Whiteout: A Novel

by Carola Lovering

From the bestselling author of the Hulu sensation Tell Me Lies comes a gripping puzzle of a novel about the aftermath of a tragic accident and the fault lines it exposes in a seemingly perfect marriage.

When you can’t remember the truth, who tells your story?

June Lyons has built a beautiful life in Aspen, Colorado, where she lives with her husband Shep and their young daughter Ivy. Shep is a bestselling author whose skyrocketing career has put June's own ambitions on the backburner, but it's a small price to pay. She has a gorgeous, mountainside home, and her sister Penny—her closest friend and confidante—lives just across town. But when June loses her second pregnancy in a tragic ski accident just weeks before her due date, the family's world is immediately shattered, and everything that she thought she knew about her life is thrown into question.

In the months that follow June's devastating loss, her despair is exacerbated by the fact that she can't remember anything about the crash. Why was she on skis, so late in her pregnancy? Why wasn't Shep with her? And what if it wasn't actually an accident? Determined to find the answers that no one seems able to provide, June begins to piece together what happened that day, intent on unveiling the truth at any cost—even if it reveals something about herself, or her marriage, that she’d rather not face.

Brimming with secrets and twists and including a past timeline that follows June and Penny through their early years in Aspen—and the beginning of June and Shep’s relationship—Whiteout excavates the thin line between fact and fiction, memory and reality, as it explores the complexities of marriage, sisterhood, motherhood, and grief.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Ebooks

Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 9, 2027

About the author

Carola Lovering is the national bestselling author of the novels Tell Me Lies, Too Good to Be True, Can’t Look Away, Bye, Baby, and the forthcoming Whiteout. Her work has appeared in The Cut, Vogue, Marie Claire, W Magazine, National Geographic, Outside, and Yoga Journal, among other publications. Her books have been translated into ten languages and her novel Tell Me Lies is now a television series for Hulu. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and three young children.

Reviews

[Kate]

I’m somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars on this one!

This was definitely a sloooooow burn. It took a long time for the pace to really pick up for me, but I did stay engaged the entire time. I really enjoyed the writing style and the way the story unfolded with different timelines. It wasn’t quite what I expected, but in a good way, and I liked how the twists came together.

The main character was incredibly relatable, and I found myself rooting for her throughout. I also really loved her relationship with her sister—it added so much heart to the story. And while I haven’t experienced pregnancy or motherhood myself, I thought the book handled the topics of depression and anxiety surrounding pregnancy and motherhood thoughtfully and realistically. There was a lot of emotion and grief in this book, but it also did a great job of balancing tension and keeping me guessing.

The ending worked for me, too, which is always a bonus. Overall, this was a story I really enjoyed, even if it took its sweet time getting there!

Also can’t forget to say… SHEP IS THE WORST! 😂

** I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book! **

[Lesley]

A Dazzling and Propulsive Story of Love, Loss, and the Lies We Tell Ourselves

What begins as a simple pact between two sisters quickly unravels into something far more complex. June and Penny agreed that Aspen would only be temporary—one year, no more. Penny followed a boy there, while June planned for a publishing career in New York City. But everything changes when June meets Shep after a restaurant shift.

At the heart of the novel is a marriage that is equal parts passionate and deeply troubled. Shep is charming on the surface but driven by ego and ambition, leaving June to shoulder much of their life together. Their growing conflict is intensified by his desire for children before June feels ready.

What makes this story so compelling is its embrace of moral ambiguity. Love and resentment, devotion and neglect, truth and delusion exist side by side. As imagination blurs with reality, you're left questioning whose version of events can be trusted.

Beneath the marriage lies a story of unimaginable loss, failing memory, and a family history of mental illness that casts a long shadow. When tragedy strikes, the revelations that follow are genuinely shocking, recontextualizing everything that came before.

Propulsive, emotionally rich, and utterly unputdownable.

[mackenzie]

a little bit on the nearly-too-slow-paced side but at the same time i was on the edge of my seat!! i loved the mystery element but this is also a family drama that covers heavy topics so well. immediately yes.

+ thank you to netgalley & the publisher for an arc! all opinions are my own <3

(day 22 of 30 books in 30 days!)

