Nevada Books

Yes, this is a more gruesome and difficult book to read than any thus far in the Irene Kelly series. But, it was one that I found myself compelled to read. The level of intensity never let up. Oh maybe there would be a short lull where the intensity went from 10 (out of 10) to 8, but then its right back up there again. And never, til the very end of the book, did I feel completely secure that all would end well enough.

Its a brutal read, there's no questioning that, IMO. But its so very well-written and the new characters (and several we've come to love) are so interesting. The storyline requires the reader to pay attention at all times. This is not a lazy read. It's an intelligent, sometimes painful, but definitely compelling and entertaining book. There was a sense of accomplishment (and some relief) when I finished it.

Much like a roller-coaster ride, its can be horrifying, but strangely exhilarating, too. Read it and find out for yourself.

[***** = breathtaking, **** = excellent, *** = good, ** = flawed, * = bad]

... heroine is stranded in the wilderness with the serial killer. Longer review at ImpatientReader-dot-com.

Don't miss one of Jan Burke's Irene Kelly stories. They are wonderfully crafted and hard to put down.

I read this book on the strength of its Edgar Award, and while I thought it was a very good book, I would not say that it was "not put down-able" since it took me a solid two weeks to read...meaning that I put it down a lot.

Here is the basic premise, longtime Jan Burke protagonist Irene Kelly and a notorious serial killer are included on an expedition bound for the burial grounds of one of his victims. The serial killer is actually allowed out of prison to lead this expedition. The expedition includes a dozen (plus) forensic experts, forest rangers, and sheriffs/guards. Enough of a security force that one would assume they'd all be safe. Bad assumption, the whole expedition heads south rather quickly and that's what the rest of the book is about.

Jan Burke has a real knack for turning out memorable phrases and she has the requisite plot twists that maintain a good interest level.

Recommended for all mystery lovers. I certainly enjoyed the book and based on that, will go back and read some of the books that came before Bones.

In 2002, my brother gave me a gift certificate to Amazon.com. I decided to shop for some books and stumbled on Bones by an author I had never heard of before. The premise of the book sounded good and I decided to take the plunge and buy it.

This started a love affair with Jan Burke and everything she has written that lasts to this day. What an amazing storyteller. I have read them all, loved them all and of the hundreds of books I have read, hers are some of my treasured few that I keep to reread again and again.

Bones is still my favorite of hers and can stand alone as a great book even though her character Irene Kelly stars in books before this one. The plot was really good, the character development amazing - I really came to know these people and care about them - and suspense was terrific. Overall, the book was really fantastic and a truly great read.

i'll be honest and say that in my opinion the book starts out pretty slow, & pretty bland, but once you get into the 100 pages you get more hooked.

i loved the outline of this story so much, and it mostly relates to teenagers.


like it seems like Pattyn's life is going fairly decent with her new love, and then BAM, at the ending she realized it was too good to be true. & she loses her, only love; her love; her everything.

when reading the last couple of chapters i was utterly in tears. this is one of the first books that has ever made me cry, it is so deep. & you definitely should read this to see what i mean.

it seems like the people who didn't like this book are either Mormon, or unhappy with the ending.

It's a book. A work of fiction.

If you can not understand that this book does not speak for all Mormons, you should not be reading fiction. It's a little pathetic that people have a hard time knowing that a book is simply a book.


If you are upset by endings that aren't so "happily-ever-after", stick to Disney. Obviously the ending is not the way it "should" end, but do not act as if it has not happened before.
I won't go into details about the ending to avoid spoiling the book. I advise you to stay away from the Wikipedia article of the book since it gives away the ending.

Anyway, onto the book.Although I used to love reading, I haven't read a novel in a while (I think the last one was New Moon from the Twilight series).I'm glad I decided to read Burned (I've already read Crank, which I liked). This novel, like Crank, is formatted in an interesting way-- it's entirely in free verse. I was able to finish the book pretty quickly since the pages aren't really "pages" but more like small poems.
Despite it being written this way, the book still tells an exciting thrilling, yet disturbing story. I wouldn't exactly call this book a thriller or page-turner, but there were definitely times when I couldn't put the book down.

I think that the book summary (the one found on the book's cover flap) gives too much away. I'll tell just the basic outline of the story.
The main character comes from a very religious and (ironically) very abusive family. Her mother, although not abusive, is also a bad parent. She must look after all her siblings, only one of them who she actually gets along with. Pattyn, the main character, does not have any friends at school. She does however have an interest in boys. Of course, being Mormon, she stops herself from getting involved with them (and at the same time she thinks "who would ever like me anyway?").
Her already not-so-great life goes downhill as her dad's drinking gets worse, her hormones get out of control, and her questions about her religion go unanswered. You go through ups and downs with Pattyn, and you feel as if you are experiencing her highs and lows too.

Ok, This is a novel "YOU MUST READ" This is one of those stories that make you think about your life and to realize if your life is as miserable as you think it is. Is to see how this girl get trought a lot of things and makes is out...well you should read it!!! It's an amazing book, you will get dazzled by it!!!

This book was really well written. took me a few minutes to get the hang of how they lines go. it was really a great book. it was very interesting til the last few pages. if it was up to me i would like a different ending on the book. other than that it was a fantastic book and i would reccommend it to anyone who enjoys a book they cant put down.

