Freak winter storm, isolated cabin, no power, two killers on the loose. Happy spring break!
Mark Fuller’s world is falling apart. His marriage is on the rocks and his insurance business is on life-support. To top it off, he’s agreed to spend Easter weekend in a remote lake house with his overbearing business partner and his partner’s alcoholic wife.
Mark thinks his life can’t get any worse, but when a freak spring storm brings nearly two feet of snow, the power goes, and two escaped federal prisoners show up on their doorstep, he realizes it's not only the weather that can kill!
I'm retired from the nine-to-five life and live with my husband, two cats, and a goofy and adorable dog named Buster on private land inside Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky. I have loved fiction since before I could read (Mom said I made up stories based on the pictures in books). Now that I no longer have the excuse of not enough time, I'm fulfilling my lifelong dream of writing novels.
Over the years, I've paid the bills by being a dancer, a bartender, a police officer, a registered nurse and a technical writer. Now I'm drawing on that life experience and my two English degrees to create stories I enjoy writing and hope readers will enjoy reading.
My Eden mystery series is set in Kentucky in a fictitious college town near Daniel Boone National Forest. There are currently three books in the series: Catch A Falling Star, Bad Girls, and A Convenient Death. I also have those three available in a boxed set titled Murder in Eden. While part of a series and with recurring characters, the Eden novels can be read as standalones.
In addition, I have a thriller called Whiteout. It's also set in Daniel Boone National Forest. It involves two couples stranded in a remote vacation home during a freak spring blizzard and two escaped Federal prisoners and the Federal agents pursuing them. The idea for this was triggered by a freak spring blizzard that my husband and I experienced back in the nineties. It's one we hope we never have to repeat, but fortunately no escaped prisoners showed up on our doorstep!
I also write cozy mysteries, romantic thrillers, and romance under the name Lolli Powell.
A riveting read! A thriller that’s packed with suspense, twists and turns, and a cast of believable characters. The descriptions of being trapped in deep snow are painfully convincing and the author’s savvy about law enforcement is obvious. The story builds and builds and builds, allowing the reader to see its development from various perspectives as you get to know a number of characters. There are some nail-biting scenes. And just because you know there are two killers loose, doesn’t mean you know how it’s all going to play out. Excellent.
Nature always wins, or at least makes it hard. Two villains are on the run in the middle of one of the worst snow storms ever. You have lawmen, criminals, two business partner/friends and their wives, all making for an interesting read. The plot was solid and came with a twist.
This book is set in an area not too far from me. So, the book was especially intriguing for me.
Why is it that thrillers playing in the deepest of winter, with snowstorms and all, are so attractive (at least to me)? 'Whiteout' is another great example for that special blend. The thriller part of story - two bad guys on the run in an area where two couples spend a weekend in an isolated cabin - is solid and packed with action. The third protagonist of the story, let's call it 'chill factor', is scary as can be, right down to the very graphic and colorful description of frozen toes and fingers.
I did not agree with several dumb decisions made throughout the book, especially those from Vic, the cop who is on the hunt for the criminals also for personal reasons. Though not overly complex, characters were introduced with enough background to easily feel with or against them. However, there was a really nice plot twist I did not see coming and the story delivered large-scale regarding action and pace.
A solid addition to the 'chill thriller' genre - make sure to read it someplace warm.
(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)
A solid thriller, heavy on the action, light on the depth
Set in back country Kentucky, a winter storm wreaks havoc on the lives of an assortment of individuals—mostly law enforcement, but also a handful of criminals and civilians. The storm is a hazard to most, but an opportunity for others. The story is a well-balanced mix of man-against-nature and man-against-man. The characters have a fairly cookie-cutter feel for the most part—one-dimensional with straight-forward motivations and a single minor personal issue to humanize them. With a few exceptions, they have little conflict outside of the main plotline. To be clear, it is a formula that works well with the frenetic pacing of the story.
The most interesting part of the book is in the build-up, which makes the resolution come off as a slight disappointment in comparison. But the action is fast and furious, and should hold most readers' attention throughout. There were a few elements that I felt strained the limits of realism a bit far, but they were important details that advanced the plot and fit well into the overall context of the story, and really did not hamper my ability to enjoy the book.
The writing is functional, showing little flair—but in a genre where many books are written so poorly as to detract from the story, this one stands out as solid. There are very few typos or poorly constructed sentences. The POV is third person omniscient and does occasionally jump between POV characters within the same section and sometimes the same scene. It is not a style that I prefer, but I see it used often enough that I presume most readers are fine with it.
The setting itself is quite identifiable. I live in Maryland and could easily see the same type of adventure happening near me. Most readers will probably have some experience with fighting winter storms themselves, and so some of the events in the story will likely trigger personal memories of unease and hardship (although hopefully without the same dire consequences). I consider that a good quality in a novel, making it easier to be drawn in.
Overall, for fans of the instant-gratification thriller genre, this is a quality addition. It is not the next Moby Dick or Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but it does not aspire to be.
I received a free copy of the novel in exchange for an unbiased review.
