Whiteout

by

R.S. Burnett

A riveting psychological thriller set in Antarctica as the world teeters on the edge of destruction.

Whiteout by R.S. Burnett is the riveting tale of a researcher who leaves her husband and toddler daughter at home in England to participate in a hastily launched research mission in Antarctica to collect critical data about the imminent collapse of a massive ice shelf. Based alone at a remote substation in the interior of the continent, Dr. Rachael Beckett suddenly loses contact with the rest of the team at their base camp and begins receiving a daily repeat radio broadcast from the UK that the rest of the world has been involved in a nuclear war. The grim details of the broadcast lead her to believe that the worst has occurred to her family, and the continued silence from the base camp may mean she’s the last survivor on Earth in the most inhospitable location possible. As her situation gets more and more dire, as her supplies dwindle and her shelter begins to fail, Rachael decides she must try to make her way back to the larger back camp, hoping to find others still there. 

Rachael Beckett makes a big decision to resurrect her career and follow her conscience to procure the data to help avert an ecological disaster of massive proportions, but the price she pays, leaving her husband and child behind, is huge. Even before disaster struck on the mission, she worried about the ramifications of her choice on her future with her small family. The fear and stress of this decision haunt her psychologically as she journeys back to her team’s base camp. The scenes that play out in her mind are vivid and unsettling. Her determination to get to each new shelter is the only thing that keeps her going. Finding out that she’s not exactly alone is a twist that keeps on turning as the story continues and suspense increases. 

Audiobook narrator Billie Fulford-Brown does an excellent job of portraying Rachael and the other speaking characters, giving each a distinct voice that helps listeners recognize who is speaking. Her pacing enhanced the narration, and her flawless pronunciation made the performance suspenseful and believable. 

I recommend WHITEOUT to readers and listeners who enjoy thrillers, suspense, and even post-apocalyptic tales, especially those with an interest in stories set in Antarctica.

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