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Winter Study (Anna Pigeon #14)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 3,304 ratings · 496 reviews

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 their own pack of the magnificent, much-maligned animals. She's housed in the island's bunkhouse with the famed wolf study team, along with two scientists from Homeland Security...more

Hardcover, 370 pages

Published 2008 by Putnam Adult

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Jun 17, 2010 Hannah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries, 2010-reads

When you see the #14 after the title, you know you're wondering the same thing I was:
After 13+ books about the intrepid and caustic park ranger Anna Pigeon, can Nevada Barr still manage to entertain fans of the series?

YES!

Barr delivers a real nail-biter in this installment, as newlywed Anna travels to Isle Royale National Park, located on the upper reaches of Lake Superior, to study the habits and the predator/prey relationship of wolves and moose. Isle Royale had been the setting for another o...more

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Dec 30, 2008 Judy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I used to really like Nevada Barr's books, but the series is getting old after 14 books. On the plus side, each of the books takes place in a different national park (although this book returns to a park, but in a different time of the year)all across the United States. Also on the plus side, it's refreshing to have a book about a very complex, conflicted woman in her 40s. But given that, I'm a little tired of the gritty, in your face violence of this series. Maybe it's because the books seem to...more

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May 26, 2009 L rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

My rating is really 3.5, but when you round that . . . So, why not a solid 4? Well, despite much that is wonderful about this book, there were some disappointments. Major strengths are Barr's amazing powers of description, especially when those involve natural settings and the animals that inhabit them (including their less than charming behaviors), and her characterization. The mystery itself was a bit of a disappointment.

First of all, Nevada Barr apparently hasn't met a National Park she doesn...more My rating is really 3.5, but when you round that . . . So, why not a solid 4? Well, despite much that is wonderful about this book, there were some disappointments. Major strengths are Barr's amazing powers of description, especially when those involve natural settings and the animals that inhabit them (including their less than charming behaviors), and her characterization. The mystery itself was a bit of a disappointment.

First of all, Nevada Barr apparently hasn't met a National Park she doesn't love. Her descriptive powers are such that she makes me, a born, bred, and committed City Girl, want to go hang out in caves, swamps, and other creepy crawly places, WITHOUT ELECTRICITY, much less corner groceries, Mini Coopers, book stores, and other necessities of life.

Now she's got us on an island in the middle of Lake Superior, in the WINTER. And it is cold, bone-numbingly cold, roughly zero degrees cold at this point. (Yes, I know it gets worse; I'm from Cleveland, OH. But from the perspective of Miami, FL, zero is freaking COLD!) Her comparison of her own attempts to keep warm (majorly bundled up; mukluks could not begin to do the job for her poor feet) compared with those of a Wisconsin native (sort of has some more or less warm clothing thrown on) reminds me of walking down a sidewalk in NYC some years back with two friends, one a New Yorker, one from Alaska. With my blood much thinned by life in Miami, I was totally bundled up--mittens, wool or down coat (over wool), tights AND wool socks, boots, wool shawl wrapped around my head and face, shivering as we walked. My NYC friend was dressed like a normal person in the winter. And Big Larry from Alaska? He wore no boots, no gloves, no scarf, no freaking coat! Just a wool sport coat, UNBOTTONED over a shirt. There's a lot to be said for acclimation. Anna Pigeon, currently living in Mississippi, would be more comfortable with a bit of that. So, it's cold, got it? And out in the wilderness, cold is life threatening.

Now we have the first dead wolf. Barr waxes eloquent over his pelt, with it's hairs of many lengths, textures, and colors. The woman clearly loves these animals, and knows a lot about them. Barr does her homework, but presents it so naturally that we, her faithful readers, can actually see and feel the pelt. (When the wolf defrosts we smell it as well.) She's amazing. She also presents anomalous wolf behavior and lays out why it is a puzzle, again without waxing didactic.

Almost from the beginning we have someone to despise. I mean, how hard is it, really, to detest the guy from Homeland Security? Barr makes it even easier. What a scum bag! Barr brings us conflict between park people, scientists, and, of course, the Fed, but also between different scientists (read "academics"), all of it believable, all of it ringing true. This truly is a great read (as long as you wear enough clothing to keep warm).

So why the disappointment? To my way of thinking, the mystery is overly convoluted and there is more that I associate with the thriller genre than with the core of the Anna Pigeon series. I think we could do with fewer deaths, fewer life-threatening situations, a less disgusting motive for the person who turns out to be "the bad guy."

Mind you, this is a great book. If you want to explore a National Park with a an especially harsh beauty, a park that is a bit run amuck, grab this one. The only gripe is that Barr herself has set such high expectations for her work that perhaps some mild disappointment is inevitable.

