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Ken Follett is about as non-formulaic an author as I have ever found. Best known originally for spy thrillers like THE KEY TO REBECCA and EYE OF THE NEEDLE, he surprised us with THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH, a medieval saga of masons, bishops and corruption in the Church. Now, he astounds us with WHITEOUT, as much a story of family crisis as of world crisis, exploring his characters' inner turmoil and its ramifications. In his newest tale, wavering personal scruples thwart any progress in solving the mysterious theft of a lab animal, a somewhat minor crime with consequences beyond our wildest dreams --- or, should I say, nightmares.
Follett has a way of creating characters who make your blood boil. Or make you want to give them a nudge. Or make you want to hug them. He also has a soft spot. There's romance in him, and it shows here. In WHITEOUT, you will meet the infuriating and the lovable.
Toni Gallo loves her position with Oxenford Medical, a Scottish research facility. A lot of responsibility rests on her shoulders, considering the deadly viruses that are locked up in the vaults and newly developed drug formulas that are housed there. As head of security, she knows how important it is to design a system as near to foolproof as possible. So when security is breached at the labs, Toni braces for the repercussions, the very least of which may involve losing her job. Worst case, lives --- many lives --- could be at stake. It all depends upon how Toni handles her job.
Toni also loves her boss, Professor Stanley Oxenford. He is a man who seems to have everything: brilliance, great looks, tremendous wealth, and no wife. He also has several grown children, among them Kit, a greedy young man with a magnified sense of entitlement, a dangerous lack of conscience and a grudge against his father. He's just spoiling for a confrontation with Dad.
It is Christmas Eve at Steepfall, the Oxenford mansion perched high above the shore on Scotland's coast. The entire family plans to gather for the holidays --- even Kit, who has some plans of his own. Snow starts to fall, quietly turning the countryside into a beautiful winter shroud --- and turning the roads into impassable gridlocks. When vials of Madoba-2 (a virus many times more deadly than Ebola) go missing, Toni calls on her police background, and her police friends, to track down the thieves. And, as if the mounting crisis and escalating blizzard don't present enough hurdles, Toni has picked up her mother, a rather cranky woman heading into the abyss of dementia; her bitter ex is the lead investigator on the case; and a pesky tabloid reporter, who is one of the very few out on this forbidding night, is shadowing Toni everywhere she goes.
And then it gets complicated.
Follett fans will rejoice. WHITEOUT is the perfect holiday book to settle into a deep chair with in the midst of a burgeoning snowstorm. A real Christmas gift.
--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers
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