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    Winter Study
    Winter Study
    Winter Study
    Audiobook12 hours

    Winter Study

    Written by Nevada Barr

    Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    It is January, and Park Ranger Anna Pigeon is sent to Isle Royale in Lake Superior to learn about managing and understanding wolves, as her home base of Rocky Mountain National Park might soon have its own pack of the magnificent, much- maligned animals. She's lodging in the island's bunkhouse with the famed wolf study team, along with two scientists from Homeland Security, who are assessing the study with an eye to opening the park in the winters - an act that would effectively bring an end to the fifty-year project - so that the area can be manned to secure the scrap of border with Canada. Soon after Anna's arrival, the wolf packs under observation begin to behave in peculiar ways. Giant wolf prints are found, and Anna spies the form of a great wolf from a surveillance plane. The discovery of wolf scat containing alien DNA leads the group to believe that perhaps a wolf/dog hybrid has been introduced to the island. When a female member of the team is savaged, Anna is convinced she is being stalked, and what was once a beautiful, idyllic refuge becomes a place of unnatural occurrences and danger beyond the ordinary. Alone on an island without electricity or running water, with temperatures hovering around zero both day and night, Anna fights not only for the wolves but for her own survival as well
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateApr 25, 2008
    ISBN9781436121637
    Winter Study
    Author

    Nevada Barr

    NEVADA BARR is a novelist, actor, and artist best known for her New York Times bestselling, award-winning mystery series featuring Anna Pigeon. A former National Park Service Ranger, she currently lives with her husband in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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    Reviews for Winter Study

    3.5/5

    38 ratings28 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I enjoy reading Nevada Barr. I especially like her details in regards to the National Parks and the Park Service. Unfortunately I found this book a bit slow, but I did enjoy reading about Isle Royale which is on my list of places to visit, but not in winter.
    • 3/5
      For a Pigeon, this book was a disappointment.
      Rather than the usual self-confident, chip-on-the-shoulder derring-do heroine who gets herself into the...weirdest...situations, and always comes out smelling of roses - sometimes tattered and covered with mud, but smelling good - we have an old, decrepit, self-doubting woman who is thinking sitting home knitting might be preferable to the wilderness she has loved since her 20s.Hopefully we will see Anna restored to her usual spunky self in the next installment.
    • 3/5
      This wasn't bad at first and kept my interest for several hours, but toward the end, the characters were just too one-dimensional. The wildlife part of it was interesting, but I prefer books where the characters act like people rather than stereotypes.
    • 4/5
      Very interesting mystery. You knew who had to be the ultimate bad guy, he is such a creep, but the twists with the rest of the characters aren't so obvious. But, how much punishment can her body take? She is getting too physically old to keep taking this rough treatment. Hope the Service doesn't decide to retire her for her own good!
    • 3/5
      I'm a big fan of Nevada Barr, but this book seemed very slow to me. I enjoyed the sections relating to the winter location and wolf study, but I found the characters and the lengthy dialog and bizarre backstories strange. I found myself skimming to the end... not a good sign. I'm still a fan, but you can skip this one.
    • 5/5
      I requested this book for one reason: it's about Isle Royale National Park. It's the second-closest National Park to me (after Voyageurs), but I've never been there. And I don't plan on going there until I am in the proper shape to make the most of it. It's sort of what I'm aiming for in all of the hiking around Minnesota. It's the capstone course, the top step, the wilderness trek to end all wilderness treks. In the Minnesota area, that is.Isle Royale is the largest island in Lake Superior. It is accessible by boat from the North Shore of Minnesota, and is 100% backcountry. Once you're past the visitors center, you're on your own. It's about as pure as accessible wilderness is these days in the US. It is closed to visitors during the winter - so that researchers can learn about the delicate balance between wolves and moose on the island. (Lake Superior very rarely will freeze over - so it is basically a captive society with no new blood for decades on end.) This is where we find Anna Pigeon, a National Park Service Ranger. She is joining the small group of scientists for the Winter Study of moose and wolves for six weeks in the middle of a lake, in the middle of nowhere.Four men and three women: a jolly old bush pilot, dedicated researchers, a graduate assistant with a secret, a Homeland Security agent (whose goal is to bring an end to the program and militarize part of the park)...and Anna. All living in a small bunkhouse with barely enough room to turn around. Then you add the mysterious behavior of the moose and wolves - including a wolf that leaves tracks twice the size of that of a normal wolf...and bite marks twice the size of a normal wolf, too. Then people begin to disappear. Trapped on a frozen island in the middle of the world's largest lake, Anna knows that she's in danger and need to figure out who she can trust.What's everyone's motivation? Why are people disappearing? How could they survive in the wilderness without shelter? Who is out to put an end to the Winter Study...and to Anna Pigeon's life?I'm not a big mystery reader, and I particularly am not a suspense fan. But I really enjoyed this book. I loved Anna Pigeon's character. She's a middle-aged ranger who is strong and intelligent. She definitely doesn't fall into the stereotype of being the Quirky Spinster Detective. I loved the setting, felt creeped out at the creepy parts, and found myself working out the mystery in my head along with Anna.I'll definitely read more of her books. Actually, I'll probably pick up the first one and start from there. Each one takes place in a different National Park. Actually, I can't believe I've never read one of her books before. I really look forward to reading more of them.
    • 4/5
      Dark and intense with good insights into wolf research being done in national parks. Excellent portrayal of Lake Isle Park during the very severe winter off season.
    • 4/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed my first Nevada Barr experience. I couldn't believe that I hadn't read or listened to a Barr book before. It was a great choice to start with. Ranger Anna Pigeon is on Isle Royale in Michigan studying wolves with an eye to possibly transferring the pack to her Rocky Mountain Park. After the sighting of a huge wolf print and finding scat (wolf droppings)that shouldn't be there, and worse yet, an apparent wolf attack, Anna suspects that something isn't right. Barr has rounded up a most unusual group of suspects, each with motivation to carry on in a less than upstanding way. It was truly terrifying as the story leads her through the freezing wilderness of the island. The cold is as volatile and frightening an adversary as the people she is bunking with. In addition to a plethora of detail which I found enthralling, Anna's fight with the cold is so precisely written I found myself on edge waiting for her to get somewhere warm as well as solving the life-threatening mystery she is faced with. I immediately picked out another two Nevada Barr audiobooks. I highly recommend this author.
    • 2/5
      I've read other Barr books in the past and enjoyed them. This one was not up to par! Bad language; bad plot and characters and lots of 'this doesn't make a damn bit of sense' parts. I eventually gave up on it; something I seldom do.
    • 3/5
      In [book: Winter Study], National Park ranger Anna Pigeon returns to Isle Royale National Park, the scene of one of the earliest books in the series, [book:A Superior Death]. But this trip is very different, for it takes place in the dead of winter, when the park is closed to all except the team of researchers for a decades-long study of wolf-moose interaction. Now the continuing existence of the study is threatened because the Department of Homeland Security wants to open the park year-round, compromising its wilderness status, to "secure" the border between the U.S. and Canada. Anna is seconded to be part of a fact-finding team which includes researchers, parks people, and two tenderfeet from Washington, D.C. Almost immediately, odd things begin happening, and Anna's life will be in danger more than once before her investigation is done.