[vlm]

Whiteout pulled me in with its combination of psychological suspense, family secrets, and an accident that leaves June questioning everything she thought she knew about her life.

The premise immediately caught my attention. June can't remember what happened during the ski accident that cost her her pregnancy, and as she starts trying to piece together those missing memories, more questions seem to appear. Was it really an accident? Can she trust the people closest to her? And how much of what she remembers is actually the truth?

I enjoyed the way the story moved between the present and the past, gradually revealing more about June, her sister Penny, and June's relationship with Shep. The further I got into the story, the more complicated the relationships became, and I liked trying to figure out what was really happening along with June.

There are plenty of secrets and twists, but what I found most interesting was the exploration of grief, sisterhood, marriage, and how easily our memories and perceptions can be shaped by the people around us.

A twisty, atmospheric psychological suspense novel that kept me guessing and wondering who I could trust.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC for review. All opinions are my own.

[Angela Staudt]

What a surprise this book was! I went into it expecting a domestic thriller, but it ended up being so much more. This was a story full of love, loss, grief, mental health, marriage, sisterhood, and just how incredibly hard life can be sometimes.

I absolutely loved this book and especially the two sisters at the center of the story. We follow June, who is eight months pregnant when she gets into a skiing accident and tragically loses her baby. When she wakes up, she has no memory of what happened and can't understand why she would have ever gone skiing that far into her pregnancy. Her husband won't give her all of the details, things aren't quite adding up, and June knows there is more to what happened that day.

Reading June's story was absolutely heartbreaking. You could feel her trauma, her grief, her postpartum struggles, and just how completely alone she felt while trying to piece together not only what happened, but herself.

I also loved how we got both the current timeline and glimpses into the past, showing how June met Shep, how they fell in love, got married, and built a life together. But what I appreciated most was that it didn't paint their relationship as some perfect love story. We saw the difficult conversations, the arguments, the resentment, the love, and all of those messy parts of marriage that aren't always talked about. It felt very real.

But the true winner of this entire book for me was the relationship between June and her sister, Penny. Their love for one another was everything. I loved how important Penny was throughout the story and how, no matter what happened, she had June's back. Their sisterhood was easily one of my favorite parts of the entire book.

This is definitely a very slow-burn domestic thriller, so don't go into it expecting nonstop twists and craziness. At its heart, this book is so much more than a thriller, and I really valued what the author was trying to say. There is something so important about shedding light on what women can go through after pregnancy loss, the mental health struggles that can follow, and just how isolating and lonely those experiences can feel.

This was such an incredible, heartbreaking, and emotional read, and definitely not at all what I expected going into it in the best possible way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy.

[Lady Georgette (ieatpagesforbreakfast)]

• BOOK REVIEW •

NEW ARC!
Releasing Date : 9th March 2027!!

Date : 21st July 2026
Book : Whiteout
Author : Carola Lovering
Genre : Novel / Domestic Fiction / Psychological Thriller

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

This is the story of June Lyons, who moved to Aspen with her husband who’s actually quite a famous writer. Together they have a 3yr old and are blessed with a second pregnancy. Well.. that is until June unfortunately gets into a ski accident in her final trimester and loses her baby. (Yikes!)

To make matters worse, she has no recollection whatsoever on anything that had happened that day. She can’t understand why she even went skiing that day knowing her due date was coming!

You get a little POV from the past and present throughout this book. This was a really good read and it definitely touched a lot of grief and other important matters. I can’t elaborate more on the topics as that would spoil it. I did get mad at a certain character for the amount of gaslighting that was shown. But overall, I thought the writing flowed well and was fully engaging from start to end.

Thank you, @stmartinspress , @carolatlovering and @netgalley for giving me the chance to read this #gifted arc and for allowing me to give my honest thoughts on it. ❤️

[Shannon Hickey]

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was a solid, deeply layered contemporary novel that really made me take a step back and think. Based on the synopsis, I went into Whiteout expecting more of a traditional thriller, but it's actually more of a slow-burn psychological family drama. I wouldn’t necessarily call it super “twisty,” but there is a lingering sense of dread and unraveling throughout to still keep the reader invested.

