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Whiteout

By: Ken Follett
Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
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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)

What listeners say about Whiteout

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    848
  • 4 Stars
    622
  • 3 Stars
    283
  • 2 Stars
    71
  • 1 Stars
    32
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    863
  • 4 Stars
    378
  • 3 Stars
    125
  • 2 Stars
    27
  • 1 Stars
    13
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    679
  • 4 Stars
    441
  • 3 Stars
    201
  • 2 Stars
    60
  • 1 Stars
    30

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

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.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

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.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining!

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good story and narrator.

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Standard Follett. Terrific!

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

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

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.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Bio-thriller love story!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Whiteout is a combination who-dunnit, love story and thriller wrapped nicely into a Scottish backdrop. It's very good.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The techical aspects are actually a backdrop to the interpersonal conflicts. I like it when the authors don't overdose on technology.

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

You May Like It

I have to disagree a little with the opinions of some of the other listeners. I think that this story was pretty exciting. Some of the characters annoyed me a little, but people get annoyed by other people all the time. It didn't cause me not to like the plot.
The only thing I really didn't like was that the reader is very no-nonsense and her voice is very monotone. She has an accent and I had to pay close attention to some words. She would have bored me if the story had not been so interesting. I got hooked right away. I have little patience, and could not get through Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norell, and I got through this and liked it. It isn't my favorite audio book (like Time Traveler's Wife) but, it wasn't too bad.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Knife-Edge Drama!

This audio book has nonstop action, suspense and drama from the start to the grand fanale'. The action readers dream. In my opinion a must have audio book. Outstanding!

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1 person found this helpful