      The description of the setting, as usual with Barr's books, is excellent. I think even a lifelong Southerner could get a sense of what a Northern winter in the woods is like from reading this book. However, I found the plot a little too convoluted even for my taste, and one character was almost too bad to be true. In addition, Anna (or the author) gives in a bit too often to the temptation to preach politics and the environment. Even though in my case she's preaching to the choir, it got tedious. However, if it doesn't get any worse, I'll certainly keep following Anna Pigeon around America's national parks. Wish she'd visit Acadia!
    • 4/5
      Due to the expected presence of wolves in Rocky Mountain National Park, District Ranger Anna Pigeon joins the Winter study at Isle Royale in Lake Superior where the wolves have been studied for 50 years. Homeland Security would like to open Isle Royale year round but decisions must be made to determine the feasibility due to weather conditions in the dead of winter. Mysterious and strange events which include a death by wolf attack, near drowning in Lake Superior, blackmail, and possible murder keep Anna actively working to preserve the lives of the team as well as herself. The story is completely chilling with weather conditions depicted throughout the story, but it's great read for any Pigeon fan.
    • 2/5
      I love this series, but this book was a bit of a disappointment. Too convoluted a plot, one-dimensional characters, long-winded, and Anna turning more and more into superwoman - hope the next one is better again.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyable Great Lakes region-based fiction title with atmospherics and a little science thrown in.
    • 4/5
      Anna Pigeon is back in Isle Royale National Park where the action in one of her earlier adventures, A Superior Death, took place. This time, as the title suggests, it is Winter and the park is closed. But the long term study of wolves on the island is ongoing and Anna is taking part because her home park, Rocky Mountain, may soon be getting a wolf pack. Two more people who are not part of the study are also on the island. They are assessing the park for Homeland Security to see if the park could be opened in the winter. Dr. Bob Menecken and his graduate student Kathryn seem to have an odd relationship. However, everyone is avid about the wolves (for one reason or another) and when it appears that there is a new wolf on the island, bigger than one ever seen before, investigation goes into high gear.Of course, soon there is a body but it appears Kathryn was killed by wolves so maybe there is no homicide for Anna to investigate. But there remains the question as to why she was out during a storm by herself and why Menecken seems so anxious to find her cell phone.This wasn't the best Nevada Barr book I have read but I see from her web site that it was interrupted by Hurricane Katrina so perhaps that is the reason.
    • 4/5
      Seasoned National Park Ranger Anna Pigeon goes to Isle Royale, in the middle of Lake Superior, in January to study wolves and the park in the winter. Drama plays out in this study group with some mysterious sightings and events. This starts out kind of slow, but certainly picks up speed leading to an interesting conclusion.
    • 4/5
      Since her home base of Rocky Mountain National Park might soon receive a pack of its own, Anna joins the Isle Royale's wolf research team to study the maligned creatures. But soon after her arrival, things get strange. Giant wolf footprints are found, DNA of a possible wolf/dog hybrid is discovered, and a female researcher is savaged. Convinced a killer is stalking her, Anna braces against the biting cold and the malicious designs of an unseen menace.
    • 2/5
      I've liked the other Anna Pigeon mysteries, but I didn't like this one much.
    • 3/5
      This was a thrilling ride. As it got darker outside my window, I got more creeped out! And when I had finished the novel, I kept thinking about different parts of the story, looking at scenes through new eyes (that had arrived at the conclusion). However, there are graphic sexual depictions and liberal use of the "f-word". It's been a few years since I've read Ms. Barr - I should have re-read my reviews and maybe passed on this book.
    • 3/5
      The climax seemed to go on and on and on, though I have to admit the twist surprised me.
    • 5/5
      A solid addition to the Anna Pidgeon series. Her books are always fraught with the danger of the wild as well as humans, and Anna always finds a way out. Always look forward to these books.
    • 3/5
