Kala cover art

Kala

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Kala

By: Colin Walsh
Narrated by: Frank Blake, Moe Dunford, Seána Kerslake
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £17.99

Buy Now for £17.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

In the seaside town of Kinlough, on Ireland's west coast, 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 center. Soon after that summer's peak, Kala disappeared without a trace.

Now it's fifteen years later: Helen has reluctantly returned to Ireland for her father's wedding; Joe is a world-famous musician, newly back in town; and Mush has never left, too scared to venture beyond the counter of his mother's café. But human remains have been discovered in the woods. Two more girls have gone missing. And 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, and to try to stop Kinlough's violent patterns repeating themselves once again...

Against the backdrop of a town suffocating on its own secrets, in a story that builds from a smoulder to a stunning climax, Kala brilliantly examines the sometimes brutal costs of belonging, as well as the battle in the human heart between vengeance and forgiveness, despair and redemption.

©2023 Colin Walsh (P)2023 Altantic Books and W. F. Howes Ltd
Crime Thrillers International Mystery & Crime Thriller Fiction Emotionally Gripping Exciting Heartfelt Scary Suspense Summer
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Rachel Incident cover art
So Late in the Day cover art
Youth cover art
There's Something I Have to Tell You cover art
We Are All Constellations cover art
Lazarus Remembered cover art
The House Fire cover art
Tell Me What I Am cover art
All the Hidden Truths cover art
The July Girls cover art
Careless cover art
Paper Dolls cover art
Dead Ringer cover art
The Silence cover art
The Mess We're In cover art
The Missing cover art

What listeners say about Kala

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    277
  • 4 Stars
    85
  • 3 Stars
    28
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    9
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    315
  • 4 Stars
    45
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    261
  • 4 Stars
    73
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    9

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb

Incredible story, great narrators. One of the most exciting well written books I’ve read in ages.
A few tears too. Highly recommended

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Loved it - felt like I was there…the advantage of an audiobook is hearing the beautiful accents. Disadvantage - you can flip back to the character list at the start as new people come on the scene

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A gripping story, brilliantly told

I loved this from the first page. It is deftly plotted with superbly drawn characters

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful writing

Another amazing book from an Irish author. Could not stop listening to this, the actors are so perfect, will be recommending this to everyone

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

An Irish Small Town Tale

Kala is a disquieting tale, it's dark and unsettling undertones really came through in the performance of the narrators.

Ultimately this is the story of a missing girl whose disappearance has haunted the town of Kinlough, on Ireland's west coast since that October night in 2003. Her loss is especially felt by her closest friends, and it is their voices that we here in the present day.

This is a slow burn of a story, and there are many smaller mysteries that arise which held my attention as I tried to work out how the many strands fitted together.

Colin Walsh is an author to watch out for in the future.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A beautifully written literary thriller.

At the heart of the story is a years old missing person mystery which has blighted the lives of those left behind. A group of teenage friends is ripped apart by the secrets and lies hidden within this close knit Irish town. The author paints such a vivid picture of this community and the characters within it, you can see them all in your head. Such a well crafted book with the story zipping between different characters each chapter to carry the story to its conclusion.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Brilliant all around. Great writing and thought the actors were so good x thank you

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A Good Whodunnit

The Irish Times reviewer described the book as "a masterful reworking of the whodunnit". I wouldn't go that far. It is a fine debut novel but hardly a "masterful" one. The storyline is good but the plot is a bit overstretched at times. The characters are very well realised and they are brought to life by the excellent narration. Another reviewer here disliked the "swearword laden argot" of the characters but I'm afraid that is exactly how I would expect them to speak - it added to their authenticity. Colin Walsh is clearly a writer of note and I look forward to his next book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

An excellent story with beautiful, engaging narration. I could listen to it all over again!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Brialliant etiter

Colin Walsh is the best modern writer I have read for years and this debut novel is undoubtedly the first of many admired books to come. If I have a criticism, it is a minor one that I found the plot with its many characters and time frame slightly confusing. but the writing was exciting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!