Detective Kylie Miniard is young, new to town and finding herself having to prove herself to the good-old-boys club. Kylie is the town's only detective. She's being excluded from all kinds of aspects when it comes to solving crime.

On this particular night, she, again, is the last to be called to the scene of a murder. A woman's body has been found in a dumpster. She starts the investigation wanting to take a look at a local bar which is pretty close to the crime scene. However, the higher-ups have tied her hands.

At the same time, a car accident on an icy road has left Lily Baker without a memory. She has no idea who she is or where she is. She has vague images but nothing she can sink her teeth into. And who is that man lying in a pool of blood in her car?

What Kylie discovers is that Lily and the dead woman have a history.. if only Lily could remember. The more Kylie discovers, the more Lily fears what Kylie will find.

This author is not new to me. As with the others of her books I have read, I have come to expect a solid plot with deftly drawn characters. I was not disappointed. This is the first in a new series featuring a strong female protagonist. She is flawed, but those flaws make her credible. She is intelligent, determined, and wants nothing more than finding closure for victims and their families.

There's lots of action, many and varied suspects to watch, a page-turner for sure. I look forward to the next installment of this series.

Many thanks to the author / Thomas & Mercer ? Amazon Publishers / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

If you like dark and disturbing, jaw dropping characters, or a story that tests your comfort level then this is the one for you! This story pushed me to my comfort limits and then had me peer over the edge. It took me longer than usual to read it because I would to put it down for awhile. As far as dark reads go this one is good. Thank you for the advance copy.

Has anyone purchased the movie rights for this book yet? Because someone should. Right now.

This is a fun, twisty thriller with an intriguing premise and a likable, fascinating trio of protagonists.

I heard some griping about where the plot went toward the end of this book before I read it, and was thus nervous as I read...When is this going to go downhill? Except it never did. I enjoyed how this one played out in the end, and felt it was one of the better “protagonist with amnesia” narratives (typically not one of my favorite tropes).

Girard masterfully weaves together two seemingly unrelated events involving two of the book’s central characters into a single seamless thread that both surprises and satisfies. She has also created a detective who is both sharp and charming, whose clever thought processes intrigue the reader and who also occasionally injects a bit of humor to lessen the tension of the story.

Oh, and points for the prominent inclusion of an endearing pet in a thriller but never putting it in any real danger.

I suppose my one gripe with this one is that I’m a little baffled by the title: White Out? Huh? That’s a small thing though. I look forward to the next book in this series.

I really, really liked this book. White Out ticks off most of what I look for in a thriller & every chapter kept me turning the pages. The book has great characters, the plot initially seemed far-fetched but it all made sense in the end. The book starts off with an amazing chapter that is so very compelling! Very rarely do I come across books that have me on the edge of my seat in the first chapter itself. White Out certainly made that very short list. The trend just continued from there & I just wanted to get to the next chapter after every chapter making it very very hard to put this one down. I loved the suspense & drama the most. The ending was brilliant too. This book had me guessing the identity of the killer till the very end & I still didn't get that right. I never saw that twist coming! If this is made into a series, I'd definitely be requesting the next book too. I now have Danielle Girard as an author within my sights & will be looking out for her next book!

Thank You, NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer & Danielle Girard for an arc!

Thank you for me review e-copy of White Out!
I have seen nothing but phenomenal reviews for this books. It kept me interested and I did not see that ending coming. Overall a solid mystery!

After surviving a car accident on an icy road in Hagen, North Dakota, Lily Baker regains consciousness with no idea where or who she is. Scattered Bible verses and the image of a man lying in a pool of blood haunt her memory.

The same night of the accident, a young woman is murdered and tossed in a dumpster. Kylie Milliard, Hagen’s only detective, doesn’t immediately recognize the victim, but Kylie soon discovers that Lily and the dead woman share a dark past…if only Lily could remember what it was.

Lily and Kylie both want answers. But Kylie has to play by the book. Lily has to play it safe. And the more Lily learns about her identity, the more she fears the truth.