      As usual ,Nevada Barr does an excellent job with her action scenes (when Anna's like is in danger) and in describing the freezing national park. However, the uncovering of the story behind the mysterious events on the island is not satisfying, and Anna's constant rumination about over event and every possibility is tiresome.
    • 3/5
      I didn't really know what I was getting into when I started this book. I am unfamiliar with Barr / Anna Pigeon. It was an OK read. I mostly read it because of the subject matter, wolf research, but found very little that really pertained to animal behavior or wilderness, other than bearing the cold. I found it off-putting that I felt like I was thrown into the scenario, and it was hard for me to keep the characters straight until the second half of the book, and even then there were some surprises. That being said, It was tough to put down the book for the last 100 or so pages, I am usually not into murder mysteries, but it was still intriguing and exciting. One other thing that was difficult for me was the fact that it is written in third person, but only centered around the one main character; and I don't like it when people refer to themselves in third person, which it felt like she was doing in parts. If you enjoy the writing style of Barr, and the Anna Pigeon series, you will probably enjoy it.
    • 5/5
      One of the best in the series.
    • 4/5
      The latest Anna Pigeon thriller sees the indomitable park ranger return to Isle Royale National Park, in the middle of Lake Superior, to deal with animal and human predators. The strengths of this series lie in its magnificent descriptions of the natural world, and in the leading character, Anna Pigeon, who is not blessed with superhuman speed or strength (though I did note a couple of Buffy the Vampire Slayer references in the text), but is incredibly resourceful, resilient, courageous and determined. (Whether she stretches these qualities beyond the bounds of credibility is an open question in this book.) The chief villain is a memorably nasty piece of work, but I didn't find all aspects of the resolution of the mystery convincing. Still, for chills both physical and emotional, this book is well worth reading.
    • 4/5
      Now this was a riveting book. Every time Nevada Barr puts out a new book, I think she can't get more suspenseful, but then she does. I was on the edge of my seat throughout. And nobody writes final showdowns like this author. Enthusiastically recommended. And it is amazing how often I meet people who say "I always wanted to be a park ranger ..." I immediately recommend Nevada Barr.
    • 4/5
      The reader is pulled a wide range of emotions, from fear to loathing as Anna once again puts herself into jeopardy in a National Park Setting. This one involves a pornographer, a date rape drug, revenge, and wolves.
    • 4/5
      I enjoy Nevada Barr's protagonist, Anna Pigeon. She is a independent, intelligent woman with a keen grasp of people, though she does prefer wilderness to civilization.In this book she returns to Isle Royale National Park to join a study of wolves that is threatened by the possible plans to build a winter resort area in this summer only National Park. Like most of her books, this is almost a locked room mystery; a limited cast of characters with intersecting and colliding motivations. There is a Homeland Security consultant who is an avid hunter and college professor, but no scientist at all. The lead research scientist who is wants this fifty year long study of wolves to continue, the elderly and jocular Supercub pilot, the handyman with a secret past, and two female researchers who love wolves, though one of them works for the Homeland Security consultant.Although the working out of the motivations and actions of this cast of characters is very elegant, I am still disturbed by Anna' ability to survive almost drowning in subzero water, a dislocated shoulder and fractured ankle without more than a grimace and a steely focus. Yes, people do what they need to to survive, but somehow Anna is becoming physically superhuman. Although I question her physical abilities, her emotional responses are nuanced and deep. I will keep enjoying this series, but at some point Anna will have to quit leaping tall building in a single bound and come back to earth.
    • 3/5
      I like Anna Pigeon. That being said, she has not just one but 3 near death experiences in this book. As the series continues, the books seem more and more to be made up of mundane filler bridging the gap between peaks of terror and struggles to survive. I liked it ok, but I didn't love it like I loved Nevada Barr's earlier work.