Kala: 'A spectacular read for Donna Tartt and Tana French fans' (Paperback) - Colin Walsh

A gripping literary page-turner from a rising Irish talent in which former friends, estranged for fifteen years, reckon with the terrifying events of the summer that changed their lives.

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2023
'Unforgettable' Observer
'Masterful' Irish Times
'Explosive' The Telegraph

We used to be such a force, back then when she was still with us. What happened to her?

In the seaside town of Kinlough three old friends are thrown together for the first time in years. They - Helen, Joe and Mush - were part of an original group of six inseparable teenagers in the summer of 2003, with motherless, reckless Kala Lanann as their group's white-hot centre. Soon after that summer's peak, Kala disappeared without a trace.

Now it's fifteen years later. Human remains have been discovered in the woods. Two more girls have gone missing. As past and present begin to collide, the estranged friends are forced to confront their own complicity in the events that led to Kala's disappearance...

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'A gritty heartbreaker of a thriller... a spectacular read for Donna Tartt and Tana French fans' Kirkus
'The thriller of the moment' The i Paper, Best Summer Reads
'Tana French fans will relish Kala' Guardian, Best Summer Reads
'A compulsive joy' Daily Mail
'Kala heralds an exciting new voice' Observer

About the Author

Colin Walsh's short stories have won several awards including the RTE Francis MacManus Short Story Prize and the Hennessy Literary Award. In 2019 he was named Hennessy New Irish Writer of the Year. His writing has been published in the Stinging Fly, the Irish Times and broadcast on RTE Radio 1 and BBC Radio 4. KALA is his first novel. He is from Galway and lives in Belgium.