Title: The Whiteout Effect: Rescue Me!
Subtitle: Book One
Authors: Parker Kelly and Cal Orey
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 979-8-8230-2643-7
Pages: 117
Genre: Fiction / Romance / Adventure / Natural Disasters
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
If you are looking for your next love story to read while in an Adirondack chair by the crushed granite sand of Lake Tahoe, or snuggled up by a crackling fireplace with a hotty-toddy and a canine companion, or perhaps looking for a page-turner to break up the waiting boredom on a travel vacation, look no further. The Whiteout Effect: Rescue Me! by the authors Parker Kelly and Cal Orey is an adventure love story, filled with life, death and survival in blizzard conditions, first-responders selflessly helping accident victims, steadfastness in morality of what’s right and wrong in relationships, love of family, and last-but-not-least, the unconditional love and obedience of our canine companions.
The story begins when Alex breaks up with her husband in Texas after discovering he cheated on her. She packs up, has her dog Skyler hop in the Jeep, and they move back home to be with her parents who live on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe. Feeling a bit deflated and mostly angry at herself for trusting this loser, like a dog humbly having its tail between its legs, she is careful not to wear her heart on her sleeve nor become a rebound victim when she meets Mike, a fellow first responder at her new job in Tahoe. The book is ideally written through the narrative of Alex’s point of view, adding the subtle literary technique of using italics to convey her thoughts, bringing readers deep into Alex’s mind. The events bring many details of the job of being paramedics and first responders as a background to readers, but mostly are overshadowed by the impending blizzard with whiteout conditions blowing into the region. Survival becomes the climax of the story – and nope, no spoilers here to tell, you’ll want to read for yourself the character-arc. With the heat of the passion between the two protagonists you would think would melt the snow! Wonderfully written.
Reading the short bios of Parker Kelly and Cal Orey at the end of the book brings into focus the mechanizations of how this story was created. Parker Kelly dipped into her paramedic experience for details and nuances bringing story credibility; and Cal Orey lives up in Lake Tahoe, knows the area, and referenced many local sentiments, such as the news media hype generally embellishing snowstorms to draw crowds and tourists – and yes, both are dog lovers. I akin their collaboration to that of, say, Simon and Garfunkel, as together their synergistically creative style enhances each other – and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
The Whiteout Effect: Rescue Me! has Alex rescued physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually by a “Camelot” hero. Upon opening the first page to see what the book was about, I truly didn’t stop reading it until the end – a perfect single-sitting paging experience. It actually was embedded in a dream I had last night, after finishing the book and before penning this review. For any book to have such an impact, I say, “Bravo!” As this is Book One – bring on the next episode!
