Burn: An Anna Pigeon Mystery, Book 16

By: Nevada Barr

Narrated by: Joyce Bean

Length: 12 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Anna Pigeon, a Ranger with the National Park Service, is newly married but on administrative leave from her job as she recovers from the traumas of the past couple of months. While the physical wounds have healed, the emotional ones are still healing. With her new husband back at work, Anna decides to go and stay with an old friend from the Park Service, Geneva, who works as a singer at the New Orleans Jazz NHP. She isn't in town long before she crosses paths with a tenant of Geneva's, a creepy guy named Jordan. She discovers what seems to be an attempt to place a curse on her - a gruesomely killed pigeon marked with runic symbols; and begins to slowly find traces of very dark doings in the heart of post-Katrina New Orleans. Tied up in all of this is Jordan, who is not at all what he appears to be; a fugitive mother accused of killing her husband and daughters in a fire; and faint whispers of unpleasant goings-on in the heart of the slowly recovering city.

Now it will take all of Anna's skills learned in the untamed outdoors to navigate the urban jungle in which she finds herself, to uncover the threads that connect these seemingly disparate people, and to rescue the most vulnerable of creatures from the most savage of animals.

Investigate more mysterious doings with Anna Pigeon.

©2010 Nevada Barr (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Disturbing Content

I have read all of Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon novels, and am a big fan. However, I do think that Burn, like several of the other more recent Anna Pigeon novels, takes a very dark and disturbing turn away from the traditional national park scene that I have loved to read about in the past. The details of the child sex trade portrayed in Burn, while most likely accurate, were very difficult to listen to. This novel may be too disturbing for some. I honestly regret hearing parts of the novel, and would probably have thought twice about downloading the book if I knew in advance what was in store. I do like the narrator of this book, and have enjoyed her voice in other Anna Pigeon novels as well.

Anna is back!

After a bit of a flop in "Borderline", Barr and Pigeon are back on their game! Anna isn't really the central character here, leaving that role to a slightly (or perhaps more) crazy mother / actress desperately trying to locate her children, kidnapped during the murder of her husband. Murder for which she is the prime suspect, of course!
Barr's skill is in making a completely ridiculous plot animated by an equally absurd principal character... completely credible!
And of course... Anna gets shot again. But only a flesh-wound, this time.
Recommended!

way too much information

Nevada Barr is a brilliant writer and the narrator excellent. But, I had to really push myself through the end. I became a bit much with many loose ends to tie.

Missing: Barbara Rosenblat

Barbara Rosenblat IS the voice of Anna Pigeon to me. Anyone else just isn't the same. The recording sounds flat & is littered with mispronunciations. Joyce Bean does pronounce all the French Quarter street names correctly, which is no small feat. The plot is slow to start, especially in monotone, but once it gets going one is willing overlook things.

Definitely one of my favorites!

Joyce Bean is a pleasure to listen to. She definitely had a challenge with this book! It definitely tested her range admirably.

It is extremely interesting to see how Nevada Barr expands the character of Claire and places Anna Pigeon out of her comfort zone and outside of her formal duties in New Orleans. A well woven story. My only disappointment is wanting a bit more to wrap up the end of the story, walking us through some of the process with Claire extricating herself with the law. I don't want to make this a spoiler alert so will stop here. You'll be rooting for both Claire and Anna throughout!

Disappointing

I have really enjoyed every book until this one. It was so far-fetched that it was really just not believable in any way. Anna is such an enjoyable character, and there was so little Anna in this book.

APPR does it again!

Great listen. Set in beautiful New Orleans. Anna Pigeon Park Ranger solves another great mystery while visiting LA.

A Mother’s Love

A true Nevada Barr masterpiece of mystery, depravity with strong emotions and courage that draws you into the dark side of life. The narrator was spot on.

BEST YET!!!

I'm so happy I didn't let the negative reviews influence me. I have been a long time Nevada Barr fan, but realized I could no longer tell which ones I'd read already because they were all starting to sound alike. What a refreshing, edge of your seat, change this one is. Yes, it is gritty, and even I found myself saying "no way could things like this really happen", unfortunately I suspect it does. Ms. Barr has really shown how much her talent has improved with this book. I applaud her for taking Anna out of the wilderness for a change and tackling such a heart breaking subject. And the character development for the two personalities in one body was totally outstandIng. I highly, highly recommend it.

A VERY different Setting for Anna Pidgeon

This story strays from the previous well known outdoor National Park settings. Instead, we are introduced to the mostly unknown "parks" that are historical preservations based in, or near, our big cities. This one in New Orleans, drags the reader into the deep, seedy underworld of illegal trafficking of immigrants and kidnapped children for the sex trade. Graphically detailed; readers must be willing to face the horrible truths we'd prefer to ignore. This story is important but not for the faint at heart. I listened straight through.