A GIFT BEFORE DYING

A chilling upmarket suspense set in the Arctic Circle that follows a disgraced cop who discovers a clue that turns a suicide investigation into a murder inquiry.

Corporal Eldrick Cole has been banished to the Artic Circle following a botched high-profile murder investigation. He drinks too much; he's depressed; and he's on limited speaking terms with his estranged family. Arriving on the scene of what appears to be his fourth suicide investigation, he discovers the hanging body of Pitseolala, a familiar 17-year-old girl, and a clue that turns this suicide investigation into a murder case. Facing fierce backlash from a community that has no interest in knowing the truth, he's prepared to break every rule in order to achieve even a shred of redemption. Part of a two-book deal, this is reminiscent of True Detective Night Country with shades of a Harry Bosch novel. Malcolm Kempt was born and raised in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He has worked as an attorney in the Nunavut territory for 17 years before dedicating himself to writing full-time. A Gift Before Dying won the 2023 Percy Janes Award for best unpublished novel. The judges described it as a 'delightful genre mash-up of police procedural and horror'. Malcolm also has a short story, "Choose Your Own Demise", co-written with Stoker Award-nominee Richard Thomas, published in the latest Qualia Nous anthology, which features Stephen King and Chuck Palahniuk.