Kala

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



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.



Tana French fans will relish Kala's stylish prose and slowburn menace... An impressive debut



With promised shades of Donna Tart and Tana French, this is the thriller of the moment



A sizzling debut of nostalgia and secrets... With the strong group dynamic and the lingering promise of bloodshed, comparisons to Donna Tartt's TheSecret History are justified. Kala is both a genuine page-turner and a profound meditation on memory and how it shapes our lives - how our past selves forever haunt the people we become



A stonkingly good read, especially if you're looking for something gripping, pacy and plot-driven... This is a masterful reworking of the whodunnit, one you'll have immense difficulty putting down



Luminous, unforgettable... Gorgeous and lingering, Kala is not to be missed



Compelling... Kala is an addictive read, with a pacy denouement - and explosive revelation - that's more than worth the wait.



Impressive... Walsh brilliantly conveys the cruelty, self-absorption and vulnerability of teenagers, their shifting allegiances and betrayals, as well as their love for one another... His characterisation is superb and he has a vivid turn of phrase. Kala heralds an exciting new voice



A vividly spun web of a novel, in which allegiance, betrayal, complicity and the truth of what happened to Kala interweave... Walsh's pin-balling language seems to contain within it both the volatile ecstasy of being young, and the precipitous darkness that often accompanies it. A compulsive joy.



The characters unfold beautifully on the page as the plot builds to breakneck speed. A mesmerising debut thriller wrapped in lyrical writing



This shimmering novel teems with tension and is so brilliantly executed it's hard to believe it's a debut



I was kept awake until the birds were singing. What a story. I was riveted. It captures so much of the essence of the thrill and excitement of teenage summers, the wonderful optimism of youth and first loves, and the ease with which corruption and evil can take hold and thrive. This is a dazzling novel.



Kala is a thriller - and a lot more. It is exciting and cleverly structured, but its great strength is the characters: they are terrific.



Now here's a truly ambitious debut novel that purrs with narrative confidence - hugely engaging and thoroughly addictive.



Kala is so good. Skilfully assembled, suspenseful, brilliant about being a teenager and then of the difficult experience, as an adult, of going back home



The very definition of page-turner, full of big personalities, rapid twists and unpredictable moments, cast both in vivid colour and deepest shadow. I tore through it.



A compelling, moving novel... Simmering with darkness and rich with the accumulation of life



A debut novel of skill and fire, Kala crackles with passion as it depicts the urgent bonds of youth and the monsters that emerge when we peer into the past.



Colin Walsh's debut is a heartbreaking story of love and lost youth that is at once tender and absolutely gutting. Psychologically rangy and ultimately riveting, Kala is a book you'll not just read and love, but lend to those you love



A slow burner that draws you in and spins you around until you don't know where you stand. It kept my heart pounding and my head guessing until the very end.