I really enjoyed the first 478 pages of this book. For me though the ending just didn't do the story justice.

Nearly twenty-five years ago, this book was on my "required summer reading list" when I was a student transitioning from ninth grade into tenth. I vividly remember loathing the experience of slowly plowing through this book. Even the old version of the cover, with the yellow background and dangling noose, brought back the memories of spending nearly an entire summer loathing this novel. Ever since then the title held a place in my memory as the single most boring, painful reading experience of my life.

Fast forward twenty-five years, and the other day I found myself with a few spare minutes in the local library, looking over authors like Dickens, Steinbeck, and Melville, and my mind wandered back to required reading lists. I had remembered the title THE OX-BOW INCIDENT, but not the author, but after a quick search "Walter Van Tilburg Clark" flashed across the screen, and I again cringed at the recollection of that name. I went to the shelf out of morbid curiosity, and the paperback was jutting out. I picked it up, read the first page and thought, "I'm going to give this another try. There must be some reason it was on my reading list."

I read it in three days, staying up until 1:30 in the morning last night to get to the end. How can a book can go from being one of the worst reading experience of one's life to being one of the most enjoyable? I am convinced more than ever that some books should never be on required reading lists, but should rather be discovered and enjoyed when you're at a place in life where you can appreciate them. Enjoying this once-hated book so much all these years later has made me want to go back to the other books from those days and give some of them another chance. (Maybe THE JUNGLE won't be so dull now that my primary focus isn't trying to impress girls. Maybe THE GREAT GATSBY is worth another look. Will BILLY BUDD hold my interest, I wonder?)

This review says more about me than about the book, but if there is anyone out there who, like me, was forced to read classic literature before they were ready for it, don't be afraid to go back to even your most hated high school reading experience and give it one more try. THE OX-BOW INCIDENT is a great novel. There's a sentence I could never have imagined writing even one week ago.

I'm sorry, I just found this book just a bit short of silly. And I am a western fan. The character development was shallow and the story line predictible while at the same time unrealistic. If you want a book on philosophy there are ones that are much better.

The inhabitants of a ranching community get up a posse to go after a band of rustlers who are thought to have stolen cattle and committed a murder. The small number of men who try to act reasonably and thoughtfully are easily swept aside by those who are ruled by their passions, leading to disastrous results.

Walter Van Tilburg Clark is a wonderful writer who has produced a powerful novel that succeeds in every way. His simple, evocative language brings the Old West to life. His characters speak with distinctive, authentic voices. Most importantly, the novel is very astute about mob psychology as it depicts the ebb and flow of the men's passions through the final tragedy in the pitiless morning sunlight to the aftermath of guilt and regret. This classic story still has much of value to say about the danger of retribution unchecked by law.

THE OX-BOW INCIDENT is a classic tale. It also is a classic Western, and because the Western is so central to American culture, THE OX-BOW INCIDENT surely is more important -- more "classic", if you will -- for Americans than for others. To be sure, at times the writing is somewhat dated, but that "flaw" is negligible. The cast of characters (at least 20) is very finely drawn, with only one (the uncouth town drunk Monty Smith) tending overly towards a stock portrayal. By and large, the psychology underlying the characters is astute. And there is some very fine writing of scenes, especially the one a quarter into the novel of the weather changing and the storm coming on. But the reason to read the novel, even if you have seen the movie, is for the story. It was powerfully presented in the movie, but is even more powerfully presented in the book.

My one and only complaint or reservation has to do with the last chapter. It is superfluous. I suppose that the two additional deaths contained in that chapter and Davies' "confession" tend to make the book more of a Greek tragedy, but that's not really necessary: this is a quintessential American tragedy, and it doesn't need any retribution or retrospective moralizing.

An aside on the subject of lynching, which is at the dramatic center of the book. Like the Western, lynching is a peculiarly American phenomenon. It is a blot on our history, but one we should remember, not repress. The best book documenting the horrors of lynching in America -- a book that should be much more widely known and circulated -- is "Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America."

Off hand I can only think of a few Western novels that have transcended their genre to become classics, and share with the world what all great art does; that being a universality of it's story and relevance no matter when or where. Shane, The Searchers, The Lonesome Dove books and certainly much of Frank Norris and Cormac McCarthy's work. I know there is more than these, but I am not a constant Western reader.
Having said this, The Ox-Bow Incident joins that bunch, as a compelling novel of hysteria, aggression, moral confusion, the Outlaw spirit, American masculine relationships and the folly of vengeance and vigilantism.
While other reviews may describe the story, I'd rather point out that it is a fairly simple one, simply presented and concluded. What stands out though is the characters and the depth to which Clark creates them. Sure there are standard cowboys, tough and grim-faced, but most of the characters suffer, whether in confusion, drunkeness, cold, moral despair, aimlessness, boredom or even arrogance, bullishness and myopia; territory I don't associate with Western lore/myth.
The lesson of The Ox-Bow Incident is timeless, and most important today, whether it be on a schoolyard, in gang territories, our criminal justice system itself or geo-politcs.

