This was spectacular, far better than I expected. It is both a character study and a thriller, and excels as both. Who knew that was even possible. The story is told from two points of view, that of a mother and her 10-year-old daughter. The voices are very distinct and both characters engaging. The two of them fly from Britain to Alaska to track down the husband/father. When they arrive in the deep of winter, they are met with the news that everyone in the remote village where he was have been killed in a terrible fire. She refuses to believe it and sets out with her daughter into the brutal Alaskan winter to find him. This barely scratches the surface of the story or the characters. Very intense. Outstanding.

I enjoyed the development of this story and the characters. It was an interesting read but the overall story seemed a little absurd the whole time I was reading it. I did enjoy how the author wrapped everything together. I also loved the depth and diversity that was added by making the little girl deaf. There are not enough deaf characters in current literature and that was a breathe of fresh air.

3½ stars.

2 1/2 stars. Spoilers

If you can get past the complete
implausibility of an academic turned house-wife driving an '18-wheeler' in an Arctic blizzard then this book isn't too bad. The Alaskan weather and environment is the main character and as interesting as ever. Ruby is cool. The main point revealed, at the end - fracking kills and destroys - is certainly plausible as we learn more about this destructive activity. Overall, a diversion rather than a thriller and no-where near 'Absolutely gripping' as Louise Penny apparently said.

Imagine, just for a moment, you decide to take a drive across the north of Alaska in winter. No, you wouldn't really would you, even imagining it is rather horrifying. You would have to be nuts, right? As if that isn't nutty enough, in this book, Yasmin also takes her deaf ten year old daughter. Yes, you will have to suspend disbelief in this mystery-thriller-missing person novel, and if you can do that you will be rewarded with an exciting, frightening, beautifully depicted and chilling (ha, ha) ride through the bare, icy and windswept landscape of Alaska, the race against time to find Yasmin's missing husband, and above all the sheer terror of being alone in this environment, the elements and a pair of mysterious blue headlights that never go away.

Yasmin arrives in Alaska with her daughter Ruby from England to reunite with husband and father Matt, a wild life photographer. Things have been a bit rocky between Yasmin and Matt, and there is some trepidation on Yasmin's part as to why she is doing this, but her gut instinct is telling her this is what she needs to do. That gut instinct is going to be working very hard over the next 300 pages, so it is reassuring that she trusts it so much! Ruby, like many little girls of ten, adores her father and has a wonderful relationship with him. Despite being deaf from birth, Ruby is highly intelligent, with a very enquiring mind, has no trouble communicating with her parents, is an expert with computer and social media technology, and in her silent world leads a very rich and imaginative life. She even has her own blog - Words Without Sounds - and when the novel starts she has 630 followers. In her blog she describes the world around her, but in her own unique and very beautiful way.

On their arrival at Fairbanks airport, they are told that the village Matt was staying in has been destroyed by a fire, killing all 23 Anaktue residents, plus Matt. His wedding ring is produced as proof of his demise. Yasmin does not believe he is dead, not for one single minute, and with Ruby in tow promptly sets about finding a way to get into the Alaskan interior to find him. Really I hear you say? How ridiculous with a ten year old, insufficient gear, clothing, survival skills etc. Disbelief suspended....

The extraordinary thing about this book is how Ruby depicts the physical world around her through the veil of silence. She sees what we see, but through a totally different lens. The natural beauty of Alaska, its wildlife and the night sky of which there is a great deal (!) are already stunning, and enhanced so much more by Ruby's observations and commentary.

This is a great novel, narrated alternately by Yasmin in the third person, and Ruby in the first person. This does not detract at all from the pace or the characters. The combination of Ruby's more passive and observation driven narrative with Yasmin's mum-in-charge-on-a-mission narrative, provides the perfect balance to make this so much more than thriller mystery.

It's strange not much happens in the story but at the same time it was quite fast paced and I enjoyed reading it!

I received this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway, knowing almost nothing about it before I began reading. I've got to say, I'm a bit disappointed. Most of the reviews were positive, but I found the plot much too contrived and the ending completely unsatisfying. This book is being marketed as as a suspenseful thriller, but the pace was so slow that the perceived "threat" that exists throughout most of the story seemed quite harmless, and indeed almost nonexistent. The ending, again, was a bit convenient--it seemed quite forced and came entirely out of left field. However, the writing was very good; descriptive and beautiful, it evoked a lot of my own experiences in Alaska, one of the most incredible places I've ever been. It was just hard to appreciate the writing while simultaneously lamenting the ridiculous, nonsensical, and frankly quite stupid actions of most of the characters.