(Can be read as a standalone)
“Twisty storytelling pulsing with humanity, carried on prose that sings.”
NZ Listener
Shortlisted – Ned Kelly Award for Best Novel
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 …
The action is ruthless and relentless; the characters colourful and credible; the narrative packs an
emotional punch.
SUNDAY TIMES UK Crime Club
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Tightly written in often staccato prose that packs a powerful punch. It’s also elegantly plotted, darkly humorous and occasionally very moving.
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Superb… The author’s remarkable gift for enabling hearing readers to imagine Zelic’s often silent or inaudible world lifts this above the pack.
USA PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)
The action is ruthless and relentless; the characters colourful and credible; the narrative packs an emotional punch.
SUNDAY TIMES (UK) Crime Bookclub
Two months into 2022 and Emma Viskic is already staking a strong claim for the best Australian crime novel of the year
MURDER MAYHEM
Crime fiction fans will relish the return of Emma Viskic’s entrancing Caleb Zelic … a brilliant creation
THE AGE (Memorable Books of March)
…a thrilling story told in short sharp sentences underpinned by a laconic sense of humour
QUEENSLAND REVIEWERS COLLECTIVE
…a pinnacle in the author’s tense, atmospheric crime writing.
LIVING ARTS CANBERRA
Viskic’s writing sings; it’s incredibly polished, with taut plotting and laconic humour
BETTER READING
‘I love the language, I love the characters, I love this book.’
CHRIS HAMMER (Scrublands)
An audacious imaginative accomplishment .. .The power of the novel is derived not only from the quality of the language, however, but from Viskic’s creation of an interesting and easily recognisable cast of characters
ARTS HUB
A superb series… Twisty storytelling pulsing with humanity, carried on prose that sings
NEW ZEALAND LISTENER
…one of the best contemporary practitioners of the private-eye genre … Her prose echoes Chandler and Macdonald, tinged with something distinctly Australian.
POTTS POINT BOOKS
Everything you want in a thriller – it’s tight, tense, atmospheric and twisty.
CHRISTIAN WHITE (The Wife and the Widow)
Tense, gut-wrenching and written in a frenetic, dryly humorous style
FULLERS BOOKS
Move over Sherlock and Hercule. Caleb Zelic has replaced you as my favourite detective.
PHILLIP ADAMS
Tense and atmospheric, a stripped-down crime thriller that delivers twists until the last page
GARRY DISHER (Bitterwash Road)
… the rhythm, the beat, the pulse, leap through the words on the page … fast-paced and chilling
GOOD READING
It’s always a good month when there’s a new Emma Viskic book out. From the first page, you’ll be hooked
READINGS (Best Crime Books of March)
…it’s evocative, it’s compelling, it’s tension-filled … One of my favourite book series of all time.
BOOK LOVER REVIEWS
Another taut and gripping tale … entertains while packing an emotional punch
MURDER MAYHEM