Whitewater Rendezvous, set in the remote Odakonya River area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, is the adventurous love story of two disparate and intensely dynamic women, Megan Maxwell and Chaz Herrick.  Megan, the driven vice-president of World News Central television news, is known as the Royal Ice Bitch.  It is a moniker not totally undeserving for the workaholic.  Chaz, the attractive easygoing Alaskan tour guide, on the other hand, is content and treasures living apart from the raucous tumult of the general population.  After these two intelligent, resolute, and witty women meet, Megan begins to think that perhaps losing that bet with her Chicago Broads in Boadcasting pals to join them for an Alaskan kayaking adventure may not be as disconcerting as she had thought.  Matters are further complicated by harrowing Arctic storms, seemingly incompatible priorities, and the entertaining clash between two very tenacious and assertive women.

Setting plays a key role in a well-crafted story of this type.  Baldwin obviously knows her material, and with great care and skill, has transcribed the aura of an Arctic night sky and the grandeur of Alaskan isolation to the written page.  The reader’s senses are vividly awakened which allows that reader to become one with the environment—not always an easy task for an author to create.

A hallmark of great writing is consummate characterization, and Whitewater Rendezvous does not disappoint.  This novel is populated with round, not flat, characters.  Each is delineated and developed with expertise and style.  From the imagery to the diction to the syntax used, the personalities of the major characters are constructed in a credible, lucid, and realistic manner.  Megan’s workaholic focus is clearly articulated, making it simple for the reader to empathize.  Chaz’s free spirit is infectious thus making it equally simple for the reader to identify with that desire to throw caution to the wind and escape.  One aspect of Baldwin’s writing is the absence of the stereotypical, and her characters in this story display that yet again.

Whitewater Rendezvous capturesthe reader from the very first page.  It totally immerses and envelopes the reader in the Arctic experience.  The novel deals with basic truths.  What is important in life?  Is there a soul mate somewhere out there for me?  Can opposites truly attract?  Superior chapter endings, stylishly and tightly written sentences, precise pacing, and exquisite narrative all coalesce to produce a novel of first-rate quality, both in concept and expression.   Whitewater Rendezvous is Kim Baldwin’s third novel.  (Hunter’s Pursuit and Force of Nature)   The author’s technique, range, and originality of composition continue to expand and flourish with each effort.  This reviewer highly recommends Whitewater Rendezvous and eagerly looks forward to Baldwin’s next novel, Flight Risk, to be published in February 2007.