White Out is the first installment in author Danielle Girard's new Badlands Thriller series. Far Gone, the second volume, is scheduled to be released in 2021.

The new series marks a departure for Girard, who penned the Dr. Annabelle Schwartzman and Rookie Club series, both of which were set in her native California Bay Area. Instead of examining issues related to the San Francisco Police Department, White Out is set in the tiny fictional town of Hagen, North Dakota, population 864. Kylie Milliard is new to the police force, but dreams of a job as a detective with the Fargo police department, the nearest thing to a big city.

Kylie may be the only female detective in Hagen, but she is a savvy one. She is keenly aware of her status and the way that her actions are being apprised not only by her fellow officers, but by the citizens of the small community. She is also determined to find the killer of a young woman whose body was tossed in a dumpster behind the local bar owned and operated by Hagen native, Iver Larson, who inherited the establishment from his father. Hagen is a town where all the citizens know each other. The local sheriff, Jack Davis, graduated from high school three years ahead of Iver. Davis was the local football star, but Iver stayed on the bench. Now Iver lives with the brain injury he sustained while serving in Afghanistan. He survived the IED hitting his Humvee, but mixing his medications with alcohol took a toll on his marriage to his wife, Debbie. Now he lives alone with his Australian shepherd-collie mix, Cal. And he's shaping up to be the prime suspect in a murder investigation because a young woman's body was found in the dumpster behind his bar. He can't remember much from the prior evening, except that there was Jack Daniels involved and he went home without retrieving his pills from his office in the bar.

After the accident, Lily catches a ride into Hagen with a man who not only recognizes her, but seems to know her family history. He takes her to the hospital, where she claims she needs to visit a friend so that she can check on the driver of the vehicle in which she was a passenger. There, she finds that the staff also know her and she seems to be in a relationship with Tim, a hospital employee. She has no memory of any of it.

Girard starts White Out off with Lily regaining consciousness and finding herself trapped in a vehicle that is perched on the edge of a roadway beyond the guardrail through which it crashed, poised to fall thirty or more feet to the ground below. She has no memory of the driver's identity or how she came to be traveling with him, but is determined to escape the car before it tumbles forward and down the ravine. The tense scene propels Girard's story into gear, and it continues moving at an unrelenting pace until its equally adrenaline-inducing and shocking conclusion.

Kylie is a compelling lead character, about whose past Girard reveals some details. She is surrounded by an eclectic and equally intriguing cast of supporting players, including Iver, the war veteran who struggles to remember what happened on the night of the murder and keep his demons at bay. No one knows the truth about what really happened that day in Afghanistan, and he wants to keep it that way. He never even told his wife the details of how he came to be the only one to survive the attack. It quickly becomes clear that Lily is also a native of Hagen -- she and Iver became good friends after meeting in the Lutheran church[s middle school youth group. Iver also harbors guilt about what happened to Lily when they were fourteen years old. Somehow that event links her to the dead woman in the dumpster. Iver and Lily both had something stolen from them that they can never get back.

It falls to Kylie to figure out how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together, and she must find answers while protecting herself from nearby enemies. Girard has constructed a mystery that is replete with surprising plot twists, revelations, red herrings, and jaw-dropping developments. She weaves all of the loose ends of the tale into a cohesive thriller in which the setting is an important character. Remote, familiar only to its residents, and populated by characters who share lengthy histories and sometimes fractious relationships, White Out succeeds, in part, because of its setting.

As the story progresses, Girard demonstrates that Kylie cannot trust anyone except herself and must rely on her own training instincts in order to find the identity of the killer. White Out is a riveting mystery filled with long-buried small town secrets, surprising motivations, and empathetic characters, each of whom is memorable in his or her own right.

Girard says her goal in crafting White Out was for readers to be unable to stop turning pages. "I hope it keeps people up all night." She has met and surpassed her goal. White Out is an ambitious and promising start to her new series featuring Detective Kylie Milliard. Readers will be anxiously waiting to find out more about Kylie and learn if her wish to return to Fargo comes true in the next installment.

