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A review by richardrbecker
White Out by Danielle Girard
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
White Out is a straightforward plot-driven thriller, divided into exceptionally short chapters, which toggle back and forth between three characters to keep the pace fast and events crisp. Described plainly, it's a rapid-fire whodunit with two of the three principal characters suffering from amnesia.
The first is Lily Baker. She regains consciousness after a car crash readers never see, but is well known in the smallville setting of Hagen, North Dakota. The second is bar owner Iver Larson, who has a blackout episode on the same night — only his is induced by drugs, alcohol, and PTSD.
The third character is Detective Kylie Milliard. Her memory is intact but has fewer puzzle pieces overall. This makes Kylie especially suspicious of Lily and Iver as she attempts to untangle the murder of a young woman who was dropped in a dumpster behind the bar.
While the book explores memory, guilt, and survival themes, White Out is mainly plot-driven. The characters are well-drawn, but their internal struggles tend to take a back seat to the unfolding mystery and dread until the action takes over.
What Girard does best is control the pace, the backstory that puts everybody in place, and which characters know (or remember) what and when. The result is a story of tightly spun cliffhangers that keep readers wanting to jump forward and discover what comes next. Where the book falls short of the five-star mark is only in the pursuit of digging deeper into its themes.
And that's okay. Sometimes, popcorn is all you need to make a thriller work. Don't get me wrong. The characters are fleshed out. They just don't experience any real growth or transition beyond piecing together what they forgot, can't remember, or don't know. The downside to that, while entertaining, is you appreciate the strong central heroines (and Iver to a lesser extent). Still, not everybody is going to connect them beyond the characters that they are. Still, all in all, it was well-written and a great read. I do look forward to trying something else from Girard in the future.
The first is Lily Baker. She regains consciousness after a car crash readers never see, but is well known in the smallville setting of Hagen, North Dakota. The second is bar owner Iver Larson, who has a blackout episode on the same night — only his is induced by drugs, alcohol, and PTSD.
The third character is Detective Kylie Milliard. Her memory is intact but has fewer puzzle pieces overall. This makes Kylie especially suspicious of Lily and Iver as she attempts to untangle the murder of a young woman who was dropped in a dumpster behind the bar.
While the book explores memory, guilt, and survival themes, White Out is mainly plot-driven. The characters are well-drawn, but their internal struggles tend to take a back seat to the unfolding mystery and dread until the action takes over.
What Girard does best is control the pace, the backstory that puts everybody in place, and which characters know (or remember) what and when. The result is a story of tightly spun cliffhangers that keep readers wanting to jump forward and discover what comes next. Where the book falls short of the five-star mark is only in the pursuit of digging deeper into its themes.
And that's okay. Sometimes, popcorn is all you need to make a thriller work. Don't get me wrong. The characters are fleshed out. They just don't experience any real growth or transition beyond piecing together what they forgot, can't remember, or don't know. The downside to that, while entertaining, is you appreciate the strong central heroines (and Iver to a lesser extent). Still, not everybody is going to connect them beyond the characters that they are. Still, all in all, it was well-written and a great read. I do look forward to trying something else from Girard in the future.