A Gift Before Dying by Malcolm Kempt
Publication Date: January 20, 2026
Summary from Netgalley:
In a hauntingly atmospheric novel set against the unforgiving landscape of the Arctic Circle, a disgraced police investigator discovers that his path to redemption is paved with ice—and blood.
After a botched high-profile murder investigation, Corporal 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. With his family having severed all ties, Cole waits out the result of a civil lawsuit alone—the wrong verdict could end what’s left of his flailing career.
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 him 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.
ARC provided by Crown Publishing via Netgalley for an honest review.
Confession:
This is an amazingly well done debut. This is not exactly an enjoyable book, considering the harshness of the setting, but it is one that is hard to put down. The setting is amazingly well done and even though the mystery could have been a bit tighter, I was still enthralled by the story as a whole.
Cole is a man who is haunted by many demons. He struggles with not only his job in this remote town full of crime, but with his past mistakes. I liked Cole and I felt for him. He doesn’t give up on trying to find the young girl’s murderer even when everyone is trying to convince him that it is a suicide. He is your typical detective, he drinks too much, doesn’t sleep and self medicates for an old injury, but there is something about him that makes you like him and want him to get better. His desire to catch the killer sends him on a heartbreaking journey of self discovery and resilience.
Maliktu was also a character that is haunted by things. He is only ten years old, but reads much older, mostly because he has gone through so much at such a young age. He lost both his parents in a fire, and was grievously injured during that incident. Now he has lost his sister. His fragile mental state is being pushed over the edge. But he too goes on that journey of self discovery and healing.
The setting is very well written and is almost a character in the story. You really feel the bleakness of the Arctic during winter and how hard it is to survive there. As one would expect there is rampant alcoholism, drugs and crime in this small town. The children pretty much are feral and left to fend for themselves most of the day and night. The government doesn’t do enough to help these people. There are no social services to speak of, and the few that are available are constantly changing as no one wants to live there for long. The Inuit culture also plays into the story and while we don’t learn everything about them, we do get enough to understand them within the context of the story.
The mystery itself was a bit on the uncomplicated side of things. I kind of pegged the killer as soon as they were introduced. But watching both Cole and Maliktu figure it out was gratifying. There is an overlying supernatural feel to the mystery and the story as a whole, but many of the things that happen to both Cole and Maliktu can be put down to mental illness. Cole drinks and self medicates and his constant lack of sleep allows for hallucinations. Maliktu has a diagnosis of psychosis, and admits that he has stopped taking his medication. He also has many hallucinations throughout the book. However the way these events are written it could very well by spirits guiding them. It is up to the reader to decide which.
The ending is very good and fits with the story as a whole, although I wasn’t very happy with it. I wanted something better for both characters.
I don’t usually do trigger warnings, but this book does warrant some. There is rampant abuse of both drugs and alcohol which includes children. Physical abuse and neglect of children. Domestic abuse, mostly of the physical kind. There is also animal cruelty and a dog is killed on page.
A well written debut that I recommend to those of you looking for a mystery with a unique setting that is part of the story itself. But be aware that this is a very dark book, see warnings above, but an honest one. I look forward to seeing what else this author might write next.
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