The characters were really strong in this one. They’re nuanced, complicated, and flawed, and I thought one of the novel’s greatest strengths was its exploration of the messy relationships between each other and the complicated relationships they have with themselves. There’s a lot here about trust, particularly how much we can trust our own perceptions and the people closest to us.

Whiteout tackles some heavy themes surrounding postpartum depression, grief, loss, motherhood, and identity. It was difficult to read at times because of the severity of some of these topics, but I really appreciated the way Carola Lovering dove into them without shying away.

Whiteout takes place in Aspen which I thought was an excellent setting and I genuinely felt like I was there (also despite everything happening in this book, it also made me immediately want to book a trip to Aspen).

The main reason I’m leaving off a star is the pacing. The story dragged a bit for me, particularly through the middle, and I think the writing could have been tightened in places. For a novel that relies so heavily on that underlying sense of tension and dread, there were stretches where I wanted the story to move just a little faster.

Overall, though, I thought this was a thoughtful, atmospheric, and emotionally complex read. That said, if you’re expecting a fast-paced, twist-heavy thriller, I’d adjust your expectations, as it's much more relying in its characters, their relationships, and the psychological fallout of grief, motherhood, and mistrust.

There are also a lot of trigger warnings so please check them out in advance!

[Hailey Melamut]

Review of advance reader copy from NetGalley

While I went into this book expecting a thriller, this was more of a drama at the intersection of familial ties, loss, grief and mental health. It felt incredibly timely as conversations about maternal health are making national headlines. Even though loss is central to this book, the question of culpability is complex and nuanced and kept me engaged.

This was certainly a slow burn. There are timeline, narrator and narrative perspective shifts - the latter of which felt clunky and confusing for much of the book, until it came together for me later on.

That said this felt emotional and meaningful while entertaining and I’m happy I read it, albeit slowly.

[Mehva]

I really liked this book. Got involved right away in June's story, told mostly in her voice over different timelines What happened in the accident that killed her unborn child, why was she skiing when that was something she would have never done in late pregnancy. It looks at her marraige before then and the effects on her marriage afterwards. It is book about relationship, between married people, parents and children, sisters and more and a look at pregnancy related mental health issues and a woman coming to terms with whe she is and what she wants . Deep and moving underneath the mystery 4.5

[Sam Seath]

4.5 but rounding to 5. I was so excited to be gifted a copy of this book before its release! I have read all of Carolas books and have loved them all.. I knew coming in she was going to keep me on the edge of my seat, and that she did. It was a beautiful telling of love, loss, sisterhood, grief, and the true importance of our mental health.

[Brea]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nothing says marital bliss quite like a suspicious husband, missing memories, and enough red flags to decorate an entire ski resort.

Whiteout by Carola Lovering takes us to Aspen, where June is trying to piece her life back together after a devastating skiing accident leaves her grieving the loss of her unborn baby with absolutely no memory of what happened. And apparently, everyone around her knows more than they're willing to share. Fantastic. Love that for her.

I really enjoyed how this story blended domestic suspense with complicated family relationships, grief, and some seriously questionable behavior. Shep? Sir. Every time I thought he couldn't get worse, he seemed determined to prove me wrong. The man was practically a walking warning label.

June was easy to root for, and I especially loved her relationship with her sister Penny. The alternating timelines added layers to the mystery, and I spent a good portion of this book side-eyeing just about everyone.

My biggest complaint was the pacing. The middle dragged a little, and I wanted the ending to give us more time with the aftermath. But the twists were satisfying, and the emotional depth made this much more than your typical domestic thriller. I also appreciated how the story explored maternal mental health and the devastating effects of grief.

Overall, this was a solid four-star read with messy relationships, buried secrets, and enough gaslighting to make me want to personally escort June to a divorce attorney.

Thank you to Carola Lovering, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

[Andi_loves_2_read]

5⭐️
This gripping fiction novel reads somewhat like a memoir (an interesting one!) We hear June’s POV as she shares current events, while thinking back on the past years that have led her to the tragic mess her life has become. Carola Lovering weaves themes of family, loss, betrayal, dreams for a life un-lived, and more into this page-turner with deep emotions to the very last page!
I especially appreciated the focus on women’s antenatal health concerns and will not soon forget the way I felt so seen while reading some of June’s struggles and triumphs.
This book had everything I want in a read: excellent writing, characters that become real to me almost instantly, themes that are relevant to myself and the current times, and a gripping storyline!
I highly recommend this book to all readers and to check out Carola Lovering’s other books if you haven’t already!
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Pub Date: Mar 9, 2027

[Lauren Koshak]

I will read and absolutely inhale anything Carola Lovering writes at this point.

