Whiteout

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: Josephine Bailey

Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

"Everyone likes a page-turner, and Follett is the best."—The Philadelphia Inquirer

"A hell of a storyteller" (Entertainment Weekly), #1 New York Times bestselling author Ken Follett reinvents the thriller with each new novel. But nothing matches the intricate knife-edge drama of Whiteout. . . .

A missing canister of a deadly virus. A lab technician bleeding from the eyes. Toni Gallo, the security director of a Scottish medical research firm, knows she has problems, but she has no idea of the nightmare to come.

As a Christmas Eve blizzard whips out of the north, several people, Toni among them, converge on a remote family house. All have something to gain or lose from the drug developed to fight the virus. As the storm worsens, the emotional sparks—jealousies, distrust, sexual attraction, rivalries—crackle; desperate secrets are revealed; hidden traitors and unexpected heroes emerge. Filled with startling twists at every turn, Whiteout rockets Follett into a class by himself.

Don't miss Ken Follet discussing the history of the thriller and its role in literature at the 92nd Street Y.

©2004 Ken Follett (P)2004 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A blizzard of treachery and violence...an adrenaline-pumping thriller." (The Associated Press)

"[A] feverish plot." (Rocky Mountain News)

"Movie-style twists and hairbreadth escapes." (The Wall Street Journal)

A little slow

I have read all of Ken Follett's book and looked forward to this one. Unfortunately it takes a long time to get interesting. It was okay but not great.

List interest

Book starts out, drawing you in to what promises to be a bio thriller. Then it loses steam. Let the last couple hours play out. No surprises. Not typical KF I prefer a saga. This is not.

Entertaining!

Excellent story with a strong female lead. I'll look forward to more work by Follett.

Good story and narrator.

Absorbing tale with very British characters and setting. Good snow storm scenes and twists of plot.

Standard Follett. Terrific!

The coming of age back story is charming and sensitive. Great characters, well drawn, as always.

After getting used to the accent, I was captivated

Where does Whiteout rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 10%

What other book might you compare Whiteout to and why?

Eye of the Needle.

What about Josephine Bailey’s performance did you like?

She was very distinct with her character voices.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No. I just had a hard time putting it down when I needed to do something else.

narration took some time to get used to

I had trouble with the narration at first. sounded like text to talk, but it got better as the story went along and she got comfortable with the characters.

white xmas present

This is the type of book that you just can't put down. I got this over the xmas break from work.I found that I didn't want to stop listening because the character buildup along with plot were so interesting , I felt I was part of the story.As in sports , this book had momentum and never looked book. I enjoyed the narrator and the Scotish dialect kept me on a pace that was non stop. I highly recommnend this book .This is my third book from Ken Folett and can't wait as his chain of great books never seem to end.

A Cliche Virus

Every cliche in the book finds its way into this particular book, bad enough in print, but highlighted on every by the reader’s tone.

Edge-of-the-seat story

A true thriller with many twists and turns. Hard to put down. Loss of sleep inevitable. Don’t miss this one - it’s a winner!!