Continuing, readers are introduced to Kit, a forensic dentist, who is experiencing her husband's aggressively pursued divorce and their wreckage of a marriage so he can hastily marry his pregnant mistress. 

Kit's friend since high school, Sally, is disgusted by the antics of Kit's husband and suggests to her that she should consider taking some time off. Sally mentions that she and her colleagues are set to go on an expedition to Antarctica and she feels that Kit should accept a highly coveted winter research position in her field, at Macpherson Station.

After the formalities are completed, they set off on a fifteen day voyage on the icebreaker, 'Southern Star', to the Australian Macpherson Station. Before they arrive, they are sidetracked by a 'mayday' signal received from another ship, the 'Petrel', which has been icebound for many months, and change course to investigate. 

This starts an adventure which includes arson, murder, betrayal, secrets, conspiracy and more, both on the Petrel and at Macpherson Station. 

The author has obviously studied her subject deeply and there are quite a few instances where she educates the reader in how people survive in sub-zero temperatures and live in remote snowbound environments.

This book is truly 'chilling' and 'thrilling' and is a great page turner. The pace is fast and furious, the climate is described in great detail and chills to the bone. The characters are brought to life in a vivid array of spiders' webs. This leaves the reader undecided about who to trust and who not to trust.

Definitely a book for adults, there is some profanity and a couple of 'tasteful' sex scenes. 

However, I was disappointed to come across a couple of Americanisms. 'Gotten' is part of the word forgotten, and that's what it should be, forgotten. The other word I came across was 'math', used twice, even though the author had already used the correct word 'maths' for non-Americans on two occasions in the previous paragraphs. 

Happily, I can add this book to a list of the few others I have read where there are no typos.

I would recommend this book wholeheartedly to adults who want to dive deeply into a great thriller and get swept away by the storyline.

The Author

Riley James lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her partner and two children. She was born and raised in north-west Tasmania and has been writing since the age of six. She trained briefly as a journalist before completing a PhD and becoming an academic. The Chilling is her first novel..