I found Laurel Heidtman's thriller, set in extreme blizzard conditions of the Kentucky outlands, very enjoyable. It was a straightforward, fast, read with three main points of view that were handled well by the author. While some readers find a changing POV to be a problem, when it is a pertinent aspect of the plotline and aids the construction of a book, then I find it to be a powerful instrument adding some cream topping to one’s enjoyment of the story. The various elements of each character’s back story were well done, giving plenty of colour to their personality, and likely strengths and weaknesses. Each conversation used dialogue that I found believable and often riveting within the relevant context. And when the conversations and situations dramatically changed, from being relatively mundane and “straightforward”, then this reader was suddenly confronted by a twist that had such a strong hook I was compelled to read right to the end.
The story includes two couples waiting out a snowstorm, with undercurrents of the problems that trouble their marriages. It also has two escaped, dangerous criminals and various groups of officers of the law, involved in the attempts to recapture them. When the pace steps up into the fast moving and intriguing plotline that one expects from a thriller, the author skilfully introduces elements of suspense that keep you turning the pages. Some of the descriptions of the landscapes, the snowscapes and the medical consequences of the cold were wonderfully graphic. In fact so graphic were the literal pictures of frozen feet and hands that it could deter anyone from ever going out in a snowstorm again! I was a little concerned at the end of the novel when I thought I could see signs of “all’s well that ends well” but I should have remembered Heidtman’s skills at relating events. The book is rounded up in a full and satisfactory fashion, leaving readers feeling that maybe, just sometimes, life does have a way of affecting a kind of natural justice following tragedy. All told I found this novel just as compelling as Bad Girls, Laurel Heidtman’s previous book, and will look forward to reading her next one. I was given a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Laurel Heidtman’s novel, Whiteout, starts with a ‘freak winter storm’ and businessman Mark Fuller, whose personal life is in chaos and who has reluctantly agreed to a weekend retreat at a remote cabin on the lake. Soon nature and two escaped federal prisoners come together and force Mark and others around him into a deadly situation of epic proportions.
This story takes off from the get-go. The author is able to present a full cast of characters and keep the reader clear and engaged with each person. You’ll find yourself rooting for a few whose lives get caught in the menacing conflicts of nature vs. man and man vs. man. These two themes run parallel throughout the story and fall neatly in place at the end. Also, the author’s attention to details and imagery is amazing. But what really adds to this thriller is a twist that readers will not expect. I was totally shocked. I like that! The novel is professionally executed and well-written. I highly recommend it.
I enjoyed Laurel Heidtman's take on a survival thriller. I read this book quickly since the characters were pretty straightforward and the plot seemingly just as straight until the twist at the end. So let's start with the premise. The story follows two couples at a lake house when a blizzard hits. It also travels along a parallel timeline with two convicted felons. Later, you meet a few of the law enforcement personnel. As the storm surges and creates unthinkable conditions, the couples hunker down and settle with the idea that they will wait the storm out instead of heading back home. As they wait, the reader gets an inside look into two fractured marriages hanging on by a thread. But you'll find a friendship in the men that is similar to a bully and his nerdy friend. So I wondered throughout the book, why does the nerdy friend stick around? His apparent low self esteem and lack of backbone comes into question throughout the book. But you'll see him shift and grow a pair by the end.
The setting is, of course, the treacherous blizzard and the author makes no quam about reminding you how cold it is, how you could lose fingers and toes and how the characters felt like they could have a heart attack. In this area, I felt the novel was flawed. The repetitive use of the same descriptive terms for different characters seemed like the author ran out of ways to describe the cold. That was a bummer after one or twice, then became annoying after three times. Beside that, the book took on a very fast pace and made you eager to see what would happen at the cabin when all stories collided. An enjoyable read for those that like fast thrillers in front of the fire.
Enjoyable read. Interesting study in characters, each with their own unique quirk, and using the storm as a villain in its own right was brilliant. I totally didn't see the twist near the end coming, although, in retrospect, Ms. Heidtman left clues to lead you there if you were looking for them. I wasn't. Awesome. Just what I like in my suspense and mystery reading.
In the midst of the storm of the century, two violent escaped felons set off through the falling snow in search of freedom. Meanwhile, a wealthy couple and their friends are just settling in to enjoy a few days at their remote vacation mansion.
Whiteout is a tense thriller set against the backdrop of Mother Nature’s fury. As the felons struggle to survive a storm they’re woefully ill-equipped to weather, a handful of slightly better-equipped US Marshals begin searching for their overdue prisoner transport. Meanwhile the two vacationing couples have begun to experience their own troubles, exacerbated by the unexpected fury of the storm.
Readers from more northern climates may find the extreme weather and the ease with which characters acquire severe frostbite somewhat humorous. As an Alaskan, I’ve never known a healthy adult in a coat and boots who kept moving to get frostbite in 20-degree weather– no matter how much snow they waded through.
Overall, though, Whiteout is a well-written and highly suspenseful thriller. It combines the ominous isolation of a snowstorm descending on an unprepared southern state with the threat of desperate felons on the loose, and adds a dash of brewing marital woes for a final twist you’ll never see coming. Definitely worth reading for fans of suspense and crime fiction!
