"Whiteout" has great atmosphere -- I could feel the snow and sense of claustrophobia. I love survival thrillers so was excited to dive into this. The writing is good, and the story is a slow burn with pace picking up by the end with some great twists. Recommended for readers who enjoy survival stories and/or science. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC. Pub Date: Feb 11, 2025. #Whhiteout

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. This book was so suspenseful and so shocking, that I am almost at a loss for words after finishing it! I can’t say anything outside of the synopsis…

Rachael has been stuck in Antarctica for almost two months - winter months, where the storms rage for weeks and the sun never rises. Most scientists wouldn’t take the risk of going at this time of year, but new data has been released, showing the pole’s Ross Shelf is about to break off, releasing trillions of tons of water and raising sea levels by up to six meters. The American government has been drilling for oil on the South Pole, and research shows that this damage is irreversible. If the drilling continues, the entire shelf will break off, obliterating countless cities around the globe.

Rachael has taken several trips to the Antarctic, one of which allowed her to meet her husband, Adam. They got married and have a baby girl named Izzy, and are living very normal lives compared to their former lives of trekking in the Arctic, when an old coworker, Guy, comes to Rachael and begs her to go back with him. Even though it’s winter there, if they don’t take more measurements and collect more data immediately, giving ironclad proof that the drilling will destroy the planet, America may decide to continue, with disastrous results.

Against the wishes of her husband, and despite her guilt as a new mother, she takes on the challenge. It’s not until she and Guy arrive that he admits the British government didn’t ask them to go - this is a solo expedition with only them and two other very experienced people, Zac and Mika. They won’t have their normal cadre of personnel and medics, or the ability to leave until winter is over. Rachael decides to stay, but strike out on her own away from the men - then the worst happens. Nuclear war has struck, the only thing the radio will transmit is the BBC’s same announcement every two hours, and it’s presumed that everyone is dead.

This harrowing ride through her journey to survive, even though she may be the last person on earth, was riveting. This also has a tiny personal connection for me, as my grandfather’s uncle was Roald Amundsen (so, my great, great uncle?), of course a name mentioned several times. Seeing his name so much with a main character who has my name creeped me out even more than the story, which was definitely intense. The ending was a bit abrupt, but that’s my only complaint; this book is an amazing thriller and a terrifying glimpse at the what the future may hold. Five stars.

(Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, R.S. Burnett and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on February 11, 2025.)

Oh
My
God
What a thriller! I love a snowy blizzard tale but nothing compares to the Antartica!

Rachel Beckett is a stranded researcher running out of supplies and hope as she has lost all contact with her home base. She left her small baby and husband when the call to save the world came to her - if she was able to document the calving of an enormous ice shelf she might be able to save much of the world from flooding. Against the wishes of her family she embarks on the trip but she soon realizes this was a mistake.

This is an amazingly tense and thrilling story for all thriller lovers. Rachel has the fortitude and stamina that you want for all of your heroes! Burnett does a great job of creating an all too realistic setting. Check out Whiteout for your next haunting read!
#crookedlanebooks #whiteout #netgalley #rsburnett

Loved this book.

The plot line was right up my alley and the action and suspense just went up and up. Combined I tried to imagine what I would do in this situation and it kind of freaks me out.

I can still feel how cold and claustophobic this book was. LOVED IT

This was one hell of a story!

As someone who loves observing people experience intense emotions and how they cope with them, I felt anxious while reading the story. I was tempted to skip ahead to the ending to see if she made it out.

This is an engaging tale about a researcher isolated from the world, living alone in the freezing Antarctic region. The story takes a twist when World War III breaks out, and she gradually loses all means of communication in the harsh Antarctic cold. The narrative unravels the mystery of why she is the only one left at the Antarctic base. We are given glimpses of her life before she ended up there, particularly how thoughts of her daughter and loving husband are what keep her going. She has no idea if that world still exists or if it was destroyed long ago.

The book holds significant psychological depth as we see Rachel trying to maintain a daily routine to give herself a sense of normalcy. Her act of writing letters, despite having no one to send them to, is especially relatable. Psychologically, our brains need structure and routine to feel grounded.

The dialogues, letters, and grammar were all well-executed. I would give it 4 stars, as there were moments when I found it a bit dull, but at the same time, I appreciated the vivid details and the intense emotions the main character experienced.