I loved this. The layers of grief, loss, sibling love and loyalty, and all of those messy, raw emotions were done so incredibly well. There was this hazy, almost disorienting feeling throughout the story that made me feel like I was right there with June—especially toward the end, when I genuinely felt like I was unraveling alongside her.

Carola has such a way of writing complicated people and complicated relationships that completely sucks me in every.single.time. The grief, the love, the confusion, the desperation—all of it felt so so human and relatable.

Also this review is incomplete without mentioning that SHEP SUUUCKSSSSSSSSSSS holy wahhhaaaaa

Thank you, more please. I will be here ready to inhale whatever she writes next. 😂

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. 🤍

[Cheryl Barnes]

Whiteout had a bit of a slow start for me, but once the story picked up, I was hooked. It combines mystery, family drama, secrets, and a dual timeline that kept me turning the pages.

June Lyons follows her sister Penny to Aspen, where they plan to stay for just one year before moving on to New York City. But life has other plans. Both sisters eventually build lives and families in Aspen. June marries up-and-coming author Shep and has a three-year-old daughter, while Penny marries Jonah.

Then tragedy strikes. June loses her second baby in a ski accident when she is almost nine months pregnant. The problem is, June can’t remember anything about that day. Her husband blames her for what happened—but what is Shep hiding from her?

The story moves between June and Penny’s teenage years and the present as the mystery surrounding that tragic day slowly unfolds. There are plenty of family secrets and surprising turns along the way.

It took a little while to get into, but once it picked up, I really enjoyed it. A solid 4-star read!

[Andrew Langert]

I received an ARC of this novel via NetGalley.

This is largely a study of a couple in a bad marriage. The wife (June) battles depression, made more difficult by the fact that her mother suffered from the same. The plot in this book revolves around a tragic accident and its aftermath. This accident profoundly impacted the relationship between June and her husband (Shep).

The writing style is excellent. The author uses multiple points of view and timelines but, though they interrupt momentum sometimes, this jumping around is fairly easy to keep up with.

Shep is a bad, bad guy. Selfish beyond belief and a manipulator. It is hard, as a man, to stomach this guy.

The story has lots of secrets and surprises, a good feature. I was disappointed in the conclusion.

[Lavins]

2 stars

This book is not a thriller or a mystery.
This book is a drama. So if you wanna read about problems in marriages, pregnancy issues, depression, relationship relationships, this is the perfect book for you. But if you thought you're gonna find any slide of mystery in this book, the only one you're gonna find is the lack of it. I read, hoping till the last page that something will show up and reveal the big mystery. There wasn't one.

So all in all, this is a book about selfish people stupid decisions, gaslighting, naivety borderline to stupidity.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book!

[Becca Hanks]

“I stare at his face, dizzy with anxiety. I have the creeping feeling that aside from not trusting anyone around me I can no longer trust myself, and that temifies me most of all. Because it's a feeling I know with unsettling intimacy, a brand of paranoia that's threatened to ravage my life once before.”

3.5/5 stars. thank you so much to net galley for the advance readers copy! the pacing on whiteout was slow, but effective - i found myself flying through each chapter, ad i particularly enjoyed the bouncing back and forth between times. i didn’t feel quite satisfied with the dual narrator, particularly given how unequal the narrative and emotional weight was between the two characters, but recognize the importance of the second to the story. also, i appreciate the attention paid to post and antepartum depression, as well as the very real ways women are told to ignore what their bodies are telling them. at times, i felt like i had to suspend a bit of disbelief to move forward with the story - whether it’s how quickly she falls in with jasper after everything happens (with encouragement from her sister), or how things seem to fall perfectly into place at the end. at the same time, the stakes never felt that high to me. i felt like i was left waiting by the end to be convinced of anyone’s guilt or even truly suspicious, so the reveal didn’t quite hit home as i wished.