I'm a fan of Nevada Barr and enjoyed the plot of this book, but Cindy Williams makes this one hard to listen too. She reads like she is racing to the end in a performance with all the passion and variety of a lump of coal. Buy the book; it is an engaging story. But wait for an unabridged audio version read by Barbara Rosenblat.

Another descriptive and suspenseful tale in an unknnown National Park. I am happy and sad at the end of each of this author's books--happy to have shared another Anna Pigeon adventure and sad that the story is finished.

First things first. Regardless of the cover illustration of baby sea turtles or the title, this is not a book about sea turtles. You'll learn a lot more about fire management than loggerheads (you always learn something about natural resource management in author Nevada Barr's books).

In Endangered Species, Anna Pigeon is earning some extra money with a temporary assignment to the fire suppression crew on Cumberland Island National Seashore in Georgia. When a plane crashes on the island, killing the pilot and his passenger, Anna is asked to help (as a note-taker) with the investigation and watch over the widow of one of the deceased. Her investigative ears are burning, though, and her law enforcement skills uncover deeper mysteries.

Anna continues to be an imperfect person, but her drinking is temporarily under control, her snooping helps catch a killer, the ashes of her dead husband go down the tubes, and her relationship with Frederick comes to a conclusion.

In the meantime, ranger Anna Pigeon is clobbered, infested with ticks and chiggers, shot at, and forced to inhale very large quantities of mind-altering smoke.

In other words, Anna continues her life story thick in the middle of things.

Endangered Species started slowly, and I kept getting confused with who was who and who was doing what. It seemed to plod along, and took until chapter 25 to really get going. That was about 4/5 of the way through the book! However, I appreciated "getting to know" Anna Pigeon better. I now know I have to read these books in order of publication to appreciate them best (even though each one works as a stand-alone book).

Here's the list of Anna Pigeon novels, and the order in which they've been published (I've starred the ones I've read to date, to remind me):

1. Track of the Cat (1993)*
2. A Superior Death (1994)
3. Ill Wind (1995)*
4. Firestorm (1996)
5. Endangered Species (1997)*
6. Blind Descent (1998)
7. Liberty Falling (1999)
8. Deep South (2000)
9. Blood Lure (2001)
10. Hunting Season (2002)*
11. Flashback (2003)
12. High Country (2004)
13. Hard Truth (2005)
14. Winter Study (2008)

Enjoy!

I love Nevada Barr's character Anna Pigeon, but this story was diffinetly not one of her better writtings. I found it kinda boring and wished that she had used Barbara Rosenblat as the narrator. I find that the narrator along with the story really makes the book so much better and gives Anna Pigeon life.

Storytelling at its finest, Nevada Barr's ENDANGERED SPECIES features the little known Cumberland Island off the coast of Georgia, home to the Loggerhead Turtle, which many have fought for to bring back from the edge of extinction. The island is on our must visit list the next time we are on the east coast and I'm sure to read this addition to the Anna Pigeon series for its descriptions of the fauna and wildlife of the island.
The story is marred by too many characters, it becomes confusing but Barr's powerful prose keeps your eye glued to the page.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

This book is pornographic, plain and simple. We feel that now is the time for all books to be rated so that readers, parents and educators can be made aware of the age-appropriateness and the content that each book contains. Let the writers write what the wish, but don't taylor such garbage as this to a pre-teen. This material is very unsuitable for anyone less than 18 years of age. It not only contains profane laguage describing genitalia, but it describes sex acts such as intercouse, oral stimulation and acts of self gratification. KEEP THIS BOOK OUT OF THE HANDS OF OUR CHILDREN!!!!

Diamond Dog by Alan Watt was an attention-grabbing book. The book is about a young boy named Neil Garvin who kills another young boy named Ian Curtis. Neil panics after killing Ian and throws him into the trunk of his father's car who is the town's sheriff. The book takes a real spin from there. FBI agents are called in to investigate the disappearance of Ian Curtis, father son turmoil stirs, and a son is wondering about the disappearance of his mother from years back.
Neil is forced to confront his dad about the disappearance of his mother and Ian's body. When he confronts his dad, all of his feelings change and Neil sees the world in a different way.
I thought that this book was alright. It could have been better. The author would do flash backs when flash backs were not needed and confused me if it was from the past or present. The book was also a little graphic. If this book was a movie it would get the rating of "R" for sexual content and use of language. If you want a book to read for your leisure time I would suggest it but I would not suggest it as a family reading.

What can I say about this book? Its one of those things. Not only does the author take us through a journey, but he inhabits the conflict of the characters miraculously. The main character is young, belligerent at some party and has plenty to hide, but when his father gets involved, it really turns into something special. Who didn't have some kind of conflict with their own father? The story speaks to the human condition, but also gives us the heart of an unusual family. One where nothing is quite what it seems. There are surprises throughout the book that are wonderful and sad. I really recommend Diamond Dogs, it was a pleasure to read and I learned something about who I am while reading it.

Diamond Dogs is a small masterpiece that, like Crime and Punishment, operates perfectly as both a crime thriller and a universal tale of redemption. As a crime thriller it is impossible to put down. As a tale of redemption it is unforgettable for its insight and compassion. I heartily recommend it to any serious reader. It also makes a wonderful gift for teenager readers looking something that does not speak down to them. A distinctly American story told by a master craftsman.

