I loved what I read (a sample) and will likely buy the full book. Such a strong voice, and really compelling.

Obviously I think this is amazing. The whole book is. We love Kala. Team Mush forever. Colin is the best. I can’t wait to read whatever he writes next.

I loved the distinctly Irish voice in this extract and I thought the few characters we have been introduced to are really vivid and realistic. The descriptions of Kinlough are stunning and an amazing sense of atmosphere is created.

We don’t get much of the plot or the six characters mentioned in the blurb from this extract so I’m not left desperate to read on.

Thank you very much for this short little teaser of Kala. It certainly got me intrigued! I loved the warmth and comfort of the family unit even though they were having a disagreement I could totally feel the love underneath. It really has left me wondering what’s going to happen to Donna and Marie.. I hope they’re ok!

I'm not always a fan of first person, present tense, but reading this I'm realising that it's because it's so often done poorly and without purpose. When used intentionally and with skill, first person, present tense are both invisible and effective. The first sentence of Kala, "We're perched on our bikes at the top of the hill.", immediately caught me and drew me into the world with its imagery and sensual power. I felt like I was there, looking down, echoing the Atwood quotation about memory from the epigraph. And this isn't first person singular, it's the multiple "we", which I hated in The Virgin Suicides, but works beautifully to deliver Colin Walsh's lyrical description of a group of kids paused on their bikes above their home town. My god, the beauty of this writing. It envelopes you and carries you away.

Beautiful character development in the first chapter, too. You can tell the story will be full of complex, individual people, believably written. I'm already bonded with Mush. And the mystery of what happened to Kala has been established, along with "human remains" recently found and plenty of interpersonal tension in the community. Very excited to read this book.

Despite only giving a taste of the full novel it was more than enough to whet my appetite for more, so I have already acquired the book in its entirety from Amazon and have it lined up waiting to be read. Colin Walsh will now be an author I follow closely, so thank you for introducing me to such a talent.

Thank you to the publishers for the sample text made available.
I was hooked the entire way through this extract. The voice felt like someone I knew, I was along for the ride with everyone else and I feel so invested in this story already. Enjoyed it so much I’ve gone and purchased the book so I can finish reading. I sense this may become a future favourite author to keep an eye on.

Absolutely gripping sampler which made me go straight out and buy the book. Really intrigued and looking forward to getting stuck in.

I was lucky enough to get a sampler of this book and i can saely say from reading the first 20 pages, i need more! So much so, i've reserved this from the local library. Only 19th in line so i know the rest is going to be good!

A very intriguing first chapter! (or at least I think it was just the first chapter)

I really enjoyed this glimpse into the book. The writing style is really easy to read, but had some lovely descriptions.

I can definitely see that Walsh will be able to build the tension in this literary thriller. I'm excited to pick up the book and continue with the story!

It was difficult to make a judgment based on such a short extract but it has an interesting beginning and I liked the author's style of writing. The mystery surrounding Kala's disappearance is intriguing but the foul-mouthed twins Donna and Marie were a little off putting. The prospective interweaving of families suggest there are secrets to be revealed that will prove to be dramatic and life-changing for some of the characters and it should prove to make a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this sample Colin Walsh's debut novel, Kala.

The author sets the scene well in this sample which has left me intrigued and wanting to know more. I liked the writing and would definitely want to continue reading to see where the story goes.

This definitley tickled my taste buds, can’t wait to read the whole story. A fantastic novel set deep in rural Ireland.

This was a short but interesting opening sample for this debut novel. It sets the scene and we are introducing to the premise and a few of the characters. Definitely an intriguing start and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the book.

“We live in the churning surface of the infinite ocean…”

This was the thriller I didn’t know I was craving.

Kinlough is a holiday town in the west coast of Ireland, coming alive every summer. It is against this festive and busy backdrop that three friends old friends are thrown back together for one long weekend where they finally get answers to what happened to Kala, their friend who has been missing for 15 years.

This is a long but fast paced thriller with twists (a couple of which I predicted - didn’t impact my enjoyment but I know it does to some people) but what really stands out is the narrative voices. The three POVs and dual timeline are interweaved in such a wonderful way with beautiful writing that had me stop to admire what Colin Walsh had done. I did feel like the last bit of the book lost me a bit and one of the plots that was being built just didn’t seem to go anywhere.

This sample was enough of a hook to get me extremely enthusiastic about the rest of the story - told from Mush's perspective, it reads like an interview chair with someone in a true crime documentary. Just enough of a tease to know that something's *off* with Kinlough, despite it being perfect on the outside. Just enough of a teasing mystery - where is Kala?
The tone of voice, I can tell from this section alone, is beautiful. Personally, I could *hear* Mush in my head as I read - and as he pined over his cans of Tuborg in the back of the fridge. One to add to the TBR In full, for sure!