Imagine you've left your husband and baby daughter at home to join an expedition to a remote station in Antarctica, to collect data which will prove how catastrophic global warming is affecting the area. Four months in you hear an emergency radio broadcast confirming nuclear war has broken out and you realize you may be one of the last humans alive on the planet. You're all alone with no food or shelter, and only your sheer will to live keeping you going.

What a fantastic premise for this story which didn't disappoint! It's a face-paces thriller set in a desolate location with such great atmospheric tension that leaves you feeling suffocated. Great to read a story with a female protagonist doing her best to survive the terrible elements, while psychologically trying to come to terms with the fact that she may have lost the family she dearly loved.

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book which I loved and highly recommend

I'm not sure if I would classify this in the thriller category... not unless you are a little nerdy with your science and deep dive into some really REALLY intricate information about the south pole Antarctica. The story moves pretty slow for the first 3/4's of the book. The pace picks up but by then, I honestly wasn't sure if I cared too much about how things ended.
Maybe this book just wasn't my cup of tea.

I love a good survival thriller but this over just a little too slowly for me. I didn’t feel invested until the first really big twist, and struggles to understand what was going on for the first third of the book. Once it got going, there were some good surprises!

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC to read/review.

Stranded in Antarctica, a glaciologist has lost communication with her crew, is quickly running out of supplies, and learns that a catastrophic nuclear event has possibly wiped out humanity... sounds EPIC.
The premise of the book had me interested for sure, but unfortunately, the final product didn't reach the level I was craving. I never really *felt* the claustrophobia, or the unrelenting cold, or the pitch blackness that was described. I wasn't immersed. The story itself was fine, but the atmosphere didn't work for me. I also found it extremely difficult to root for our protagonist, and I guessed the ending very early. So it was just an okay read for me, but I'm sure many others will love this.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

Rachel a climate scientist goes to the Antartica in Winter because of the threat of drilling for oil has caused large cracks in the Ross ice shelf which would be catastrophic for the world. This drilling needs to be stopped and they are running out of time. Rachel has left her husband and baby daughter in London, much to her husband’s dismay. Rachel faces months of complete darkness on the ice fields far from the base. Over her radio comes a broadcast that nuclear war has broken out and all is lost her family has gone. So begins Rachel’s own fight for survival in whiteout unsurvivable conditions.

4 stars

This is a book about a woman who goes on an Antarctic expedition away from her daughter and husband for the 'greater good'. Whilst she is away, there is a broadcast stating the UK has been attacked with nuclear weapons and warfare has broken out.

Initially, I enjoyed the style of the diary entry chapters, which helped the reader understand what part of the timeline this chapter was in. It also provided a good way to show the breakdown of our main character as the information became more unintelligible. However, I feel as though there were too many pages at the start with information proving the situation was worsening, followed by entire chapters just being told its worsening. The dialogue was undeveloped, I felt as though every conversation was another variation of "I must do this or the world will end"..

SPOILER TERRITORY





Her relationship with her partner, Adam, I felt as though had very forced conflict. What kind of father would tell his wife that random people will think of her as a bad mother if she left to save the world? Considering he was built up to be a very caring and loving partner, this felt very out of pocket. Also, the topic of her having a flirty affair with her 60 year old colleague/boss was mentioned a few times but amounted to nothing and so just felt irrelevant.

I did however, not expect the plot twist with a character in this book. I had warmed to the character at the beginning and the turn of events caught me off guard. Overall, I did enjoy this book. It was an easy read without too many complex themes which was easy to follow.

Whiteout was a decent read. It was one of those books that is entertaining while reading but not something you think much of after finishing it.

“Whiteout” follows Rachael a scientist in the Antarctic trying to gather research and stop a vote to prove that the drilling will cause a massive piece of ice to fall off and cause havoc for the world. She starts off in a team of four alongside her boss Guy and two other explorers named Mika and Zak. She leaves behind her husband and daughter in London to help save the world. When Guy becomes sick as soon as they get to their destination and already has to be airlifted out Rachel has to convince Zak and Mika they can complete the research as a team of 3 and pretty much nothing is as it seems.

The book definitely started off slow. It did not seem like it was going to be a mystery/thriller until I was about 50% or so into the book. But when the twist, twisted I was like WHAT?!? Then the ending literally had me mind blown and asking myself what the… I could’ve done without the politics Rachael was a total baddie who did not give up! It went from 3 stars to 4.5 stars.