A friend of our family's has a daughter in middle school. She happened across this book one day in her school's library in order to read it for Accelerated Reader. When I saw just the first few pages I was so disgusted it almost made me sick. For this book to be in a library where children can read it is totally irresponsible, neglectful, and downright innaprpriate! I gave this book only one star because it would'nt let me give. We REALLY need some sort of a rating system for literature just as we do movies or video games. That way I could teach my child that they could only get books that were appropriate to their age and maturity. It saddens me that this is what we are putting in our children's hands. As if the world isn't scary enough now, we have to make reading a sex ed lesson. Reading is supposed to be an adventure that can relax and teach young readers to enjoy reading. I'm not sure I want my child to learn ANYTHING from this book! Therefore if your reading this trying to decide whether to buy this book for your child i implore you PLEASE PLEASE reconsider or at least get it and read it yourself first.Then if you still think it's ok, then buy it. Thank you

No, Super Casino is not super. It is very interesting at times, but suffers from being badly disjointed. It roughly tells the story of Circus Circus, and its eventual growth into a huge corporation that owns all kinds of casinos throughout the country. The first 150 pages or so is a history of Las Vegas with an emphasis on Caesars Palace, Circus Circus, Mirage, and Excalibur. The remainder of the book documents a sort of "year in the life of" the Luxor from the late Nineties.

Neither part is all that fascinating. The fact of the matter is that the "New" Las Vegas isn't all that exciting unless you enjoy reading about how these companies can never quite squeeze enough profit from the tourists. Gotta please those shareholders! I guess the author was getting bored as well. In the portion dealing with the Luxor, the author dedicated quite a bit of space to talk about hookers, high rollers, and casino cheats. That doesn't sound like "New" Vegas to me! Even these passages weren't that interesting, because he went right back to talking about corporate management.

I can't recommend this book. There are tons of books on Vegas out there. I am sure there are better options than this.

If you don't love the sound of solt machines and the rush you get from doubling-down, than you may want to skip this read. Super Casino is an account of how the sleepy, small town of Las Vegas, NV transformed into one of the most powerful cities in the world. There were a lot of an interesting facts and some great history that you might already know if you watch any of those Vegas specials on The Travel Channel. But the writer does a good job of making it fun to read, including an account of a closed-door meeting of one of the biggest casino corporations on the planet. Fun read for anyone who likes to gamble at a casino.

[...]

This is the best book written about Las Vegas. it includes the early history, all the major players in the development of the city and a real inside look into the mystery and wonderment of the casino business. You will never see Las Vegas the same after reading this book

....surprise ! I could only find the paperback edition (while stealing a deal !). It is the best book (of too many written) about what's really happening behind-the-scenes in the casino life -- L.V. style. Not only that I strongly recommend it to those who go and play, and waste, while "dreaming" of an instant win, but now I will read more from Pete Earley : his style is terrific. I think he can lead - successfully - a cultural, social or psychological revolution. In case Americans would want one, naturally !

Las Vegas and the gaming industry have caused more trees to be needlessly sacrificed than any topic in popular culture with the possible exception of professional wrestling. This is not to say that there is nothing of interest to say about either subject; on the contrary, both are thriving industries whose practices and appeal tell the sensitive observer a great deal about American culture. But most authors seem content to ply their readers with commonplace facts ("there are three shifts in the casino-day, swing and grave"), "inside" vocabulary ("a 'whale' is casino jargon for a heavy better"), and recycled publicity hype ("more Americans visit the Strip than Walt Disney World"). While all of these "facts" may be true, they don't really explain anything about why Las Vegas is so popular. Pete Earley's Super Casino: Inside the "New" Las Vegas is an "inside" history of Mandalay Resorts merged with a first-hand account of a "super casino," mostly gotten from the author's hanging out in Luxor. Earley would seem to be overly impressed with the "new" Strip megaresorts of the 1990s as he reports that these were the first casinos marketed as complete destination resorts. In fact, that is how Strip casinos have sold themselves since Thomas Hull's El Rancho Vegas opened in 1941. This "new" paradigm isn't so new; it just grafts huge hotel towers and shopping malls onto the tested casino resort concept: casino, entertainment, restaurants, and rooms. The more intense theming of the casinos of the 1990s actually has more to do with trends in American commercial culture than Vegas innovations, and the larger hotels are a result of Las Vegas's successful promotion as a vacation and convention destination. Earley implies these explanations, but does little more to explain why the "new" Las Vegas is new.

The book's structure is somewhat conflicted; a reasonably straight telling of the development of Circus Circus resorts from Jay Sarno to Mandalay Bay is followed by a seemingly random series of chapters detailing the jobs of selected casino personnel. Thrown into the mix are small vignettes from casino patrons and employees that are often complete non-sequiturs. For comparison, think of When Harry Met Sally. In the place of couples reminiscing about how they fell in love, substitute lurid tales of the pleasures of sunbathing topless in Las Vegas, interminable contrasts to the "good old days" of goodfella imperium, and random tales of personal bliss and woe at the hand of the cruel goddess Fortuna. Some of the stories are interesting, but they really have nothing to do with anything else. If they are meant to capture the pulse of the "real" Las Vegas, they seem a rather poor representative sample; much more interesting stories are in the air even on slow nights. If they are meant to flesh out the goings on in the Luxor, they simply don't.

