A Gift Before Dying
A haunting and gripping crime novel set in the unforgiving Arctic Circle - 'Hypnotically good' (Lee Child)
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- 7,99 €
Beschreibung des Verlags
'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
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This stunning debut from criminal lawyer Kempt finds Sgt. Elderick Cole exiled to the remote Arctic hamlet of Cape Dorset after making critical mistakes in a sensitive murder case on the Canadian mainland. Estranged from his ex-wife and daughter, Cole waits for the outcome of a civil lawsuit that will decide his fate back home. Having grown up in Newfoundland, the policeman is no stranger to harsh conditions, but even he is ill-prepared for the severe cold and relentless darkness of an Arctic winter. As the novel opens, Cole discovers the body of a young Inuit girl named Pitseolala he'd been trying to shield from the harsh social conditions of the Arctic, including rampant substance abuse and high suicide rates. Though it appears Pitseolala died by hanging herself, Cole suspects otherwise, as does the girl's 10-year-old brother, Maliktu, who says he's being visited by Pitseolala's ghost. As Cole investigates—against the wishes of fellow officer Veronica Aningmiug and many community members—the case takes a major toll on his physical and mental health, offering uncomfortable parallels to his home life as he becomes obsessed with making things right. From the opening pages, Kempt's remarkably assured narrative evokes a mythic atmosphere, and the author, who spent years living in the Arctic, infuses his haunting tale with vivid sensory details that bring the frigid landscape to life. It's a knockout.