A twisty mystery told from multiple POVs. I will start by saying this book definitely required suspension of belief because there were a lot of implausible situations, plot holes and questions left unanswered but it was such a quick read that I just rolled with it. There was murder, amnesia, kidnapping, a suspected cult, drug abuse, small town politics and more. There was A LOT going on here and at times it felt like too much for me. I much prefer for things to be fully explained and fleshed out, versus having so much thrown at me. Not my favorite mystery but not the worst I've read either.

I absolutely enjoyed this book. It's a nice welcome to the genre. The writing flows easily and the story and the characters are both intriguing and each have their own unique personality. I would recommend this book.

The story begins at the scene of a car accident with a woman waking up next to a man she doesn't recognize, she has no idea what she is doing there even worse she is not sure who she is either. Her only clue is the ID she finds with the name Lily on it.

On the same night a woman's body is found in a dumpster outside of a local bar. Kylie a detective is working both cases in the small North Dakota town of Hagen.

The main draw is the mystery told from multiple narrators, some who are unreliable narrators.
There is a good selection of charecters that add to the list of suspects.
Overall a good suspenseful mystery.

Sometimes you pick up a book, and you're not sure about the description but something calls to you. This time it happened with two Netgalley Read Now selections - WHITE OUT by Danielle Girard and HER FINAL WORDS by Brianna Labuskes. With the arrival of crisper weather, I happened to be in the mood for a thriller and ate these up back to back. Both gave me Fargo meets Law and Order: SVU vibes.

With WHITE OUT, I was sucked in from the first chapter. Girard is excellent with characterization - from the gruff, no-nonsense Kylie Milliard to the complicated co-protagonist, Lily Baker - this strong, female characters are well-rounded, make (mostly) smart decisions, and have motives of their own. Told in multiple POVS, it keeps you guessing throughout. Why has Lily lost her memory? Has she actually lost her memory? How is the murdered young woman related to some mysterious disappearances of other young women in nearby towns? Could the troubled former soldier be at the center of it all?

I was legitimately surprised by the ending of this one, so I don't want to say much more and spoil your read. While there are a number of plot holes (which is why I subtracted one star), I found this really enjoyable, fast and fun, and will definitely be picking up the next installment of the Badlands series.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer/Amazon Publishing for the #gifted ebooks in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer and Danielle Girard for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

LIly Baker suddenly wakes up in crashed car next to stranger man with no memory of who she herself was. That same night Kylie Milliard is found dead in a local bar's dumpster. Apparently, Lily and Kylie go way back.

There are many twists to the story and it kept me keep turning pages. The narrative is is a little bit jumpy with many characters involved telling their stories though interceding chapters. At the end it all came nicely together though. On the other hand, there was no substance for either plot or characters.

There were few parts that teared me up, and I feel like it was sincerely done.

A murder mystery told from several points of view. The story opens with Lily, who wakes up and realizes she in a crashed car with a very injured, possibly dead man next to her. Other than that, she doesn't remember anything about herself or her life. Throughout the book, she grapples with bits of memories that flash in and out. The detective, Kylie Milliard, has a sharp eye and good intuition when it comes to solving cases. She is not overly fond of the town she works in and hopes to move up in rank and to a larger police force one day. Kylie works hard to gather the facts and not jump to conclusions however, her fellow police officers are not as competent and it makes for a tough work environment. Iver is the third key character. He is the owner of the bar where a girl was found murdered and one of the key suspects. He has a past history with Lily as well as PTSD from serving in Afghanistan.

I struggled to stay with this plot as there were lots of side characters and stories thrown in. I found there be a lot of discrepancies within the story and I had a difficult time connecting with the character stories and personalities. Overall, I would rate it between 2.5 - 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer Publishers, and Danielle Girard for an advanced eBook copy in exchange for my honest review.

White Out is my first book from Danielle Girard.