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Aug 25, 2008 Nell rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

If I don't like a book by one of my favorite authors as much as their previous ones, I always wonder if it's them or if it's me. I like Nevada Barr and have followed the adventures of her protagonist, Anna Pigeon, a middle-aged (it must be said) ranger for the National Park Service. This outing didn't engage me as much. Could be the setting, an island in Lake Superior in the middle of deep winter (it's August, and I hate winter), where Anna goes to observe a wolf study because wolves may be rein...more

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Jun 07, 2008 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 27, 2008 Juli rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm a fan of Nevada Barr, and given that I am currently living near Lake Superior--although not nearly as far north as the setting of this book--I was thrilled to see this new installment in the series. Barr generally does a nice job of evoking landscape (usually near or in various national parks), but in previous books that has been balanced by attention to her relationship with her sister, her memories, and her struggle to maintain authority, a sense of self, and a connection to the natural wo...more

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Apr 13, 2008 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Outdoor & mystery fans

Recommended to Diane by: Favorite author; favorite repeating character

I always look forward to a new Anna Pigeon novel. Her never-give-up spirit, her contrariness and tendency to get her back up when the circumstances seem to call for humility and tact touch that part of me that says "wait just a gosh-darned minute" when confronted.

In this new adventure, Anna leaves the South (thank goodness!) and her new home at Rocky Mountain National Park to return to Isle Royale in Lake Superior. The winter study of the title is the fascinating wolves/moose study that celebra...more

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Apr 26, 2008 Lisa Vegan rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: mystery book fans who would enjoy stories taking place in U.S. National Parks

Shelves: mystery, reviewed, fiction, novel

I just love Nevada Barr’s mysteries and I really enjoyed this one, even though there was not enough written about the wolves to satisfy me and there was a tad too much violence for my taste. I knew nothing about the winter wolf study before reading this book.

Reading about Anna Pigeon the park ranger in this mystery series that takes place in various national parks, I always learn so much about the natural world and they always make me want to go visit every U.S. national park.

Although I am extr...more

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Dec 10, 2008 Judy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I don't know whether I've changed, or whether the Anna Pigeon series has changed. Maybe I'm just too squeamish, but I didn't enjoy this book. Too graphic. I'm cursed with a weak stomach and a strong imagination and I avoid reading stuff that sticks with me for days, giving me nightmares, or weird daytime thoughts. There's a reason I write children's books and not for adults! In any case, I've read the first twelve Nevada Barr (love that name!) books and enjoyed them. I started number 13 (Hard Co...more

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Aug 25, 2008 Katie M. rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: mystery fans, wolf lovers, nature lovers

Recommended to Katie by: my mother

Shelves: mystery

From the moment the deformed and dying moose staggers in on page 9, Winter Study builds an atmosphere of dread. Something's rotten on Isle Royale National Park in the dead of winter, and it's not just the weather. Is there something supernatural on the island? Why are the wolves behaving so strangely? What secrets are the researchers on the island and their visitors keeping? How many near-death situations can Ranger Anna Pigeon get into? The book taught me about living in the backcountry in the...more

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May 31, 2008 Grey853 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

I really love the narrative of the Nevada Barr books. In this one her character Anna Pigeon is taking part in the winter study of the wolves in Isle Royale National Park. Her descriptions of the harsh conditions and cold had me reaching for a sweater and cap. She's one of the more effective writers when it comes to atmosphere, making the natural elements real to the reader.

I would've preferred more about the wolves, but overall this was a good read. I didn't really like some of the characters an...more

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Aug 07, 2008 Tamarasoo rated it 3 of 5 stars

well it was nice to catch up with anna pigeon again, and i love the escape of reading mysteries. This one would have been perfect to read say, in the winter, with snow blowing outside the window and walter in my lap on the rocking chair and scrawny curled on the rag rug in front of the fire on the hearth. As it was, it was 90 degrees and humid and hard to relate to the dangers of frostbite. And ok, i think this is the third in the series since anna has married the mississippi dude, but they have...more

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Jul 17, 2008 Melissa rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have really enjoyed most Nevada Barr books because they are interesting mysteries set in national parks with a strong female heroine. They aren't books that require deep thought, but are good entertainment. This book and her previous one, which I can't at the moment think of the title for, have been much darker than her previous books. This one had too much blood for me. Other books have a small description of the crime, but then focus mostly on the solving of it. This book seemed to keep goin...more

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Jul 01, 2008 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Nevada Barr is my favorite mystery writer, so I was thrilled that her new books was out and set in Michigan, my home state. A Superior Death is one of her top novels, in my humble opinion, so I couldn't wait to see what Anna would be doing on Isle Royale this time.

