Borderline

By: Nevada Barr

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat

Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Agatha and Anthony Award winner Nevada Barr, New York Times best-selling author of Winter Study, enthralls millions with the exploits of roving park ranger Anna Pigeon.

The killings on Isle Royale have left Anna drained and haunted, her memories of her time with the wolf study group forever marred by the carnage on the island. Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, she is on administrative leave, per her superintendent's urging. Anna wonders if the leave might not be permanent, either by her own choice or that of the National Park Service.

The one bright spot in Anna's life is Paul, her husband of less than a year. Hoping the warmth and the adventure of a raft trip in Big Bend National Park will lift her spirits, Paul takes Anna to southwest Texas, where the sun is hot and the Rio Grande is running high.

The sheer beauty of the Chihuahuan Desert and the power of the river work their magic-until the raft is lost in the rapids and a young college student falls overboard, resulting in an even more grisly discovery. Caught in a strainer between two boulders and more dead than alive, is a pregnant woman, hair and arms tangled in the downed branches. Instead of the soul-soothing experience they'd longed for, Anna and Paul find themselves sucked into a labyrinth of intrigue that leads from the Mexican desert to the steps of the governor's Mansion in Austin, Texas.

©2009 Nevada Barr (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Vocal perfection

Anna Pigeon, on leave from her park after a shooting, is on vacation with her husband at Big Bend National Park on the Texas/Mexico border. Illegal border traffic, Texas politics, marital discord, Anna's mental state, and a white water rafting trip converge in this Nevada Barr mystery/thriller. If you though (as I did) that Nevada Barr had drifted off to a too gruesome and creepy direction with Hard Truth, not to worry. This one has all the plot twists and energy that we expect from NB, without being as disturbing as Hard Truth.

Great vocal characterization! Subtle accents, easily distinguishable (and believable) male characters, and an ability to depict the various mental states of the various characters make this narrator perfect for the book. I confess, I sat in my car in the parking lot before work, just to listen to a few more minutes of the story!

poor narration and improbable plot

Once again, narration was poor. Her cadence is off, and distinction between characters almost non-existent. It genuinely sounded as thought she was reading the book, line for line, with no rhythm for the actual sentence structure. Her voice went up at the beginning of the line, and down at the end of that line, whether there was a period or not. ugh. awful.

as to the storyline, difficult to swallow. I have read all the previous Pigeon novels. The earliest are the best. the last 5 or so (with the exception of the wolf study book), the author has centered all her plots around harming children. The one that starts out with the woman in the wheelchair, is excellent, though horrific. That one is one of the best Pigeon novels. sorry, I digress. This one I just found impossible to believe. This solitary woman now has a husband, whom she is supposed to adore, yet he is given only the teeniest presence in the book. (a shame, since as described, the Sherriff/Holy Man is more interesting than Anna). Throughout the book Anna acts in contrary ways, taking actions precisely to put herself in danger. Forehead smacking moments, a friend calls them. She does this so many times, that I groaned out loud when (SPOILER) being chased by a truck and on foot, given the choice between running towards a restaurant full of people and a phone, and running out into the open desert (with an infant in arms) she choses the desert. and that is only one of the last terrible decisions she makes.

These books are not getting any better. stick to the first 6 or so. I will not purchase another by Ms. Barr.

Overall wonderful!

I love the word pictures the author draws. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a believable adventure.

Good Read! or listen I should say

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I love the Anna Pigeon series. I have read them all and want to visit every National Park Anna ends up in.
Barbara Rosenblat fantastic narrator.
The combination of Great Story telling and great writing make for an enjoyable passage of time.

Great!!

I love this series!! I haven’t read all of them but I haven’t been disappointed yet!! If you like edge of your seat thriller with mystery and suspense try the Anna Pigeon series!!

No more Nevada Barr books!

What disappointed you about Borderline?

The story rambles in a disjointed fashion, it takes a very long time for the story to come together.

What was most disappointing about Nevada Barr’s story?

The main character is a traumatized,dysfunctional female federal law enforcement ranger with a negative, jaded view of people. There is a lot of pontificating, self-righteous commentary.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator has a voice that is unpleasant to listen to. She probably shouldn't be narrating books. Her attempts to mimic or sound like different characters did not come off well.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Borderline?

The book could have been condensed quite a bit, especially the descriptions involving (1)blood, gore, violence, and (2) the shortcomings of the characters.

Any additional comments?

It is a distinctly unpleasant book to read. I persevered because I wanted to see how it ended.

Disappointing

I looked forward to the new Nevada Barr for a long time and have been very disappointed. It's not that I could see the ending coming; I couldn't. But by the time it arrived, I really didn't care and I found it to be just too contrived. I got an inkling of the disappointment to come when listening through what seemed like at least an hour of a painstakingly detailed rescue of a starving cow by some rafters from a cliff along the rio grande. It was filler that seemed neverending. Add that to the politically correct preaching that was sprinkled liberally throughout and I really cannot recommend it.

First time with this author

Entertaining. Worth the money and enjoyable.

Too Much of a Good Thing

I was thrilled to see a new Anna Pigeon novel on audible.com, so I immediately downloaded "Borderline". But after about half of Part 1 I am disappointed.

Usually the author mixes in good character development, history, and introspection with all the high danger scenes but this novel is way too heavy on the action/adventure stuff. The back-to-back descriptions of each micro-move are tedious and unnecessary, over the top, and just not believable for someone on medical leave for PTSD and I had to fast-forward through many of them.

Additionally the characters with whom Anna and her husband Paul share the rafting trip seem flat and uninteresting - but this group was their choice. They would have done better, and so would the novel, if they had gone with the "green and grey" group that would have had a little life history and experience to offer. This group just seemed adolescent and monochromatic.

I did like the switchback scenes to the local Texas political scene and thought that was handled well.

The scenes with Anna's shrink were the most interesting, and I also missed the telephone calls to Anna's shrink sister, Molly, that populated Barr's earlier novels.

I will give this one another chance, but in general I'd say give it a pass.

lame

although a great writer, the story was poorly developed and even worse researched. not worth the discount rate i wasted to listen to it... in fact if I had just used my credit i wouldnt have even taken the time to finish it...it was that bad.!!!