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Mysterious doings on a very cold and wintery Isle Royale

July 5th, 2008 Mary K. - Central

It has been three years since Nevada Barr published her last mystery featuring National Park ranger, Anna Pigeon, but the wait was worth it because her new book Winter Study is a strong series addition.  Anna returns  to Isle Royale National Park on Lake Superior, the site of an earlier book, A Superior Death.

Anna is sent to Isle Royale from her home base of Rocky Mountain National Park to learn about wolves.  Isle Royale, which is closed to visitors in the winter, has a long term wolf/ moose study, and the only winter island residents are the researchers working on the project.  Anna joins a team of seven, who are living in somewhat difficult conditions, due to the cold and isolation of the island.

However, since this is the post 9/11 world, there is also a representative from Homeland Security present, and he is trying to determine if there is a border threat, and if the park should be open year round.  If that happened, the wolf study would end.  

Even as  Anna’s plane lands, there are some very strange things happening.  The team finds some very large wolf tracks as well as some alien DNA in some wolf scat.  And then a female researcher is seemingly killed by wolves.  Anna must find out what or who  is behind these killings and does so at her own peril.

The ending is a nail-biting page turner, as Anna fights for her life.  A word to the wise, there is a lot of violence in this book, probably more so than in any others in the series.  But Barr is a very descriptive writer and  does an excellent job describing the harsh winter and the toll it takes.  The National Park settings are one of the strengths of this series and the additon of the wolf study into the plot makes for a very authentic setting.

Entry Filed under: Mystery