Earley is on his strongest ground when describing the inner politics of the Circus Circus/Mandalay Resorts company. He translated his astute observations of the corporate boardroom into genuinely interesting prose. The story of how William Bennett and William Pennington rescued the Sarno's ailing Circus Circus by transforming it into the K Mart of the Strip contrasts nicely with Clyde Turner, Glenn Schaeffer, and others' baccaratization of Luxor, Circus's first foray into an upscale market. With the opening of Mandalay Bay and Circus Circus's rebirth as the Mandalay Resort Group, briefly covered at the book's end, the company had come full circle. As early relates, this was just as much a function of the clashing personalities of the men at the helm of Circus/Mandalay as it was the result of a deliberately studied marketing approach. In this regard, Earley provides a truly interesting look at how a large casino company actually runs.

But Earley fails to look past the hype. His consideration of actual casino operations is hopelessly uncritical. For example, he writes with admiration about the Luxor's "sophisticated" security systems without really looking at them; because the Director and a few chosen shift managers told Earley the Luxor was the state of the art in surveillance and security, the author dutifully accepted this as fact. The illusion of omnipresent, devouring surveillance and ubiquitous control is precisely that, an illusion. Earley doesn't question the logistics of how a security "force" of fifteen men and women, five of whom have assigned sitting posts, can maintain order in a crowded casino and hotel (p.236). He catches echoes of line employee's despair at Luxor boss Tony Alamo's insistence on improved service in the face of slashed costs, but doesn't really consider whether these are valid criticisms or sour grapes.

Earley disappoints most strenuously, though, in his glimpses of the "real" Las Vegas. There are the myriad high rollers, casual gamblers, and compulsive addicts, and of course the de rigueur look at the two most fetishized females in Las Vegas past and present, the showgirl and the prostitute. Even though Earley carefully apprises the reader of the hard work needed to become a successful showgirl, his parallel consideration of the two "career paths" tends to degrade the dancer's life. Besides a new security shift manager who is given a brief treatment, these are the two most consistently prominent women in the book. Is that a commentary on the glass ceiling in the casino industry or an author's lazy contentment to recycle stereotypical considerations of women in the casino? Given the success of women in rising to top management positions in several casino companies, the latter is the more obvious choice.

"Inside" books on Las Vegas by journalists (Earley is a former Washington Poster with several acclaimed books to his credit) generally follow the same pattern: the author is a Dante whose glimpse of the Inferno is only as good as his Virgil. For example, when a former law enforcement agent is the guide the author usually wanders onto avenues of speculation about who "really" rules Las Vegas and where all the bodies are buried. In this case, Earley apparently had Glenn Schaeffer and Tony Alamo as his primary handlers. The result is excellent material on the culture of Mandalay Resort Group's boardroom and the Luxor's management team. But the specious quality of Earley's less structured research, e.g., his discussions of the lowlifes and high rollers that call Las Vegas home or haven unfortunately slides this book precipitously close to the pile of bad books about Las Vegas. In addition, there are a few factual errors, such as the inexplicable statement that "Bally's no longer exists," at the corner of Flamingo and the Strip (p.126) or the reportage of Asian high rollers' predilection for a novel dice game called "pia gow," that might have been caught by a seasoned industry observer, or at least someone who has spent a day on the Strip and leafed through a promotional guide to playing pai gow tiles and other games.

A Superior Death by Nevada Barr is the second in her Anna Pigeon series. Anna has transferred reluctantly from Texas to Lake Superior where it is too cold and too wet for her tastes but she's making her best effort to make a new life for herself as a ranger here along the "frigid waters." Just as she's still learning the different cliques in and around the islands that make up the park, one of the locals is found buried in a historical captain's uniform in a 1927 wreck at the bottom of the lake.

I was reading A Superior Death at the same time as two other shipwreck stories, The Gulls of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Tres Seymour (about the most famous sunk ship in Lake Superior) and Treasure by Clive Cussler. When taken with The Ghost of Lizard Light by Elmira Woodruff, it was a month full of shipwrecks and deaths at sea.

When I started A Superior Death I was doubtful that the story would pull me in as much as Track of the Cathad with its strong descriptions of the Texas landscape. I shouldn't have worried. Barr's depiction of Lake Superior's environment above and below the surface chilled me to the bone.

Barr populates A Superior Death with a cast of interesting characters who are well enough realized that their quirks seem believable. As with Track of the Cat, the mystery was complex enough to keep me guessing until the end.

I have Ill Wind, the third in the series on my shelf and will be reading it soon.

I love this book in the series. It has you wondering till the very end, "who done it". Anna is charming as usual, brave and scared, skilled and bumbling all in one. Great suspense, but to me , Anna is very vulnerable, more than usual in this book. Great setting too.

