I’m always keen to add books to my Antarctica shelf on Goodreads. Well, I found a thrill ride this time. WHITEOUT is the story of how Angel Smith, chef during an Antarctic summer at a research station, bites off more than she can chew. She narrowly misses taking a plane out with the other summer workers, because she’s hiding from a couple of brutal killers who plan to take over the almost empty base and acquire ice cores which contain something old and valuable.

The only person Angel can trust is the man who found the prehistoric ice cores in the first place, glaciologist Ford Cooper. He never intended leaving the research station but he wasn’t expecting to return from the ice to find the base wrecked and his year’s work stolen. Now, with his Polar experience, he’s responsible for getting himself and Angel out of there – somehow.

I enjoyed so much about WHITEOUT! Angel doesn’t have a science background and just wanted to be away from the world for a year until she got over a bad relationship – and the money doesn’t hurt. She’s almost the opposite of Ford, with her zest for life, easy social manner, and enjoyment of the here and now. This helps her get under Ford’s skin more ably than a woman who might have exchanged science theories with him. He’s seen enough violence and terror to last him a lifetime and chose to retreat to the middle of literally nowhere. But Antarctica is bigger than humans can really imagine, as well as inhospitable. If the whiteout doesn’t get you, the hidden crevasses will.  

I warn you, the crimes in WHITEOUT are not for the faint-hearted. This is the first in Adriana Anders Survival Instincts series, and there are hints that she has plenty more suspense in store for us. Her first installment is rich with bitter weather as Antarctica tips towards dark, and cold hard facts about being pushed to the extremes of what the body can cope with. Feeling chilled yet? You should be.