The dark

Darkness surrounds her and fear will unravel her heart, confidence and trust. Would you give up the warmth of your home, take your secrets and past trying to bury them within yourself and move and live in Antarctica with 12 other people that are hiding their own truths and lies, and one might be even more dangerous. The bitter cold hits doctor Kate North as she exits the small plane landing on the icy surface. Can she oversee 24-hour days of darkness and below zero and frigid temperatures plus unpredictable turbulence and weather conditions that are inhospitable, dangerous if not properly dressed and managed plus keeping these working there confined to the base unless their jobs and immediate duties or duty requires they go outside and deal with the hostile elements .

Kate is asked to replace a popular doctor that was killed on a field trip where one of his equipment failed and the reason is given as it just happened but as Kate gets closer to those collaborating with her she begins to think that this doctor was murdered.

Meeting the team gave her chills and even an uncomfortable feeling as some were cordial and others you can tell cold and critical. Her role is the medic on staff and leaving her job to live in this hostile environment and must adjust to the mental and physical problems dealing with the climate, the heights, her drug dependence and the secret surroundings her accident.

Going outside to do various duties and dealing with the different unit’s alpha beta gamma and mire intrigued Kate but her determination to find out more about the death of the doctor is primed when she finds a letter buried under some antiseptic wipes she needed. In the event of his death! Why was it there and not delivered to his wife and family? Why does she hand it to Sandrine and when the final plane departs and will not return for 6 months, others give their letter to the pilots on the plane to be delivered why does Sandrine bury that in her pocket and why didn’t Kate give it to be mailed herself?

Each member of the team seems to be hiding something and as Kate begins to ask questions about the death of the previous medic, she gets odd responses and is opening herself to bring the next victim.

Tempers rise, suspicion grows as Kate questions Arne about Alex and why he feels everyone faults and blames him for the death of Jean-Luc. Going over the incident and explaining and describing it to Kate in detail leaves some unanswered questions. Then her pills are stolen, and someone was going through her things in her room why keep silent? Added in going out one night to stargaze and more putting down her torch where did it go when she needed it? Disoriented and frightened she screams for help and was lucky Arne and Drew came to the rescue. But you get the feeling that someone wants her out of the way and Kate might have made a grave mistake in coming to Antarctica to work.

Freezing, short of frostbite she remains under covers until the next day when Caro comes to the clinic and presents her with a problem she might not know how to manage, and will she keep it silent?

Kate tries to unravel what happened to Jean-Luc but the videos on her laptop are deleted and confronting Rob to help her retrieve them she’s told she deleted them but she swears she was sleep at the time and her confrontation with Alex causes her to go head to head with Sandrine who makes it perfectly clear she does not want her there and reflects on an incident with a patient in the past. Harsh words and will Kate start questioning her sensibilities, and will she finally be more cautious of her actions and words?

Then a body is found outside in the Arctic cold, and Kate faces off with Sandrine who thinks it’s suicide but looking deep at the wounds Kate suspects murder plus Cara has a startling revelation about this man and things her more out of control and Kate tries to investigate will she be next? What does what about /‘this have to do with what Jean-Luc uncovered?

Talking to Luuk she hopes to understand what happened to Alex. Where was his caper and activity band? What about Ark did Alex tell him what he was investigating?

Things will get more dangerous and tense for Kate before the harsh truth comes out.

Confrontation with Sandrine why does she block her every move to learn the truth about what happened to Alex and then shadows cloud her vision the voice of her ex comes through, and she draws the line but in the wrong direction.

Kate realizes that someone stole Jean -Lucy’s laptop, video logs and journals what was on there they the killer needed? Plus, she realizes someone forced Alex outside in the dark cold and after a struggle tied him up and left him to freeze to death. Who and why? Then the final revelation going through his things she realizes how he was rendered helpless. Antarctica is the coldest continent on Earth. The author’s research that is shared vividly describes the icy terrain, the darkness , lack of sun, the lower than frigid temperatures and what each person experiences trying to deal with the ice, dangerous conditions and more. It’s a continent whose residents are scientists working on research bases or tourists. No one lives there indefinitely as you will understand my ex cut why when you read what Kate and the others had to endure to stay warm, hydrated and deal with the hazards when going outside of the base. Imagine no commercial industries or cities or towns. Therefore, no permanent residents.

Things get tense and Kate finds herself in a battle within her own mind that with Sandrine. Finding evidence that belonged to both Alex and then Jean=Luc’s journals she uncovers something about a young girl that died was that an accident or murder? Then Sandrine accuses her of being on drugs when goes one step too far and shows her hand. Drugs are at the heart of what happened to Alex and what did Jean-Luc learn? Finding his video logs was illuminating so why did Sandrine quarantine Kate to her room, claim she is unfit and realized that she was taking drugs to keep calm and sleep since someone broke into her room and stole hers? Truths, lies, deceptions and a dangerous killer is losing in the station as Sandrine is the next victim. Who is doing this and why will be revealed as Kate tries to piece it all together but there will be more injuries before all is said and done? Caro is in danger of losing her baby can Kate help her through the birth. Tom gets shot where did he get the gun? Drew and Arne try to keep everyone safe, and Rob investigates the coms and the information that he can get on his computer. But, what happens when everyone must find a way to keep warm when the heat is gone? How long with UNA take to realize that this station is in trouble, and they have no way to communicate with them? The final scenes are tense, and Kate puts herself in danger to try and trap a dangerous killer. Kate finds herself trapped within her own past recalling what happened to Ben and then finding herself dealing with what happened to Sandrine, learning the truth about Naomi and her accident was not a murder, plus who was there at the time and why. Added in author Emma Haughton takes readers once more into the depth of the snow, the darkness with no light in sight and a killer who will stop at nothing to hide an unspeakable truth. Pasts collide and then Kate might be the next victim of this person if someone does not come to her aid. A story  about survival, drug abuse, hope, dealing with the elements of the continent, trust, betrayals and deceptions as Dr. Kate White learns more about herself, her ability to survive and understands the pitfalls of living totally in THE DARK! Characters that are strong willed, loyalties are questioned, a young child’ life is at stake and a new mother that hopes to make it home. Where will the final scene and flight take her? Will she want to return, or will she realize that there is more to life living in the light as she thinks about Tom, Sonia, Ark, Rob and the rest. A chilling novel that will make you want to read it under the covers as the author takes you from start to finish from the light of winter to the darkness of summer as you the reader will experience living IN THE DARK!

Fran Lewis: Just reviews