Having read some of these Anna Pigeon mysteries, this was not my favorite. The people were all just too 'messed up'. Is no one normal in the Park System? Anna herself is quite a dame. A boozer with personal problems, she turns into Superwoman! Actually, she's pretty stupid. As quoted from the book, "Anna, you've painted yourself into a corner this time." Just like in a gothic novel or a cheap horror picure, the woman goes at it alone, walks into the most transparent danger, and then escapes with a few scratches. She should be dead! And of course, friends are always just around the corner as they come to the rescue in the nick of time - oh brother! Why didn't she use her head and the technology available - or the FBI? If someone is leaving an island, there are only so many ports they are going to. Radio ahead, Anna. My greatest gripe is the way this lover of Texas takes to the Great Lakes. She dives and handles all types of water craft like a pro. She faces the storms, docks, leaps from boat to boat, hangs off the gunwalls, and does a tie-on flawlessly. Tell me that's not fantasy. I have trouble imagining how her solo boating ventures could happen without mishap. Having spent time on Superior, I can tell you that it is BIG and DANGEROUS. The author makes that point, but the characters are a little disrespectful of that fact as they boat at night, cruise in the fog, etc. In real life, no one plays around with Lady Superior and wins - not even Anna.

"Superior Death" by Nevada Barr, ©1994

Ms. Barr always writes a good story, placed in various national parks. These are not the normal parks like Yellowstone or Yosemite, but little traveled ones that get their share of visitors, but not a lot of press. Usually she has a map included, this is the first that did not have one.
The story was sad, people got killed and abused, but really easy to read and interesting. Her stories are more on the lines of suspense/mystery, rather then just mystery, and emphasis on the suspense. This does get a bit expectable and, while exciting, you know she will get away and fight another day.
It is also another example of the sleuth who is not a detective. I have read one of a state game warden and a caterer, as well as this national park ranger.

If you have a major fear of water, don't go near Nevada Barr's A SUPERIOR DEATH. The seconded of the Anna Pigeon takes you to the murky bottom of Lake Superior in a thriller guaranteed to rattle your bones. Anna has been transferred from the dry Texas hill county to a little known national park on the shores of our largest fresh water lake with murder following her.
The park people are sceptical of her and her innate curiosity that demands a personal exploration of a famous shipwreck. Mystery--suspense--thrills in unusual environments are becoming a trademark for Ms. Barr.
Don't miss a page of the excellent story.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

The book is good and easy to read, but it is kind of the same as other Monty Roberts book, so unfortantely if you have read one of his books you have read them all...but I would buy it.

At the age of 65, Monty Roberts the original horse whisperer, replicates an experience he had as a boy - gentling a horse in the wild. The horse in this case is Shy Boy, brought in from the high deserts as part of a BLM program to control the numbers of mustangs that roam the public lands of the western states. Set free to join a herd on the open range of a huge ranch in northern California, he has a new life until Roberts (and a BBC film crew) single him out for Roberts' system of training horses without violence. Without a holding pen, the process is strenuous and extends over days. Just as interesting is the transformation that occurs afterwards, as Shy Boy becomes a riding and working horse and adjusts to improved diet, better health care, and the presence of humans.

Also included in the book is a description of Roberts' training of a racehorse, Blushing ET, who has an extreme fear and hatred of starting gates. Roberts' account of these man-horse encounters is made vividly dramatic by the many photographs of Christopher Dydyk that illustrate this enjoyable book. Definitely for lovers of horses and those fascinated by the mystique of the wild mustang.

Cute idea for a story. Wild horse given choice of whether to remain free or whether to go with nice man, chooses nice man. One may have, on further research, reason to question whether all details of this tale, as presented in the story, are 100% truthful. One might question whether the mustang and the horses used to pursue him were handled humanely.

One might go so far as to question whether the experiment that was the basis for this book and its companion video, *should* have been performed, on the basis of humane concern for the animals and for scientific validity.

As a teenager, author Monty Roberts once managed to gentle a mustang, using methods developed from close observation of equine interaction in the wild, a sharp contrast to the harsh practice of "breaking" a horse used by most ranchers of the time. Ultimately he was able to ride the horse back to his father's ranch. He had hoped this feat would win him some respect from his father, but instead no one could believe it. They ridiculed him, saying he must have chosen a horse that had already been handled by humans. Disheartened, Roberts pursued the matter no further, but did go on to use his experience with the mustang as the model for Join Up, his method of gently getting a horse to the point where he trusts his human handlers and allows himself to be ridden.

Roberts never really expected to duplicate that childhood experience, but got a lucky chance to do just that when the BBC contacted him in 1996, interested in doing a program about his training methods. It took some convincing to get them to agree to the idea of actually working with a wild mustang, but in the end they were won over, and the story that follows is what makes up this book. Periodically the Bureau of Land Management rounds up a number of mustangs and adopts them out to qualified individuals, as a means to keep the wild horse populations at a sustainable level. At one of these adoption events, Roberts acquired a small mustang gelding whom he named Shy Boy. In order to ensure that the horse did not become accustomed to humans, and especially to himself, he stayed away from the horse during his short period of human contact, and made arrangements to have him turned out with a wild band of horses roaming on a large private area of rangeland. Shy Boy remained with this band, untouched by people, for many months before the experiment began. He may have been briefly exposed to humans during his initial capture from the wild, but when Roberts began his work with the horse, he was certainly nowhere near trusting these strange two-legged creatures, which is exactly what Roberts needed in order to prove that his methods really work. And prove it he does, with this touching story as the outcome.

