A Gift Before Dying
On sale
22nd January 2026
Price: £22
Genre
‘Hypnotically good ‘ Lee Child
‘A stunning debut’ Daily Mail
‘A life-affirming read’ Daily Express
‘A gritty debut thriller’ Irish Independent
‘One of the finest debuts of the year’ Donald Ray Pollock
‘Rich in atmosphere and relentlessly suspenseful’ Michael Koryta
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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.
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‘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
‘[A] stunning debut . . . It’s a knockout’ Publishers Weekly, starred review
‘A stunning debut’ Daily Mail
‘A life-affirming read’ Daily Express
‘A gritty debut thriller’ Irish Independent
‘One of the finest debuts of the year’ Donald Ray Pollock
‘Rich in atmosphere and relentlessly suspenseful’ Michael Koryta
—————————————————-
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
‘[A] stunning debut . . . It’s a knockout’ Publishers Weekly, starred review
Reviews
Hypnotically good - instantly immersive, intense, and ultimately inspiring
One of the finest debuts of the year
Rich in atmosphere and relentlessly suspenseful . . . a don't-miss-it debut
A gripping thriller . . . Kempt's debut is delivered with insight and authority, pacing and style
A Gift Before Dying is a haunting, immersive, moving story - told by an expert, with great authority and emotion. Keep an eye on Malcolm Kempt - one of my favourite voices in contemporary dark fiction
There's a river of warmth running under this icy Arctic thriller, with a big bang of an ending you won't soon forget. Hold on tight, because A Gift Before Dying will grip you until the last page
Stunning debut . . . Kempt's remarkably assured narrative evokes a mythic atmosphere . . . It's a knockout
With its gripping opening, exciting climax, powerful sense of place and eerie, nicely unforced mysticism, this is a strong debut. There's never been a police protagonist more disheveled or out of sorts than Cole, which makes his determined efforts all the more winning. A terrific, permafrosted mystery
Stunning . . . Kempt worked in the Arctic which gives his story marvellous authenticity on top of a heart -wrenching plot
A harrowing but ultimately life-affirming read, it's hard to believe this is a debut
What comes across most powerfully in this gritty debut thriller is . . . the dispiriting plight of many of the Inuit people
This extraordinary, beautifully crafted debut mystery blends together an arresting setting, a background of systemic social net failures in an Indigenous community, and a spiky police procedural . . . If you only read one mystery this year, this should be it
Kempt infuses his lived experience into the gripping story, balancing the darkness with a terse writing style that doesn't get in the way. I await further stories of the area, and of its people
Kempt, who worked as a criminal lawyer in the Arctic for almost two decades, conjures this forbidding landscape and its residents with artful authority. A Gift Before Dying merges harsh realism, insomniac perceptions and tribal visions in a story that shocks and engages
Tautly written, this first novel by a former criminal lawyer who spent 17 years in the Arctic is a hard look at the desolate lives of people resigned to life in the bleak far north
This extraordinary, beautifully crafted debut mystery blends together an arresting setting, a background of systemic social net failures in an Indigenous community, and a spiky police procedural . . . If you only read one mystery this year, this should be it