* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster *Out of the Ice by Australian author Ann Turner is set on a remote Antarctic Island and is a great book to read in winter huddled under the covers.
Laura Alvarado is an environmental scientist sent to make a detailed report on an abandoned whaling station where not all is as it seems.
The wildlife in this region of antarctica (whales, penguins and seals), the isolation and the freezing cold elements form a great backdrop to the novel and are well-written. The scenes that take place in the creepy and abandoned town of Fredelighavn were the highlight of the book for me, and successfully conveyed the horrors of the whaling industry and echoes of the past.
The male dominated environment of the nearby British station was captured well although I never really warmed to Laura and some of her decisions were frustrating.
Out of the Ice is being promoted as a tense and eerie thriller but I have to disagree with this categorisation. I found it to be an eerie slow burn until the last quarter of the book, when it takes a sudden turn and becomes a fast-paced crime novel. The ending was too neat and tidy for my liking and the romance unbelievable.
One thing I will take away after reading Out of the Ice is a desire to visit Nantucket.
My rating = ***
Carpe Librum!