The story is not portrayed in a great amount of depth here, nor does Roberts describe his training methods in great detail. For a more thorough account of his Join Up system, and how he came to develop it, I'd recommend reading Roberts's other book, "The Man Who Listens to Horses," which is excellent. "Shy Boy" is something of a lighter version of that book, relying more on pictures to tell the story. The text is sparse and simple and the book can easily be finished in one day. I was slightly disappointed that the story of Shy Boy was not told at greater length, but it was still an enjoyable read. Roberts also punctuates the story with asides about a few other training experiences he has had. The two that stand out are his experiences with an unmanageable racehorse by the name of Blushing ET, who almost had even Roberts in despair over whether this horse's trust could ever be gained, and another tale about a tiny, sickly 12-year-old girl who contacted him after successfully using Roberts's methods herself on two of her own formerly unmanageable horses.

The photography is another great reason to get this book. While not the very best I've ever seen, most of photographer Christopher Dydyk's work is quite nice, and they really bring the book to life. There are images of Shy Boy in the wild before Roberts began his work, during the gentling and training period, and afterward, living and working successfully with his human family. The beautiful California mountain scenery in these is stunning. In addition, there are photographs of other mustangs in the wild, and of Roberts working both privately and in clinics with a number of domestic horses brought to him for that purpose. "Shy Boy" would definitely make a great coffee table book for any horse lover, and for those that want more detailed information on Roberts and his methods, I also recommend "The Man Who Listens to Horses."

I recommend that you read Monty Roberts "The Man Who Listens to Horses" whether you read it before or after "Shy Boy..." Having read Monty's earlier book first the story of Shy Boy meant so much more to me. To read that, at the age of 62 with a bad back and not-so-young anymore, Monty relived one of the best times of his life gentling a wild Mustang as he did as a kid, but for a BBC Documentary as well. The gentling and training went better than he expected and he created a friendly and willing partner out of a wild horse. Not only that, the BBC special and the book continues to change the lives of many people and horses around the world as Monty's way of working with horses becomes known and accepted. The book itself contains spectacular photography of Monty, Shy Boy, other horses, and the beautiful country filmed in the BBC special. It is a heartwarming and inspiring story to say the least.

First in the Anna Pigeon Series. Years ago I was told that this was a great series, but I just didn't believe the person who told me. Guess I should have. Anna is a National Park Ranger and when two of her fellow rangers have mysterious deaths Anna investigates, almost gets herself killed. Anna will question many things in her life, but she makes for a great character.

Track of the Cat, by Nevada Barr, is the first book in a series featuring Anna Pigeon, a law enforcement officer for the National Park Service. Since Barr has been a park ranger in the past (present?), including Guadalupe Mountains National Park, the location for this novel, she writes with the authority of place knowledge.

In Track of the Cat, Anna Pigeon finds a dead colleague. The medical examiner calls it a case of death by mountain lion predation. Pigeon thinks otherwise, and thus a mystery begins.

This book was written in 1993, soon after the well-publicized death of a high school jogger near Boulder, CO. In Scott Lancaster's tragic case, there was no mystery as to cause of death. As author David Baron investigated in The Beast in the Garden, the mystery was why we live in lion habitat and expect no consequences.

Back to Anna Pigeon. The lion tracks don't seem right, the claw marks seem to have occurred postmortem, and... the lion didn't feast.

Then she is almost killed. Finally, another park employee is killed in a very Indiana Jones appropriate way ("Snakes... why did it have to be snakes?").

Pigeon is one tough cookie. She has her problems, however, particularly with alcohol.

Nevada Barr hints at her own political and ethical philosophies:

"Any excuse to drag out the hunting rifles was a good excuse in Texas. Texans were the best hunters in the world. They were born to it, believed in it, almost like a religion. Hunting and football, not opposable thumbs and the ability to laugh, were what separated man from the apes" (p. 37).

"'I used to hunt,' Harland answered and Anna could tell he was uncomfortable with the subject. 'I bought that line about it being a 'challenge.' When I found out that a bull elk had an intelligence level equivalent to that of an eighteen-month-old toddler, I kind of lost my taste for it'" (p. 42).

But she tries to educate as well:

"'There've been no incidents of lions attacking humans in West Texas for the past one hundred years. Not one. Zilch. Nada'" (p. 32).

I've read that these novels get better over time. I look forward to the next Anna Pigeon adventure.

Another great Nevada Barr mystery . . . this one not as dark as say, Hard Truth (Anna Pigeon Mysteries), but nonetheless, still full of adventure, action, mystery, emotion, and a behind-the-scenes look at one of our National Parks--this one in Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas close to El Paso and the Mexican border.

Perhaps Track of the Cat is not as dark as, for example, A Superior Death (Anna Pigeon Mysteries) (which gave me the creeps), because Track of the Cat is Barr's first mystery.

In the book, Park Ranger Anna Pigeon is her usual comic-book strong and fearless. Alone, she spends the night the treacherous Southwest desert without the safety of a zippered tent after describing that tarantulas and rattlesnakes hunt in the night. In this first book, Anna is kinder, sweeter, and finds most of the people she works with above reproach after some research.