This is a well-written adventure survival story that takes place in Antarctica during the winter. Rachael is part of a 4-member party gathering data to try to prevent the U.S. from drilling for oil. When one of the group needs to return home due to illness, Rachael takes it upon herself to gather remote data, and thereby gets herself into trouble. Meanwhile, news from a radio tells her that a nuclear bomb has been detonated so she is unsure what the future will bring or if her family is even alive. This strong story with realistic, believable characters and a fascinating location would make a terrific movie! Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing an ARC.

Ice cold thriller with a survival plot in the extreme cold. The premise sounds so good but it felt like the plot melted away after a while and I couldn’t keep myself invested.

Rachael sits alone in her Arctic home, an insulated tent like structure, listening to the broadcast from London “…This country has been attacked with nuclear weapons. Communications have been severely disrupted and the number of the casualties and the extent of the damage are not yet known.” It repeats every two hours. When she left for this five month long mission, planned to convince world leaders that the damage from climate change had to be dealt with immediately, she left behind an unhappy husband and a 15 month old daughter. Now she fears they are dead with the rest of the world in a nuclear holocaust. No one answers the stations near her. Is she the last person alive?

Disaster after disaster follow Rachael. First her tent burns down. Then she begins the long walk to the nearest station, hoping to find the two surviving members of this ill planned winter mission. She must survive a blinding blizzard, hidden crevasses where one missed step leads to instant death, starvation and more. Even rescue comes with danger.

Whiteout is Rachael’s story. Physically, she fights to survive an unforgiving climate. Emotionally, she thinks about her marriage and possible divorce. Why has she pushed her husband away? The answers come but are they too late?

Whiteout is impossible to put down. Its’s a mystery and a thriller where the enemy is nature itself. The larger story of drilling for oil in Arctic regions, global warming, and climate control is the reason for Rachael’s mission and the disasters that follow. Whiteout is well written and totally unique. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and R.S. Burnett for this ARC.

Nuclear war, Antarctic blizzard, understaffed study, fire, death. How much trauma can one person endure. This is a page turner I could not put down. Great story

Wow! What a superb thriller. Rachael is a climate change scientist who has recently had a child. She finds herself having to leave her family against her husband's wishes, to join a team at the Antarctic who are carrying out an urgent survey. The team have just a few months to show that a planned drilling will cause devastating effects. After a series of calamitous events, Rachael finds herself stranded alone, miles from base in the middle of the arctic winter. To worsen the situation she hears a radio broadcast from the BBC, telling her that the world has fallen victim to a nuclear war. She realises that she and her team may be the last humans left alive. Her struggle to survive leaves her unsure who to trust and doubting whether it is worth the effort with her husband and child no longer alive. The thrills keep coming in this story. There is a real sense of the terrible cold and dark and the isolation that Rachael experiences. The writer makes skilful use of flashbacks to tell us about the relationship between Rachael and her family and to show us how she came to be on her own. There are just enough flashbacks to set the scene without slowing the pace in any way. I really loved this book; there are twists at every turn. The story evolves in an almost cinematic way and would make a fantastic feature film. I would highly recommend it.

(3.5 stars)
Whiteout is a fast-paced snow survivalist novel centred upon a female protagonist (for a change), Rachael Beckett. She’s struggling in her marriage and with a twenty month old daughter, so chooses to escape to save Antartica when her old mate calls: “Her pristine paradise was under threat. It was dying.” While Beckett clearly feels at home in this landscapes the author uses safety briefings to remind the reader that “Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, driest, most remote, most desolate, most inhospitable place on the entire planet.” Coming in winter means it’s also dark, you’re trapped with no rescue possible, and it’s cold: “cold that will attack you like a viscous wild animal at any and every opportunity.” Funnily enough though it’s the two people Beckett was running away from that give her the tenacity to fight for her life when things go awfully wrong.

This is an easy to consume read that paints a good picture of what is an alien landscape to most people. The twist is well set up, with all the tools you need to find it believable when it happens. I enjoyed Whiteout as a diversion from the beach landscape I was looking at. It felt a bit short to me, but maybe I just read it too quickly.

An incredible book with wonderful characters and a beautiful setting. It will keep you guessing until the end.