(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. ( )

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. ( )

Synopsis: 'Anna Pigeon is the district ranger for Neches Trace National Park but she is going to Isle Royale in winter to observe the wolf/moose study that has been ongoing for the last 50 years. Wolves are to be introduced to Rocky Mountain and the best way to study the interaction of predator and prey is to observe. Isle Royale is closed to visitors during the winter, which is the wolves' breeding season. The only people at the park are the scientists and their assistants.
Ridley Murray is the lead researcher. He is assisted by Robin Adair, biathlete, who is at home in winter and collects data. There are also two other members of their party. Anna arrives to find that two members of Homeland Security, Dr. Bob Menechin and his assistant, and doctoral candidate, Kathrine Huff, will also be in the group. Homeland Security wants to open the park to visitors in winter. They claim that since it is so close to Canada, terrorists can slip in to the US if the park is deserted. This would end the study and put more stress on the island itself. Anna has already seen many changes at Isle Royale since she was last there (A SUPERIOR DEATH, 1994) and wouldn't like to see any more.
There are three wolf packs on the island, each probably of 6 or 7 animals, and evidence that both wolf and moose are starving. All the wolves are descendants of a pair that came across an ice bridge from Canada many years earlier. The moose have eaten almost all the trees that they like and their population has fallen by over 1000 since Anna's last visit. Older moose bear strangely shaped antlers because they lack the nutrients to regrow them properly.
A dead wolf is found and footprints of a giant wolf or wolf/dog hybrid, which is actually more dangerous than a wolf. And then one of the members of the team dies. Is wolf or man the predator?
Review: I really liked the pilot and wished he'd had a bigger part in the book. The abuse of women is the sub-plot of this book. The story seemed rather draggy in places. ( )