The Cats’ Mother's Reviews > Whiteout

Whiteout is a stand-alone suspense thriller set in Scotland, about a heist at a medical laboratory, which was published in 2004. I picked it up for $3 at a market stall - I was only looking for books on my Wishlist - I really don’t need more paperbacks - but my friend was pestering me with recommendations so I got it to shut her up 🤪. It was therefore at hand when I was looking for something to add to my Book Club bag, and despite being trashy and fairly predictable, I confess I read it in a day and by the 70% mark I was totally gripped.

Toni Gallo is the head of security at a remote Scottish biofacility searching for cures for the world’s deadliest viruses. She’s got a crush on her boss Stanley, so is dismayed to discover that a researcher has died after smuggling out an infected rabbit, and blames herself for the breach, so is determined that nothing else will go wrong. Stanley’s family are gathering for Christmas at his nearby mansion, unaware that one of them plans a shocking betrayal - criminals he’s indebted to have a plan to raid the lab for valuable samples. With a snowstorm rolling in, things start going wrong - can Toni save the day and earn the love of the wealthy professor?

Ken Follett has written a variety of thrillers and historical sagas, several of which I have read and mostly enjoyed, but I’d forgotten about how cringeworthy his attempts at writing romance subplots are - he’s obsessed with old men seducing younger women, and underage girls being deflowered. Only Wilbur Smith is worse. It’s a shame because these elements got in the way of an exciting killer-virus scenario with deliciously awful characters on both sides. Kit the malevolent son is truly hateful, Daisy the dim but brutal Glaswegian thug entertainingly evil, and Stanley’s benignly selfish daughters have no intention of seeing their widowed father fall for a hot redhead their own age. Craig the horny teenager made an unexpectedly effective turn as a Bruce Willis wannabe and I did actually like Toni as a heroine. There are even a couple of cute dogs who are introduced for no discernible reason - it’s ok, they both survive.

For a 17 year old thriller this holds up pretty well - I tend to find books published pre-2000 horribly dated because no one has a cellphone, but after that the technology gaps are less obvious. While this does feature a killer virus, it’s not about a pandemic so shouldn’t bother people trying to avoid Covid triggers. 3.5 rounded up for brainless entertainment value.