Whiteout

Debut author Burnett squanders a strong premise in this tense but ultimately disappointing thriller. At the outset, British glaciologist Rachael Beckett has been alone in Antarctica for nearly two months. She left her husband and young daughter in the U.K. to embark on a research trip organized by her colleague, Guy Barnard, who hoped to survey the thickness of Antarctica’s ice shelves as a chunk the size of Wales prepares to break off. Initially, Rachael believed the group’s biggest obstacle would be corporate interference, since the research was to be used to help bring an end to commercial drilling on the continent. Soon after arriving, though, she was separated from the rest of her team and trapped in a remote hut. Ever since, she’s been alone, listening to radio reports that nuclear weapons have hit London. Unable to reach her colleagues or family, Rachael fears she may be among the last people alive on Earth. Nevertheless, she attempts to complete her research, often hallucinating conversations with her loved ones in the process. The opening chapters drop readers into a gripping, claustrophobic scenario, but it’s not long before cliché creeps in, with the late-breaking explanation for Rachael’s plight deflating the initial intrigue with a whimper. Though Burnett shows promise, this fails to stick the landing. (Feb.)