This was a quick-paced story and I like those every once in a while. The story started off with a car crash and immediately grabbed my attention. As the story moves on, we discover that 2 different characters have amnesia. One doesn't remember who she is exactly and the other doesn't remember what happened the night before. I definitely needed to find out how the story would connect these two. The book is full of action right up to the end. I would recommend this book and look forward to reading more from the series and more from the author. Thank you Danielle Girard and Netgalley for a copy.

annoying. title expired before i could read it. idk why netgalley allows books to expire??? like if i already have it downloaded then i should be fine

This fast paced thriller had me hooked from the start. There were a few times in this book when I was holding my breath anticipating what was about to happen.
Lily Baker wakes up after being in a car accident on the edge of the cliff as the story begins. What follows next is many twists and turns to find out what happened in Lily’s past and what was happening in the town of Hagen. I found this story to have the perfect amount of detail. sometimes it seems Authors get stuck describing everything little detail that the story doesn’t move forward in a way that keeps my interest. I am excited that this will be the first in a series. I will be awaiting Book #2. Thank you to NetGalley, Danielle Girard, and Thomas & Mercer

After several attempts, I gave up on this one. It was badly written, unbelievable, and I couldn't connect with any of the characters. The most interesting part was the female detective but the police procedures were ridiculous. There were several plot holes and discrepancies that only added to the incredulousness so finishing the book felt like a chore and waste of time.

The premise of this book is really good. I was definitely interested to read it. However, it did fall just a little bit flat for me. It seemed to drag along and bounce around just a little too much. I did like it overall and it did help that I did not see that ending coming! I would be willing to give this author another chance, though I don't know that I will continue this series. 3/5 stars.

This book was okay. It was really slow for the first half of it. The mystery plot points were interesting, but there was so much left unfinished at the end of the book that the actual book felt unfinished. Instead of the "no answer wrap up" given, it felt like the author ran out of time or was told to cut the book down and so a lot of things went unfinished. Not a horrible book, but it left me so unfulfilled.

This book had me hooked from the very beginning and truly had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It toggles back and forth between a few characters POVs and it really had me invested in each character’s story. I loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Highly recommend for anyone who loves a good twisty, exciting thriller that doesn’t let up.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the author for this copy of White Out!
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White Out is an absolute page-turner with a super awesome female protagonist. If you love strong women, you will love the MC in this book! While the pages kept turning for me, I had a hard time keeping track of the sheer amount of characters within the text and that detracted from the story, for me. That being said, if you love a lot of action in your thrillers, check this one out!

Good, basic thriller book.

I have read other books by this author and I usually find myself a lot more involved in the story than with this one.

The suspense is kind of slow, which ends with me not beeing as committed in the characters and in the story in general.

Not horrible, but not one of her best.

This is an interesting mystery to start. A girl, Lily, wakes up without knowing who she is or what is going on. She's on a cliff, in a car and appears to have been in an accident. From there you slowly discover Lily's life and the small town she lives in...and what she's been through.

There are two other POV to this story - Iver who has had a lot to drink the night before and has blacked out - no idea how he got home or what he did all night. There's also a detective, Kylie, and you learn the evidence and the case from her.

I didn't like Kylie. I think her assumptions, rough treatment of everyone and horrible tactics as a police officer/detective were horrible and hard to read. It colored the whole story and made it tough to finish. I did like Iver and Lily and found their stories interesting but Kylie was a hard pass.

I quite liked this book! I liked that even the characters were unsure of what was happening.

A good crime thriller set in a white snowy wonderland!

I'm reading these other reviews wondering if we even read the same book. This would have been a DNF but I promised to give my review in exchange for the book so I forced myself to finish the whole thing. I would've enjoyed watching paint dry more than this. I really wanted to like it too, especially after such a banger of an opening.

We start with a woman, Lily, waking up in a car with an unconscious man beside her. She barely makes it out of the car in time before it plummets off the overpass, killing the man. She has no idea who she is, who he was, or where they are. Thus behind her journey to remember. Oh, did I mention a dead woman is simultaneously being discovered in a dumpster?

Between Kylie Milliard, the detective solving the murder, and the dialogue bordering on atrocious at times, I couldn't bring myself to enjoy it. I really am so tired of the female character in a position of power still trying to prove herself. We get it. You work with "the good ol' boys". We get it. You're a woman in a man's world and no one respects you, listens to you, blah blah. I get that it happens in the real world but it seems like it's just about impossible for authors to write about this without making the female character a whiny, emotional thing with the maturity of a teenager. I lost count of the times Kylie was so upset that she wasn't shown the respect she thought she deserved, that she completely missed clues. I mean, when she found out the report went to one of the other detectives she was so mad that it went to him instead of her that she didn't even stop to wonder why he'd hide it from her. My first thought was "is he trying to hide evidence?" But Kylie? Noooo. Hers was "OMG he lied! It's MY case! It should've come to ME!" It became difficult to not picture her stomping her feet in every scene. Why can't authors just have a female detectives who just kicks butt at her job without the whining and tantrums?

Then there's the dialogue. "Officer Gilbert has an image of you attacking a woman."

I kid you not, the response is "An image? Like a picture?"

.......

.......

No you potato, like a GRAVEN image!

I feel bad for the harsh review but I did promise honesty. Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the free book.