"Lily gains consciousness and finds herself trapped in a car with a stranger. She can't remember who he is, why she's in the car or even who she is.
The same night, a young woman is killed and tossed in a dumpster. Detective Kylie Milliard soon discovers that Lily and the young woman share a dark past...if only Lily could remember it.
They both want answers - but the more Lily learns about herself, the more she fears the truth..."

This book is going to be one of my favorite crime-fiction/thrillers of the year. Girard has a great, fast-paced writing style. Each chapter we get just a little bit more of Lily and what happened before. And a little bit of what Detective Milliard finds as she searches for the truth. There is no way to know what's going on or what will happen. The ending is crazy - the bad guys are totally unexpected. I will definitely be adding more Girard books to my stack.
This is a book you definitely need to add to your reading list this year.

This was such a thrilling read. Twist and turns right up until the end.I really liked Lily and Iver and it was so sad to read about all the terrible things they had to go thru. But Kylie.....she was just annoying. She made me so angry and I wanted to scream at her for being selfish and cold. There was nothing more she wanted than finally getting out of town. It didn't matter how and she disregarded the feelings of anybody then herself. I think it's a big plus if a book can do that to the reader, bringing out strong emotions. I will definitely picking up the next book.

This was an interesting read. I did feel like there were a lot of characters to keep track of, but I liked that there was a twist at the end that I didn't expect. I received a copy of this ebook from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I finished White Out and said out loud, "Oh, I liked that. I liked that a lot." Being addicted to crime fiction, I read many good crime books in a year, but I haven't had that reaction in a while. Loved the blend of suspense and police procedural. The characterisation. The sense of place. And the ending. White Out is a five-star read.

I was quite intrigued with the blurb. MC Lily Baker survives a car accident on an icy road, but does not remember who or where she is. The same night of the accident, a young woman is murdered and tossed in a dumpster. Kylie Milliard, Hagen’s only detective, doesn’t immediately recognize the victim, but Kylie soon discovers that Lily and the dead woman share a dark past…if only Lily could remember what it was. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for an ebook. This is my honest review.

Lily is a survivor of a kidnapping in North Dakota. Kie is a xop trying to figure out recent murders in her small town. A twisty roller coaster ride of emotions and drama as conflicts arise. Lily doesn't remember her past until it catches up to her.

This has been a top seller on Amazon for a while now and has thousands of ratings. I cannot possibly say anything new in a review. If you like a good thriller/mystery, this will probably be a satisfying read.

I really appreciate the review copy!!

I received White Out by Danielle Girard from NetGalley. I really enjoyed this book and rate it a 4 out of 5 stars.

This book is the first in the Badlands Thriller series and it did not disappoint. I look forward to other books in the series.

The reader is introduced to a few key players and each chapter is dedicated to their point of view at the time. Lily Baker is one of the main characters who finds herself caught in some seedy situations and a past which she can't remember due to a head trauma. As she fights to piece her past with the present, she links up with Iver Larson, a former soldier, suffering from his own demons and fighting to prove his innocence, in a murder that has rocked the small town in which he lives. Iver tries to protect Lily while helping her to remember the past that tore them apart and Lily tries to help absolve Iver of any wrongdoing. Dead set on finding the truth is Detective Kylie Millard who will stop at nothing to catapult her detective career from small town to big city, even if it means overlooking key details to put a murderer behind bars.

This book was so intriguing. It had everything- murder, scandal, drugs, thrills and turns around every corner. There is a nice twist towards the height of the story which I, personally, did not see coming. The characters were well developed and none were without flaws which was appreciated. It made them seem real and like they could be the person next door. I liked how the story was interwoven, chapter by chapter from a different characters view. It was done in away that didn't make the story seem disjointed or cause me to get lost in the shuffle.