Another masterful storytelling by Laurel Heidtman. I am hooked on the vibrant descriptives guaranteed in every Heidtman book. She brings to life the good the bad and the flawed humanity in every character, telling the story with a realistic and detailed voice. Whiteout takes us to Kentucky during Easter and a freak snowstorm that paralyzes multiple counties. Two friends and their wives sharing the holiday weekend at a lake cabin are the protagonists. Two convicts being transferred after sentencing are the antagonists. As the storm unfurls and begins changing plans across the state, everyone finds themselves fighting an unmatched battle. Whiteout is gripping in its very human tale as we watch friends question their places in life even as a greater battle is yet to come. We find law enforcement struggle to do their jobs in the storm that has a cold death grip on the state and becomes a greater challenge and threat to rival the human antagonists. I love that I can relate to the characters, from indigestion to loyalty to struggling marriages. I can smell the Easter ham cooking, I can feel the bitter cold, and in the pages of Whiteout I read in tense silence, crossing my fingers, guessing the end, only to be surprised. Fantastic job, can't wait for the next one!
This was a fast paced books that is kind of Man Vs Nature Vs Man. You've got several characters fighting against a snow storm to either get to two escaped convicts or fighting against their marriage and and overbearing partner at work.
I don't live in an area where it snows often and I actually hate the cold, so every time someone got stuck in it and came back in with descriptions of frostbite, I was like EW and pulled my blanket over me so I was warmer.
Some of the decisions by Vic had me scratching my head and wondering how he made it to marshal. He seemed to be hot headed and put himself in danger a lot. One particular decision, which I'm not going to spoil and you'll know when you read it will have you scratching your heading, "Baby, no, don't do that."
Mark had to be my favorite character out the bunch and after a shock ending, I hoped he retires off screen with a pina colada or drink of choice
This was a good read. Well written and engaging, with a great deal of action and tension after an initial slower build up.
I loved how the start of the book made me think back to those old disaster movies – where you are introduced to a whole range of people, but you know events are slowly building in the background that will soon snare them all in the same trap – in this case a bad weather front bringing a severe snowstorm and its related perils, along with two escaped criminals.
The story is suspenseful and thrilling, with a few shocks and twists along the way that will certainly keep you turning the pages. The ending was a real surprise – but you’ll have to read it to find out why!
A good read, especially if, like me, you’re finding this summer to be a little too hot!
This book has a good end. I liked the surprise that was worked in, caught me totally off guard (which I love!) and I’m a sucker for a good thriller. But the book has a slow start and a deluge of characters dropped in that left me confused and grasping For a character to connect with. The book is without a main character, which I struggled with until the plot kicks in. What it lacks in the beginning it makes up for in the end, so keep reading this one.
WHITEOUT skates fast. It’s treacherous winter weather, escaped cons, pursuing police and two couples in a Kentucky rental. People who have know each other for a long, long time. At least, they thought so…
Marriages that are fraying, in a freak snowstorm and the really bad kind of frostbiting cold, the cops, the cons, reads like a ride. A quick thriller with gruesome twists that was truly excellent.
This story made me shiver -- in more than one way. The descriptions of the storm that was coming notched up the suspense and also made me keep checking the weather forecast. And having to had spend so many winters myself in a cold house in the winter, I felt chills running through me as the characters experienced similar conditions. I thought I had the story figured out at the beginning, and was close, but there were still plenty of twists I didn't expect.
When three couples decide to go on a weekend get-away to their remote cabin despite a potentially inclement weather forecast, leads to unforseen consequences. A shocking twist offers a page-turning, edge-of-the-seat experience until the next shoe drops. A great cozy weekend read.
This book started out great but lost a little as it went along. two prisoners escape in a blizzard and they have to be found. Innocent people might die.
What I liked: -Solid story. -Well written. -Loved the blizzard and cold snowy weather conditions presently very well. -Strong start.
What I didn't like: -Lots of slogging through the snow, too much.
Who leaves for a vacation with a major snow storm coming. And who expects two dangerous prisoners to manage to escape when the car they are being transported in gets stuck in the blizzard--This one with myriad twists and turns will keep you reading. This is horror at it's best!! You will never believe what really goes on----it is mind blowing!!
Stranded in the snow in an isolated cabin , no power . Not what they signed up for , far from a couples retreat , and now with two escaped killers on the loose …. Chilling read in more ways than one and gripping from the start . Very well descripted so turn up the heat or snuggle up to read. I read an arc of this book and my review is in my own words voluntary
I received a copy of this book for an honest review. I have to say that I LOVED this book. The beginning was a little slow, but it ended amazingly! I read this book fast; the characters are well-established and straightforward I didn't expect that curve ball at the end. I think it's a great, cozy weekend read.
I found this book to be very interesting and held my attention. From the start to the end I wanted to find out what was going to happen. I love how the author progressed the story. The ending was worth the read. Good job.
This book was so good I read it in one sitting. You never knew from chapter to chapter what was going to happen. All the twists and turns kept you reading to see what would happen next.