“It felt like longer than that, like so much had happened since then, and it occurred to June-though she tried to keep this thought objective that everything that had happened had happened to Shep. Aside from meeting him, nothing had really happened to her at all.”

[Amy Gironda]

Review of Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley.

I always look forward to a new Carola story and this one was satisfying and nuanced. It was a dual timelined slow burn which ended up working for me.

This book covers themes including family connections, loss, grief, identity and mental health. This novel felt especially timely regarding the current dialogue about maternal health.

I was engaged until the end. And now I want to go to Aspen!

If you are looking for a smart, entertaining and thought provoking mystery, I recommend this!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy

[Melissa Dunlavey]

4.5 stars for me. I love this author’s writing style and how she tells a story. This one unfolds through before, way before and now. It was very impactful and brings light to women’s mental health especially before, during and after pregnancy. It showed the raw reality and stigma that women especially pregnant women face often with things they are unable to control. It also shows the lack of depth there is when asking for help and how long some times it takes for people to look, see and appropriately help. Well written!

[Michelle]

Received an early copy from NetGalley.

I loved the family drama and suspense with thriller vibes sprinkled in. I also enjoyed the POV from past to present. This story really sucked me in as June tried to figure out what actually happened and I especially loved the sister relationship between June and Penny.

Carola Lovering does such an amazing job writing complicated characters, especially men I love to hate.

[Jaden]

Never met a Carola Lovering that I don’t binge. They always hook me from the start and keep me intrigued the whole time.

This one should have some heavy trigger warnings on baby loss and postpartum depression 😬

[Ilyssa Tillotson]

No one writes a man that I despise like Carola Loverling. Felt a bit slow but I was still shocked by the ending!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

[Chrystal]

Thank you to the author and publisher for the advance copy of Whiteout. I am between a 3.5-4. It was a VERY slow read. I am glad I stuck with it though. It was a good story about mental health that lots of women go through. If you have time I would definitely recommend reading this book. If you only like fast reads this is not the book for you.

[Amanda Smith]

First of all, thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read this author’s book “Bye, Baby” a couple weeks ago and was excited to be selected for this ARC. Unfortunately, this one very much misses the mark. It tries to be a thriller, and it tries to have something meaningful to say about women’s mental health, but I’m not sure it really accomplishes either. It does serve as a good reminder that gaslighting men are trash, and parts of it feel especially timely considering the Lindsay Clancy of it all. However, if I hadn’t been reading this as an ARC I would have DNF’ed it. 😬

[Mandy Hazen]

Whiteout was a seriously atmospheric thriller! Carola Lovering did a great job creating that isolated, uneasy feeling where you know something is going to go very wrong, and I was definitely invested in finding out how everything would unravel.
I really enjoyed the tension and the complicated relationships throughout the story. There were plenty of secrets and questionable decisions that kept me guessing, and I definitely had moments where I thought I had everything figured out… only to change my mind again. 😂
There were a few things that kept this from being a five-star read for me, and I didn't always feel completely connected to every character or storyline. But overall, it was suspenseful, addictive, and had the kind of atmosphere that made me want to keep reading.
A solid four stars for me and a good choice if you enjoy thrillers with a cold, isolated setting, messy relationships, and plenty of secrets.
I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my review.

[Cordelia]

