Cold, Cold Heart by Christine Poulson

SO lucky to be able to read the second book in the series immediately after the first!

"The bright day is done, and we are for the dark."

Katie Flanagan, a medical doctor and scientific researcher, after the events from book one, is bound for Antartica for an 8 month stint as the second doctor on the Wilson outpost base. She'll be there to examine the effects of how humans adapt to the long months of darkness and isolation. There are only 9 other peeople on the base, all but one are males -- and she will be shut up with them for the duration of the dark. Despite her anxiety and trepidation, things are going as well as can be expected until her friend, and the only other female at the site, the doctor in charge, Sara, has gone missing. A hunt for her has gone without result and there are other issues that take Katie's former training and expertise to the forefront.

Meanwhile, attorney Daniel Marchmont, his wife Rachel, and their daughter, Chloe, continue the treatments for Chloe's genetic blood disorder -- Diamond Blackfan Amemia (the research that Katie was working on before her whistleblowing got her in trouble). Daniel is again working with Lyle on a new theory, with his new company, Thesus, whose had a breakthrough in cancer research. When the head of that project goes missing, Daniel and Lyle are at a loss to go further with the development of the theory and the acquisition of the patents. Could there be a connection to missing Sara? In another of those wild coincidences in this series -- there is -- but NO SPOILERS.

Despite the necessity to suspend disbelief over the fact that Katie's situation is related to the disappearance of Dr. Flora Mitchell, the story and plot are very entertaining and will keep the reader glued to the pages. The missing women aside, the main character is really Antarctica. The details about life on the base and the strain of living in that hostile environment are very compelling and interesting. Katie continues to be someone that we want to get to know better and I am quite eager to see where she will go next after her experiences in wintering over in Antarctica.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lion Fiction for the ARC to read and review. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone interested in medical thrillers. The suspense lies in the mystery of what happened to Sara in Antarctica with only the 10 people on the base. I totally enjoyed it! Can't wait for #3 in this series! I was so lucky to be able to read the second book in the series immediately after the first -- these should be read in order.