This mystery is good, but disappointing when compared to other Barr books. She tried to make the plot too complicated this time, and had to force everything to fit together at the end. The character of Bob eventually becomes annoying...more

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Jan 10, 2009 Debbie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Disappointing - great setting, fascinating details on wolves, (more would have been better) but hardly a redeeming character to be found in the human crew. I think it is past time for Anna Pigeon to retire, before one of these horrible, extended struggles with nature and deranged criminals actually kills her. You have to wonder how much pain and trauma one person can withstand. Especially being newly married with a new life to begin! Please, Ms Barr, let Anna leave the Park Service or at least s...more

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Dec 02, 2008 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love Nevada Barr...really truly. This had a few parts that were hard to listen to though. It involves some sexual abuse...however....

If you ever had a brief fantasy of chucking it all and living as a park ranger protecting the last wild places, maybe punishing those that would spoil it for others, especially if you know you aren't truly the heroic stereotype you might wish, you will love Anna Pigeon. Nevada Barr makes even the least known parks a must visit and has insights into the top parks...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Randy Daugherty rated it 3 of 5 stars

On the hope that her home range would one have their own pack Anna Pigeon is sent to Isle Royale in Lake Superior to learn about wolves. To aide her in this duty she is teamed with a group who are experienced in the study of the pack that resides here on the Island.

Her arrival also coincides with a mystery, some kind of large wolf is stalking the landscape, it's DNA different from the other wolves that resided there.How did it get there? A Hybrid? so many questions facing them.Added to this is t...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the first instance where Barr has revisited a National Park in her Anna Pigeon series. Here, Anna returns to Isle Royale in Lake Superior off the coast of Minnesota. This story is set in winter, around the real-life study of wolves on the island. Anna has accepted this opportunity to be part of the study as she knows that wolves will be a future consideration at her park in the Rockies. This year the study has a couple of government-chosen observers as Homeland Security is moving to open...more

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Oct 13, 2010 Joni marked it as to-read

Shelves: mystery, adult-not-kids-lit

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 their own pack of the magnificent, much-maligned animals. She?s housed 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 each winter?effectively bringing an end to the fifty-year study...more

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Mar 11, 2010 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books-read

Nevada Barr is a new to me author who I have wanted to read for a long while. I own several of her books, but have not read any until now. For those of you who are not familiar with her books, the Anna Pigeon series is about a National Park Services Ranger/ sleuth of sorts (Anna Pigeon). All of the author's mysteries are based at least in part on her personal experience. Barr worked as a park ranger at several national parks, and so she is familiar with the various locales where her stories take...more Nevada Barr is a new to me author who I have wanted to read for a long while. I own several of her books, but have not read any until now. For those of you who are not familiar with her books, the Anna Pigeon series is about a National Park Services Ranger/ sleuth of sorts (Anna Pigeon). All of the author's mysteries are based at least in part on her personal experience. Barr worked as a park ranger at several national parks, and so she is familiar with the various locales where her stories take place. This book is #14 in a series, but I was told it was not necessary to read them in order.

Anna Pigeon is forty-something, newly married and madly in love with her husband. It is obvious she misses him when she is called away on assignment. She is also funny, sharp, and independent. In this particular mystery Anna is sent to The Isle of Royale on the northern shore of Lake Superior. It is the dead of winter and her assignment is to study the interaction of gray wolves with moose. This has been a 50 year project that may soon face extinction if Homeland Security gets their way. Homeland Security is exploring the possibility of keeping the park open and guarded year round, in an effort to control the illegal alien situation at the Canadian border.

Anna gets to camp out in a cramped cabin with several research scientists, and Homeland Security official. Frigid weather, blizzards, dangerous ice, and wolf calls near by are just some of the things the project participants must contend with. Strange things begin to occur on their very first night there. Before long one of the researchers is found mauled to death, and strange footprints are found at the scene. Foul play is suspected, but when Anna herself has a few too many close calls, it becomes clear something very dark is going on.

MY THOUGHTS - This was my first Nevada Barr book, and I enjoyed it a lot. The reader Barbara Rosenblat is always a pleasure to listen to. The story is tension filled, and parts made me shiver a bit. It was probably not the best story to be listened to before bedtime :) The tracking information gathered as part of the study was really interesting. The author did a terrific job depicting the beautiful, natural surroundings of the area, and of setting the mood. If you enjoy mysteries with a likable heroine who certainly has her act together, I would recommend trying one of her mysteries. I did not feel the least bit lost by starting my experience with this author at book #14. Mystery fans -- this book is recommended (4/5 stars)(less)

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Feb 08, 2010 Linda added it

Shelves: mystery-crime

Anna Pigeon is an appealing protagonist, and the change of setting in each entry in the series keeps interest high. In Winter Study, Anna takes an assignment in the frigid winter of a Lake Superior island wolf and moose sanctuary. As if simply trying to conduct outdoor research and staying alive isn't enough of a challenge, some of Anna's colleagues, all sharing a primitive cabin, begin behaving oddly. So do the wolves, though the moose seem OK. Evidence of some sort of fearsome mega-wolf sets e...more

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Jun 05, 2009 Renee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-hard-boiled

Every time I think Barr's gone as gritty as she can, that Anna Pigeon has reached the end of human endurance and survived, I read the next book in the series and discover that I'm wrong.