SYNOPSIS
-June Lyons has built a life in Aspen with her bestselling-author husband, Shep, and their young daughter, Ivy.
-June’s sister and closest friend, Penny, lives just across town.
-Years earlier, June set aside her plans to live in New York City and work in publishing, choosing instead to stay close to Penny and build a life with Shep.
-After struggling with postpartum depression following Ivy’s birth, June approaches her second pregnancy with some apprehension.
-At 35 weeks pregnant, June suffers a devastating skiing accident that results in the loss of her baby.
-With almost no memory of what happened, including why she was skiing so late in her pregnancy, June becomes determined to piece together the events leading up to the accident and understand what really happened.
⸻
MY THOUGHTS
-Carola Lovering is such a talented writer, particularly when it comes to relationships built around unequal power, manipulation, and the gradual erosion of someone’s sense of self. I have now read Bye, Baby and Whiteout, and both were four-star reads for me.
-The story unfolds through a non-linear timeline, moving between June’s past and present while also bringing in the perspective of her neighbor, Rose.
-Whiteout uses a non-linear narrative that moves between past and present, with perspectives from both June and her neighbor, Rose.
-I liked how the structure gradually revealed pieces of June’s history alongside the present-day aftermath of the accident. There is an ongoing mystery about what happened on the mountain, but the book is much more focused on its characters, relationships, and emotional dynamics than on delivering a fast-paced thriller.
-This is very much a slow burn. The story takes its time building June’s relationships and history, with the tension coming more from the characters and unanswered questions than constant twists or action.
-I loved June and Penny’s relationship. They felt like sisters who were also truly best friends.
-Aspen worked so well as the backdrop for this story. The snowy mountain setting and glimpses of life around town gave the book a distinct atmosphere, and it absolutely made me want to visit.
-Shep inspired an almost impressive amount of rage in me. Lovering is extremely good at writing men that are the absolute worst.
-June and Shep’s relationship felt especially believable because of when they meet. June is 22 and still figuring out her life, while Shep is older, more established, and seemingly certain of himself. Lovering captures how appealing that kind of confidence can be when you are young and looking for something, or someone, to anchor yourself to.
-Lovering was especially effective in showing how gradually June’s own life became secondary. Her plans for New York and publishing did not disappear all at once, but over time, Shep’s career and their family took precedence. That ties into the book’s larger themes of identity, motherhood, depression, sisterhood, and the pressure women face to keep holding everything together.
-Postpartum depression is discussed extensively, so that is worth knowing going in if it is a trigger for you.
-My biggest issue was the ending reveal. There was so much buildup around the accident and so many unanswered questions that the eventual explanation felt a little underwhelming. I did not dislike the resolution, but I expected more after everything leading up to it.
-I also felt a little unsatisfied by where things ended with Shep. Given how much anger his character generated throughout the book, I wanted a more definitive reckoning.
⸻
TL;DR: 4 stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Whiteout is much more character-driven than thriller, with toxic relationship dynamics, an atmospheric Aspen setting, and plenty of emotional tension. The payoff did not fully live up to the buildup, but I still really enjoyed it.
⸻
THANKS: Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on March 9, 2027.

[Alexis Broderick Kress]

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for gifting me an Advanced Reader Copy of *Whiteout* by Carola Lovering in exchange for my honest review.

As a reader who loved *Tell Me Lies* and *Bye, Baby*, I went into this already knowing that Lovering excels at exploring the darker, more psychologically complicated corners of relationships, and *Whiteout* certainly delivered on that front. I initially expected a devious mystery or a more traditional thriller, but what I found was something quieter and, in many ways, more affecting: a slow-burning family drama centered on grief, memory, marriage, motherhood, sisterhood, and the devastating ways in which mental health can reshape a person’s sense of self. There is a mystery at the heart of the story, but ultimately, I was far more invested in the people surrounding it and the complicated web of relationships that brought June to the moment we meet her.

I particularly enjoyed the dual narration of June and Rose and the shifting timeline, which gradually revealed pieces of June’s past while keeping me questioning what could—and could not—be trusted. June’s experience with antepartum and postpartum depression is handled with considerable emotional weight, and I appreciated that Lovering allowed June and Rose to narrate their own experiences rather than reducing maternal mental health to a plot device. The novel explores late-term pregnancy loss, suicide, depression, abandonment, familial relationships, narcissism, gaslighting, betrayal, and the erosion of identity within an unequal marriage, while also asking thoughtful questions about the expectations placed on women and mothers. Given the increased public conversation surrounding postpartum anxiety, depression, and psychosis with real-life court cases in the public eye, the subject matter felt particularly timely; Monty’s mishandling of June’s SSRI prescription during pregnancy was especially unsettling in that context, similarly to Lindsay Clancy's mismanaged medical treatment.