The description of people and places was on point, as well. I could feel the emotions of the characters and envision myself being in the cold or the car dangling off the guardrail. As the story peaked, I felt myself becoming more and more antsy to find out how it all wrapped up. I didn't want to put it down and stayed up way too late to finish and the ending did not disappoint. I liked how through all the drama, hurt, and chaos, the story ended subtle, yet the way I found myself wanting it to go.

There were very few things I didn't like about the book. I think I would've put more focus on the person who was murdered and how she came into play. We learn of her backstory and who she is but we are not introduced really as to where she fits in with the past and Lily. Was she the same as Lily in the past or was she just playing a part? I also didn't like how Lily literally lost her memory but yet the weirdest things she could remember, things that just seemed out of place and unnatural. It felt a little fake at times.

I would highly recommend this read for anyone who is seeking a good, fast-paced murder thriller. It will not disappoint.

E-book/Mystery: This is an amnesia thriller. Girl wakes up in snow only to realize she's been in a car accident.
I enjoyed this book and trying to figure out what happened to Lily. Reality was thrown out the window in several places and some of the police procedure bordered on criminal. I like the characters of Lily, Kylie, and Iver. I did not like the ending. It went on and on, only to come down to a HEA.
That being said, it was pretty good. The plot moves quickly and you find out who Lily really is with her...and it's not pretty.
I would like to thank NetGalley for letting me have an ARC in lieu of an honest review.

Lily Baker wakes up in a wrecked car that is teetering over the side of a hill. She doesn't know who she is or where she is. After the car goes over the edge and crashes again, this time down the embankment. Lily goes to check on the man inside. He isn't doing well but the male voice inside Lily's head is reminding her of all the things she has learned. So when she hears the cops are coming, she leaves the man and starts to head somewhere... anywhere but there. She is cold, hungry, and hurt. In addition to the man's voice, scripture comes to her just as steadily as his voice. It is familiar to her but she doesn't know why.  Better yet, she learned her name from an ID she found in a purse that was with her in the car. When will she remember anything? 

Kylie Milliard's is the only detective in Hagen. In her 8 months there, she has not worked a homicide investigation until now. A woman was found dead in a dumpster outside a local bar. Who was she and how did she get there? She is suspicious that someone in the bar had something to with the murder but the DA doesn't agree. The bar's owner, Iver seems sketchy. Yet, everyone in the bar seems to have an alibi. 

When Detective Milliard connects the dead woman to Lily, the true mystery begins. How these women are connected is a long known story, but how did one of them end up dead is another? 

My Thoughts on White Out

This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is a mystery wrapped in a mystery wrapped in another mystery. The main characters arw well developed and likeable. You truly get a sense of who Kylie is and the desperation Lily has to figure out just who she is. One thing that felt lacking from the book was a true sense and description of the scenery. Although not necessarily important, when considering how cold winters in North Dakota can be qould help with certain aspects of the story. I particularly love how the main characters stories are interwoven together. It truly felt seamless even though you went from one's viewpoint to another's almost every chapter. 

This book definitely gets a solid 4 out of 5 rating. The intricate twists alone were amazingly executed. Having never read a book by Danielle Girard before I definitely wouldn't hesitate to read another of her novels.

Lily has amnesia, Iver has PTSD, and Kylie, well Kylie is the detective who has to figure things out and solve a murder. This has more potential than pow. I liked the setting (it's hot here right now so the prospect of snow was more enticing than it might be otherwise). It's twisty enough but the end was unsatisfying. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I've liked her earlier work but this one left me, no pun intended, cold.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of White Out by Danielle Girard.

DNF.

Look, I can't stomach an amnesia thriller every now again, even though I'm convinced that these things rarely happen in real life. But give me TWO characters with memory loss, and then make me sift through TWO hazy memories while trying to keep everyone else straight, and I'm OUT.

There should be a rule. You only get one forget-y character per book.

White Out is mostly a story about a woman who has amnesia and a dead woman she might be connected to. I think there might be more books coming in the future by this author, set in this state, but I'm not 100% sure. The book was interesting, and mostly kept me entertained.



3/5 Stars