After more than a decade I still love Anna Pigeon. I love reading about different national parks (or the same park at different times of year); I love watching as Anna develops; I love Barr's writing -- that alone is worth the price of the book. I love watching Anna wrestle with moral and ethical decisions that m...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nevada-barr

Winter Study was one of the creepier books I have read, and the setting adds much to that creepiness level. I could practically feel the cold swirling around me as I read, which is saying much because it was 102 degrees outside. The bitter cold, the close-in living arrangements of the Winter Study group, the isolation from civilization (and rescue, should it be needed)all combine to make a very eerie setting where someone could easily begin losing touch with reality. Add to that mix a couple of...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Celia Barry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another satisfying book by Nevada Barr! The Ranger Anna Pigeon series always takes place in an interesting location with challenging terrain, a few scary animals and of course, bad people, misleading clues, and an ending that leaves me looking again at the list of books starring Anna Pigeon. This particular book is set at Isle Royale National Park which must be a beautiful, if somewhat remote and primitive island in summer. In winter, it is a lonely outpost on Lake Superior where howling winds,...more

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Jul 08, 2010 KarenC rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Readers seeking strong female characters

Shelves: bookmarks, murder_mystery

A good choice for hot summer days - the weather descriptions helped drop the temperature at least 10 degrees! Felt myself fortunate to not be hanging out on Isle Royal in freezing weather during the winter. Barr does a great job setting the scene, building characters, and getting the reader familiar with this National Park. The map on the lining papers also helped visualize the locale.

Because of the time Barr takes establishing the setting, the real mystery doesn't begin until half-way through

...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Kathryn rated it 3 of 5 stars

I always enjoy Nevada Barr's books, and this was another. I enjoy it when she sets her stories in one of the national parks I have visited. When she sets her story in a park I haven't been to yet, like this one, it makes me want to go there. I appreciate deftly crafted phrases liked, "yellow-and-gray stalks of long-dead grasses poked up through winter's thin skin like old men's chin stubble". And I loved learning about the wolves, and moose, and the windigo and such. But a few of the facts didn'...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Connie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, src-winter-2012, thriller, animals, nature-garden

Park Ranger Anna Pigeon is stationed at Isle Royale in Lake Superior for the winter. The isolated Michigan island has been the site for a wolf study team for fifty years. This year Homeland Security has sent out a representative to evaluate whether the park should be open to visitors in the winter, and the wolf study should be ended. The plan would be to send out security forces in the future since the island is so close to the Canadian border.

Giant wolf prints were found on the island. Then wol...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Mindy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Anna Pigeon(Davidson) is back at Ilse Royal but this time no boating fun, she is participating in a Winter Study of moose and wolves. Amid the strange happenings and intrigue Anna discovers she really misses her husband and believe it or not, Mississippi. I loved all the descriptions of the wilderness and the wolves and the character studies of the varied people who work and volunteer for the NPS. There were some spooky, nail biting moments when Anna is being pursued by the psycho and the vigila...more

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Apr 09, 2011 Lorena rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

Damn you, Nevada Barr, for writing books that keep me up reading until 2 AM. Don't you know I need my sleep?! As usual, I found this to be a page-turner. Between the action, and the fabulous description of the park, it was hard to put down.

I have to be honest, though; in two places I found myself skipping ahead. I don't want to put spoilers, so I'll just say that they had to do with torturing the main character. Now, I completely grok that in writing, you put your main character up in a tree and...more

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Sep 16, 2008 Lynn Weber rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels

Nevada Barr writes mysteries featuring a National Park ranger named Anna Pigeon. I read two of her books about 10 years ago, and although I liked the premises, the writing was just okay. Reading her newest, Winter Study, it seems her writing has gotten a lot richer. There are some nice philosophical passages and some great character development (especially the blowhard Bob Menechinn).

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About Nevada Barr

Nevada Barr is a mystery fiction author, known for her "Anna Pigeon" series of mysteries, set in National Parks in the United States. Barr has won an Agatha Award for best first novel for Track of the Cat.

Barr was named after the state of her birth. She grew up in Johnstonville, California. She finished college at the University of California, Irvine. Originally, Barr started to pursue a career in...more

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Winter Study (Anna Pigeon #14)

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