(2008)(audio)Another very good Anna Pidgeon story finds her on Isle Royale on Lake Superior during the winter. She is helping with a wolf/moose study required as Homeland Security needs to make the island more secure. Gets caught up in the personal lives of other members of the study that leads to death of one of the women. Booklist Review:Readers who have followed intrepid forest ranger Anna Pigeon fighting forest fires, crawling through caves, investigating crimes at national monuments, and tracking bears in service of our National Park system will find her back almost where she began, at Isle Royale National Park. Unlike her earlier visit (A Superior Death, 2003), however, this one takes place during the dead of winter, when the park is usually closed to all but the wolves and moose and the researchers who have been studying them in their unique environment. This year, however, tension is high; Homeland Security may shut down the winter study project, which has been going on for 50 years. But Anna, in her usual role as Park Service interloper-emissary ("How would you like to snowshoe over rough terrain, collecting blood-fat ticks and moose piss?") suspects that there's more at stake here than the study, and when murder intrudes, she knows she's right. The environmental quotient in Barr's novels is always high; the facts about wolves are fascinating, as are descriptions of frigid landscape, alternately beautiful and horrifying. There's plenty of drama, too, as Anna finds herself alone and in danger more than once, but what many readers return to this series for is Anna herself, strong, funny, perceptive, and well aware that she is a small part of a dynamic, ever-changing natural world.

Anna Pigeon leaves Mississippi for a short-time assignment at Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior. She joins a research team that studies the winter wildlife population and a rather obnoxious Homeland Security representative. The researchers believe winter park closure remains a necessity for biodiversity while Homeland Security would like to see the park opened year-round to visitors.It isn't long until a death occurs. They spot some paw prints that don't match any known wildlife, but paired with a possible sighting of an irregular animal that, from a distance, appears to possibly be a wolf-moose cross-breed, the group knows they need to be cautious. One female graduate student goes missing and is later found dead. It appears she was attacked by wolves. This doesn't quite add up for Anna so she begins a secret investigation and finds a secret spot to stash her evidence. Another person eventually goes missing. It's a locked room puzzle in a survival-type atmosphere. The story's multiple layers add tension and interest. While this wasn't my favorite in the series, mainly due to a disturbing sexual predator scenario discovered in the course of the investigation by Anna, it was a solid installment. I listened to the audiobook read by Barbara Rosenblat who does a good job with the series. ( )

Wild bookbox; interestingly the only other book I read by this author was also set in Isle Royale National Park. Ranger Anna joins the "winter study" of the wolves, and the outcome will determine if the park is closed to visitors in the winter. But things get creepy quickly amongst the team, someone seems to be killing off the female researchers, the Homeland security guy is obnoxious, and the work is grueling...and dangerous. But who-dun-it? Keeps you guessing until the end. ( )

I adore Nevada Barr's novels. She seemlessly combines elements of mystery, nature writing, and social issues. Anna Pigeon is one of my favorite literary characters. She's a 40-something park ranger with an edgy attitude who sometimes slips over into dark cynicism, but never into absolute hopelessness. Each of Barr's novels is set in a different national park. This is the 14th Anna Pigeon mystery and each reads fine as a stand alone (I suppose, but can't really say since I've been reading them as they come out), but I think its interesting to read a series in chronological order to see the development of the character(s). Winter Study is set on Isle Royale in Lake Superior near the Canadian border in January. Anna heads up there to participate in the 50-year old wolf study. Once upon a time Nevada Barr was a ranger on Isle Royale and an early Anna Pigeon novel was set there (A Superior Death). Barr had rangered there in the summer, but in 2007 she spent time on Isle Royale in January, so she experienced the mind and body numbing cold first hand. I won't go into plot detail or anything. Let me just say its a good read and I'm happy spring is trying to make its way to Chicago. ( )

Winter Study was my first Anna Pigeon book, but it won't be my last. It was a suspenseful thriller that hooked me from the first page. When Anna, a US Park Ranger, joins a research team for a chilly—and when I say chilly, I mean freezing—week at Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior in the dead of winter, she has no idea it will be the most challenging assignment of her career. The wolves are magnificent—and frightening—but are nothing compared to her two-legged companions. Soon strange things start happening; then, a researcher goes missing. As Anna tries to fit in and be helpful, she grapples for survival, first against the deadly cold, then against a deranged killer. The vivid descriptions of how complicated life can be in the icy wilderness were fascinating. Note to self—never, never go camping in the snow. ( )