadn’t reread the blurb.

Resurrection Bay is the first in the Caleb Zelic series, and I will definitely be reading more. Caleb is a Private Investigator, an occupation suited to his people reading skills, skills that he has had to develop as he became Deaf as a young child. This aspect of Caleb’s life is woven seamlessly into the story and we gain a real insight into his world, and his difficulties within it.

The murder of a childhood friend, a police officer who Caleb has enlisted to help him in a case, begins a heart- pumping hunt to find his killer whilst preserving Caleb’s own life and the lives of those around him. A complex relationship with his ex, adds another dimension to the likable main character.

It wasn’t the character than drew me into the book, although I do love him. I knew when reading the first page that I was in for a good read. I love Viskic’s style of writing. It’s such a satisfying feeling, knowing that you are at the start of something brilliant, and I certainly felt that with Resurrection Bay. A great find, and I look forward to reading more.