I'm biased toward books that have a severe environmental setting in the cold. I like the idea of throwing characters into the harsh cold and having them face off against one another or some other danger from outside. Unfortunately, it didn't work in this book. I simply couldn't find interest in a story for which the ending was a forgone conclusion. I wasn't surprised at any point and with a book in the thriller/mystery genre, that's a must. ( )

Enjoyable thriller. A forensic pathologist leaves her fractured family in southern California to save the world from a deadly something, voluntarily committing herself to months of arctic night at an international research station on an island in the polar sea, becoming involved in the politics of grief and the remnants of cold war antagonisms. ( )

This was on my shelves for a long time and that was a mistake. I remember that when this book came out it had really good reviews so when it appeared on the remainders table in print form I purchased it, only to let it languish on my shelves. The reviewers were correct - this was a really good thriller. It had me on the edge of my seat listening and learning about survival in the Arctic. For thrillers this one was really well done. I need to look and see if the author has written any more. I was also surprised to find out that the author was one of the founding partners of Soho Publishing.

Three Arctic scientists die horrible deaths from severe convulsions and paralysis while a third commits suicide by walking out of his snow cat naked into the Arctic cold. Epidemiologist Jessica Hanley is sent into the remote science station to find out. Add an entire Russian submarine crew dead to the last man from this mysterious contagion and the hunt for the powerful bug is on. With limited resources and untrained assistants Dr. Hanley sets about finding her bug while an aging Russian Admiral tries to find the bug from his end of things. ( )

There's good news and bad news. The bad news is that the writing, while decent, was quite clunky in the beginning, especially some of the dialogue between the protagonist and her son. Jessie Hanley also had a way with obnoxious, grating one-liners that were supposed to make her seem witty but did not succeed. Also, the author wrote "CSIS" (the Canadian Security Intelligence Service) with a hyphen, like so: "C-SIS". Not only wrong, but also annoying.

Also, sex scenes that occur with little to no warning are not something I particularly enjoy in my books, because it's really embarrassing to find those in a book one is reading on the bus. But I digress.

On to the good: it was indeed an original story, and I enjoyed the huge Canadian presence -- a scene set in Ottawa made me very happy indeed. Having an Inuk character playing such a prominent role at Trudeau (and a positive role at that) was also excellent. Actually, the whole cast was pretty diverse (perhaps deliberately so), and there didn't seem to be many obvious stereotypes, at least not that I noticed. Reading on the bus does take one's attention away from the finer details.

And while I am glad that Canada's research stations were so technologically advanced in the world of this book, there is no way we would EVER have anything that nice in reality. (Or perhaps I am just being cynical.)

As for the ending, yes, it did wrap up most loose ends and at a breakneck pace. However, the pacing was a bit uneven. It lagged at a few points, mostly with the Hanley family subplot about which I did not care very much. Jurjevics' strength is his scientific/medical thriller writing and not so much the heartwarming family stuff.

So to sum up, a decent read, but probably not going to be read again. Still, I am glad that at least I gave it a shot and saw it through. ( )

A solid thriller which takes place in the high Arctic winter, which in itself is a tense addition to the suspense. At a Canadian research facility, internationally staffed, three scientists die nasty deaths for which no one can find a cause. All died at exactly the same time, out on the ice in the dark, from what appears to have been a new pathogen or chemical. A fourth scientist with them kills himself. The Canadians bring in an American pathologist who is known for luck and intuition, and she is delivered to the facility just before winter closes the facility to normal transportation until spring. Meanwhile the Russians search for a missing sub bringing home a 5th scientist from the lab.

The science is very interesting, and the cold and dark permeate the story. The tension mounts throughout the book, with only small detours for personal dramas. As is typical in novels in which experts are being portrayed to a general readership, there is a bit too much explaining of details you'd think the characters wouldn't have to spell out for each other, and the fact that a Russian submarine can get to the station but no one seems to think the scientists can get rescued nagged a bit. But overall, this is an delicious way to while away a few hours, especially if you're warm. ( )