In later books, you don't find out until the end of the book that all but one of the characters in the book were red herrings. And, they all seem like likely suspects. In Track of the Cat it's like she wasn't quite yet ready to explore the darkest depths of the human psyche.

I especially like Track of the Cat because it brings me back to a night I spent in the Southwest Desert of Arizona's Kitt Peak photographing a radio telescope, under construction, against the panoply of the stars. The construction workers had warned me to be careful of a rattlesnake that patrolled the area as part of its territory, bats that flew over the trash barrel, and a mother puma with cubs. Instead of being afraid of these natural predators, I got myself worked up about Bigfoot stalking in the bushes. It's the kind of thing that can come over you when you're all by yourself with only a camera and tripod for company and a full moon illuminating quivering shadows made by a nervous breeze that rustles the creosote bushes. Anna Pigeon is one stalwart gal!

The mountains lions in Track of the Cat have my deep affection and also Ms Barr's. A lovely book. I love the ending. Again, she's not quite yet ready to tell it like it is. But, this is the first whisper of where she'll be going with later books.

TRACK OF THE CAT by Nevada Barr introduces the reader to an outstanding series and a fascinating protagonist, Anna Pigeon.
The series manages a delicate balance between personal history and the working elements of a mystery. As the story progresses the reader also learns about the awesome landscape of the Texas hill county and the dangerous occupation of a national park ranger.
Each carefully chosen word will hold your eye to the page and bring you back for more.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

When the National Park Service puts a bounty on a killer mountain lion, it rubs National Park Ranger Anna Pigeon's fur the wrong way. It's a knee jerk reaction from the Park's leadership: Mountain Lion Attack! Kill the animal first, ask questions later. Or maybe no questions need to be asked at all. Something stinks at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and it's not just the brutal death of a fellow park ranger whose half eaten dead body was found by Anna in the back country. It's the naturalist vs. the politicians. The Park Service, neighboring cattle ranchers and developers all want the mountain lion disposed of. It seems Anna, suspicious of things that are a little too neat, is the only one taking the animal's side.

This is Nevada Barr's kick off novel, and a good one it is. Anna Pigeon, park ranger, is the hero. Unlike most, Anna is a law enforcement ranger. She didn't think there would be much law enforcement to do in this remote park in West Texas. Most enforcement types are stationed in parks close to urban areas where most crime takes place. Anna chose the law enforcement route because the Protective Division does not only the serious cop stuff, but Search and Rescue, where the real action is. When a mountain lion kills a human, it is not a crime, but when the humans make it look like it was done by an animal, yes, no matter if it is in the bedroom or on a city street or the back country, that is murder.

Because of the excellence of the writing, the natural world as a backdrop, and the character of Anna Pigeon, I've read several of Barr's books and have enjoyed them all.

I've always thought that "A Superior Death," an earlier entry in Nevada Barr's always-fabulous series about park ranger Anna Pigeon, was one of the very best. It was also almost too scary to read. So I started "Winter Study" with a bit of trepidation: What would happen to Anna now?

Plenty. We find Anna older and a lot crankier, stuck in a park in the snowy tundra near Lake Superior where the only happy campers are the wolves and the moose. Anna is part of a team that includes several wolf researchers and other experts, and a smarmy Homeland Security agent; why he is there is more than needs explaining in this review.

Soon enough, scary and desperate things start to happen, from the possible sighting of a mythical half dog-half wolf of gargantuan and unworldly proportions, to the disapperance of a young researcher to scary messages traced on a window to much, much more.

Throughout it all, we literally feel the cold. We can feel the frostbite, the fear, the desperation--everything. It's as though we are there. It is truly uncanny.

My only complaint is that Anna's marriage to Paul, while given some words, is only that, words. She is always parted from him and it doesn't feel real. I miss her dog Taco (which morphed breeds in an earlier book from a golden retriever to a black lab), and I miss her sister. Anna seems almost eerily isolated--but maybe that's the point.

As always, a wonderful read in the series.

Anna Pigeon has a Winter Study (Anna Pigeon Mysteries)rather tumultous series of experiences in this book - more than "usual" but held interest and was a 'good read' --

I started following Anna Pigeon in Track of the Cat, a book I checked out of the library because it had the word "track" in it back when I was just learning to track. Since then I have read every book I could find by Nevada Barr, even those without the famous Anna Pigeon in them because when it is all said and done, this writer will be a classic. The Anna Pigeon in this latest book has lived through so many harrowing mysteries that she has gained skills and savvy that make her almost a different character. Who says a female protagonist needs to be a ditz? Not that Anna doesn't get hurt in this one, but she gives as good as she got. This is a read where you don't find yourself frustrated with the main character being stupid. Instead you are right with her unraveling the mystery as she does, only being spared the physical pains.

This book should have been edited better. It was too slow. It's about 100 pages too long. As all of Nevada Barr's books, there's entirely too much internal dialogue. If some of that was cut back, it would pick up the pace. I found myself skipping a lot of the pages.

I am a big Nevada Barr fan and have read all her books. Winter Study is just too unbelievable. I found it raw and gritty. No one could live through all that. The plot was hard to follow and characters were hard to keep straight. Don't spend you hard earned money on this one!