A Gift Before Dying

Author: Malcolm Kempt

Crime & mystery | Thriller / suspense

Published on 22^nd January 2026 by John Murray Press (Baskerville) in the United Kingdom.

Hardback | 272 pages, n/a
236mm x 156mm | 460g

'Hypnotically good ' Lee Child'One of the finest debuts of the year' Donald Ray Pollock'A don't-miss-it debut' Michael Koryta'A gripping thriller' Ivy Pochoda----------------------------------------------------AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, CAN JUSTICE STILL BE FOUND?After a botched high-profile murder investigation, Sergeant Elderick Cole is exiled to the remote, rugged landscape of Nunavut, a vast territory in the Arctic Circle known for its untamed beauty, frigid temperatures, and endless winter nights.

His bleak existence takes a sinister turn when he discovers the hanging body of Pitseolala, a troubled Inuit girl whom he had sworn to protect. Her death dredges up demons he thought he'd buried along with the scars of a fractured marriage and the aching divide between himself and his estranged daughter.

As Cole's life unravels - and with it, the fragile thread of his investigation - he turns to Pitseolala's younger brother, Maliktu, a fellow outsider. It's then that Cole uncovers what binds them: a singular mission to find her killer.

Against fierce backlash, Cole's overriding desire to redeem just one aspect of his otherwise failed life becomes an obsession - and he's willing to break every rule in his unyielding pursuit of justice and the smallest shred of redemption.

----------------------------------------------------'A haunting, immersive, moving story-told by an expert, with great authority and emotion' Richard Thomas, Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, and Thriller Award finalist'There's a river of warmth running under this icy, Arctic thriller, with a big bang of an ending you won't soon forget' Rene Denfeld'Malcolm Kempt is a brave new author I'd follow anywhere . . . A Gift Before Dying, is ice-cold, yet it still managed to warm my heart by the end' Eli Cranor'[A] stunning debut . . . It's a knockout' Publishers Weekly, starred review