Shep may be one of Lovering’s most infuriating characters yet, which I mean as a compliment to her ability to write men who can make my blood pressure rise from the page. I loved June and Penny’s sisterly bond, and I thought Aspen provided a beautifully atmospheric backdrop for a story so steeped in isolation and emotional turmoil; even the supporting characters added texture to June’s world, although I ultimately felt Sam and Jasper could have been pared back to keep the central plot tighter. My biggest criticism was the pacing in the middle, where the story occasionally felt repetitive and lost some of the momentum established during its opening, though I never grew bored with the substantial backstory, which deepened my investment in the characters. The buildup surrounding June’s accident and the missing pieces of her memory kept me theorizing, so I ultimately wanted a more explosive or revelatory payoff than the ending provided (though not entirely disappointed), particularly after the amount of tension Lovering carefully constructed.

Still, *Whiteout* stayed with me because it is ultimately less interested in delivering a conventional thriller twist than in examining what happens when grief, mental illness, manipulation, love, and resentment become so intertwined that even our own memories can feel unreliable. I was deeply invested in June’s journey toward understanding what happened to her and, perhaps more importantly, in her journey toward finding herself again after so much of her identity had been subsumed by marriage and motherhood. While the middle dragged and the ending did not quite reach the climactic heights I anticipated, I found the novel emotionally rich, psychologically layered, and thoroughly engaging.

[Nilufer Ozmekik]

I went into Whiteout expecting Carola Lovering to mess with my head, and yes, mission accomplished! This is exactly the kind of psychological domestic thriller that makes you question everyone, including the person whose memories you’re following—and possibly yourself for trusting anyone in the first place.

June Lyons has what looks like the glossy Aspen dream from the outside: beautiful home, successful author husband, young daughter, and her sister Penny nearby. But underneath that postcard-perfect life, there are cracks everywhere. After a devastating skiing accident leaves June injured and grieving the loss of her unborn baby, the biggest problem isn’t only what happened to her—it’s that she can’t remember what happened at all. Why was she skiing so late in her pregnancy? Why was she alone? And why does every answer she gets somehow create three more questions?

And then there’s Shep. Oh, Shep. 😒 Lovering clearly knows how to create a man who makes you want to throw the book across the room and then immediately pick it back up because you NEED to know what he’s hiding. I spent a good portion of this book mentally yelling at June, Shep, and basically everyone within a five-mile radius of Aspen. The marriage dynamics are uncomfortable in the best possible way because there’s this constant question of how much June actually knows about her own relationship—and how much she has been persuaded to accept as normal.

What I especially enjoyed was that the mystery isn’t simply a “WHO DID IT?” puzzle. The real tension comes from WHO CAN JUNE TRUST—and can she even trust herself? Her missing memories become another character in the story, and every little fragment feels potentially important. Lovering slowly peels back June’s past, her relationship with Penny, her marriage to Shep, and the choices that brought her to this particular moment. The Aspen setting also works beautifully because everything looks pristine and beautiful on the surface while underneath it feels increasingly cold, isolated, and suffocating.

I also appreciated that the book gives space to the emotional aftermath rather than treating tragedy as merely a convenient plot device. June’s grief, complicated feelings about motherhood, marriage, identity, and the life she put aside for someone else add another layer to the suspense. Sometimes I was more invested in understanding June as a person than solving the mystery itself, and honestly, that worked for me.

That said, I did have a few reservations. The pacing occasionally felt more drawn out than necessary, particularly when the story was circling certain revelations instead of moving toward them. A couple of the side threads didn't feel quite as essential to me, and I wanted some of them either developed more fully or trimmed altogether. I also figured out pieces of the puzzle before they were officially revealed, so this wasn't exactly a WHAT?! I NEVER SAW THAT COMING! kind of finale for me. But the emotional weight of the journey still kept me invested.

And that’s probably why I landed at 4 stars. Whiteout isn't a nonstop, heart-racing thriller where every chapter ends with someone falling off a cliff. It's more of a slow psychological excavation of a woman trying to reconstruct her own life while discovering that the people closest to her may have their own versions of the truth.

I came for the mystery, stayed for the dysfunctional marriage and sisterhood drama, and spent way too much time being personally offended by Shep. 😂 Carola Lovering once again proves she knows exactly how to make complicated relationships deliciously uncomfortable, and if you enjoy domestic suspense where secrets, memory, grief, and manipulation slowly collide, this is definitely one to put on your list.

4 ⭐️

A special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing Carola Lovering’s latest anticipated thriller with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

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[Jodi VanMeter]

I really wanted to love Whiteout because I’ve enjoyed Carola Lovering’s other books, but this one just didn’t work for me the way I hoped it would.