This is probably one of those rare crime/ police procedural books where you will find that instead of the police, it's the victim Lily Baker, who has escaped a murder attempt and suffers from a case of selective amnesia, and the falsely accused Iver Larson who also suffers from selective amnesia, who put in more effort to figure out and solve the crime.

This book reminds me of those Bollywood crime/police movies that didn't make much sense what with their loopholes but were still entertaining to watch.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Thomas and Mercer and the author for the e-Arc of the book.

This was a good thriller! I hadn't read a lot of stories that take place in areas like Fargo that are just completely frozen and fidget. There were some great twists in this one that I didn't see coming and would definitely read more by Girard!

White Out is the first installment in author Danielle Girard's new Badlands Thriller series. Far Gone, the second volume, is scheduled to be released in 2021.

The new series marks a departure for Girard, who penned the Dr. Annabelle Schwartzman and Rookie Club series, both of which were set in her native California Bay Area. Instead of examining issues related to the San Francisco Police Department, White Out is set in the tiny fictional town of Hagen, North Dakota, population 864. Kylie Milliard is new to the police force, but dreams of a job as a detective with the Fargo police department, the nearest thing to a big city.

Kylie may be the only female detective in Hagen, but she is a savvy one. She is keenly aware of her status and the way that her actions are being apprised not only by her fellow officers, but by the citizens of the small community. She is also determined to find the killer of a young woman whose body was tossed in a dumpster behind the local bar owned and operated by Hagen native, Iver Larson, who inherited the establishment from his father. Hagen is a town where all the citizens know each other. The local sheriff, Jack Davis, graduated from high school three years ahead of Iver. Davis was the local football star, but Iver stayed on the bench. Now Iver lives with the brain injury he sustained while serving in Afghanistan. He survived the IED hitting his Humvee, but mixing his medications with alcohol took a toll on his marriage to his wife, Debbie. Now he lives alone with his Australian shepherd-collie mix, Cal. And he's shaping up to be the prime suspect in a murder investigation because a young woman's body was found in the dumpster behind his bar. He can't remember much from the prior evening, except that there was Jack Daniels involved and he went home without retrieving his pills from his office in the bar.

After the accident, Lily catches a ride into Hagen with a man who not only recognizes her, but seems to know her family history. He takes her to the hospital, where she claims she needs to visit a friend so that she can check on the driver of the vehicle in which she was a passenger. There, she finds that the staff also know her and she seems to be in a relationship with Tim, a hospital employee. She has no memory of any of it.

Girard starts White Out off with Lily regaining consciousness and finding herself trapped in a vehicle that is perched on the edge of a roadway beyond the guardrail through which it crashed, poised to fall thirty or more feet to the ground below. She has no memory of the driver's identity or how she came to be traveling with him, but is determined to escape the car before it tumbles forward and down the ravine. The tense scene propels Girard's story into gear, and it continues moving at an unrelenting pace until its equally adrenaline-inducing and shocking conclusion.

Kylie is a compelling lead character, about whose past Girard reveals some details. She is surrounded by an eclectic and equally intriguing cast of supporting players, including Iver, the war veteran who struggles to remember what happened on the night of the murder and keep his demons at bay. No one knows the truth about what really happened that day in Afghanistan, and he wants to keep it that way. He never even told his wife the details of how he came to be the only one to survive the attack. It quickly becomes clear that Lily is also a native of Hagen -- she and Iver became good friends after meeting in the Lutheran church[s middle school youth group. Iver also harbors guilt about what happened to Lily when they were fourteen years old. Somehow that event links her to the dead woman in the dumpster. Iver and Lily both had something stolen from them that they can never get back.

It falls to Kylie to figure out how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together, and she must find answers while protecting herself from nearby enemies. Girard has constructed a mystery that is replete with surprising plot twists, revelations, red herrings, and jaw-dropping developments. She weaves all of the loose ends of the tale into a cohesive thriller in which the setting is an important character. Remote, familiar only to its residents, and populated by characters who share lengthy histories and sometimes fractious relationships, White Out succeeds, in part, because of its setting.

As the story progresses, Girard demonstrates that Kylie cannot trust anyone except herself and must rely on her own training instincts in order to find the identity of the killer. White Out is a riveting mystery filled with long-buried small town secrets, surprising motivations, and empathetic characters, each of whom is memorable in his or her own right.

Girard says her goal in crafting White Out was for readers to be unable to stop turning pages. "I hope it keeps people up all night." She has met and surpassed her goal. White Out is an ambitious and promising start to her new series featuring Detective Kylie Milliard. Readers will be anxiously waiting to find out more about Kylie and learn if her wish to return to Fargo comes true in the next installment.