A Gift Before Dying: A haunting and gripping crime novel set in the unforgiving Arctic Circle - 'Hypnotically good' (Lee Child)
Malcolm Kempt
Jan 2026 · Baskerville · Narrated by Stephen Mendel
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9 hr 13 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
'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.
----------------------------------------------------
'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
'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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About the author
Malcolm Kempt worked as a criminal lawyer in the remote Arctic for seventeen years before leaving to write full time. He now lives on the island of Newfoundland. A Gift Before Dying is his debut novel.
Malcolm Kempt worked as a criminal lawyer in the remote Arctic for seventeen years before leaving to write full time. He now lives on the island of Newfoundland. A Gift Before Dying is his debut novel.
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