The premise grabbed me right away. June is living this seemingly perfect life in Aspen with her husband Shep and their daughter Ivy, and then she loses her baby in a skiing accident just weeks before her due date. The fact that June can’t remember the accident—and doesn’t even understand why she was skiing that late in her pregnancy—was enough to make me think I was going to fly through this book trying to figure out what happened.

But for me, it was a really slow burn. I kept waiting for that point where everything would click and I’d become completely invested, and honestly, I never quite got there. There were parts where I was interested in the mystery, but there were also a lot of times when I felt like the story was dragging.

I did like the relationship between June and Penny. Their sisterhood felt like one of the stronger parts of the book, and I liked getting the backstory of how they ended up in Aspen and how June’s relationship with Shep developed. The past and present timelines eventually give you a much better picture of June and the choices she made.

And Shep… 😒 I definitely had feelings about Shep. Lovering seems to have a talent for writing men who make me want to yell at the main character to PLEASE WAKE UP. His relationship with June was probably one of the more interesting parts for me because you can see how little compromises and choices slowly change the direction of her life. June had dreams and ambitions of her own, but over time so much of her identity became wrapped up in Shep, motherhood, and the life they built.

I also appreciated that the book went deeper into pregnancy loss, grief, and maternal mental health. Those parts gave the story more weight than just being a mystery about a skiing accident.

But the ending is where I really struggled. After spending so much of the book wondering what happened that day and building up all these questions around June’s missing memories, I expected the payoff to hit much harder. Instead, when everything was finally revealed, I was more like… Oh. Okay. 😐

I didn’t hate the book. There were definitely things I liked, and I can see why other readers are connecting with it. The Aspen setting was atmospheric, June and Penny’s relationship was interesting, and there were some genuinely uncomfortable moments involving June, Shep, motherhood, and her mental health.

But compared with Lovering’s other books, this one just didn’t give me that “I need to keep reading because I HAVE to know what happens” feeling. I finished it, but I found myself having to push through rather than being pulled along.

I think 2.5 stars is probably where I land. I’m still a Carola Lovering fan, but unfortunately Whiteout just wasn’t a favorite for me.

[Ruthie]

Whiteout by Carola Lovering

June Lyons has built the kind of life that looks perfect from the outside: a mountainside home in Aspen, a bestselling novelist husband named Shep, a young daughter, and her sister Penny just across town. Then June loses her second pregnancy in a ski accident weeks before her due date — and everything she thought she knew about her own life starts to come apart. She's grappling with memory gaps from the accident. Shep has asked her to move out. And she moves in with Penny, the person she has leaned on her whole life.

Lovering builds the novel on a dual timeline, and it's the past storyline that gives the present its weight. You learn early that June absorbed a hard lesson as a kid — that when people leave, they're gone for good — and once you know that, her present-day choices stop looking erratic and start looking inevitable. That's the trick of this structure: it doesn't just add backstory, it recontextualizes everything you thought you understood about her.

The central tension is a question of narrators. June can't fully trust her own memory. Shep, meanwhile, is a professional storyteller — a novelist whose entire career is built on shaping fiction into something believable. So whose version of events do you believe? The wife with the gaps in her memory, or the husband who makes a living inventing convincing narratives? Lovering plays that ambiguity for all it's worth.

And then there's the question that sits underneath the whole book: why was June skiing that late in her pregnancy at all? That single unanswered detail becomes the engine of the mystery, every reveal about the marriage, the sisters' history, and the accident itself circles back to it.

This is a book that rewards, maybe even demands, active reading. I found myself constantly building and discarding theories, second-guessing which character was telling the truth, and reworking my read on the marriage as new pieces of the past came in. It kept me guessing right up to the end, which is exactly what you want from a puzzle-box novel like this.

If you liked the psychological unreliability of Tell Me Lies (also Lovering's) and want something with a colder, more atmospheric backdrop, Whiteout delivers. It's less about the accident itself and more about what grief and memory do to a marriage — and how differently two people can remember the same life together.

In the end, Whiteout is a chilling, layered exploration of grief, memory, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive what we can’t bear to remember.