Hard Truth

By: Nevada Barr

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat

Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author Nevada Barr continues her award-winning Anna Pigeon series with this riveting mystery that features the puzzling plot twists, deft characterizations, and sparkling dialogue that have become Barr's trademarks, and which her ever-growing fan base can't get enough of.

Anna and Sheriff Paul Davidson are married only three days before Anna moves from Mississippi to Colorado. Her mettle is immediately tested as the new district ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park. Three young girls have gone missing, and when only two return a month later, wearing filthy undergarments and bearing deep psychological scars, the signs point to a mysterious religious organization that guards its secrets closely. As a palpable sense of evil casts its shadow over the park, Anna puts her life on the line to discover the truth behind the disappearances.

©2005 Nevada Barr (P)2005 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Noted for her precise plotting and atmospheric descriptions of nature, Barr again proves her skill in putting believable characters in peril against a backdrop of breathtaking scenery." (Publishers Weekly)

Terrific Book, Annoying Reader

Ah, but I do love a truly diabolical villian. Nevada Barr is at the top of her game with this book, set this time in Rocky Mountain National Park. Anna, as usual, takes a licking but solves the mystery and brings the villian to justice. The writing was top notch with believable dialogue and well drawn characters. And, also as usual, the author kept me guessing the identity of the villian until Anna figured it out. My love for Anna Pigeon continues and the book gets 5 stars.
The reader, on the other hand, was overblown and regularly ignored cues from the author as to how dialogue should be delivered. Ms. Rosenblat read with an embellishment more suited to a group of school children than an adult audience of one. Nevada Barr is such a talented writer she needs no such embellishment. The villian was described as taking on several affects, but the reader made little or no distinction within the character. A sentence described by the author as if each word were a distinct and separate sentence was delivered as conversationally as any other. Phrases described as harsh or pointed or snappy were everything but. And I agree with another reviewer that mouth noises, as well pronounced intakes of breath, were very annoying. I've read this entire series in hard copy until now; I'll probably go back to hard copy going forward.

Rather breathy!

While I enjoyed this latest in the increasingly harrowing adventures of Anna Pigeon I felt that the quality of the audio recording was a bit lacking. Having listened to this on halfway decent headphones I was quite often distracted from the storyline by the breathy, wet noises that accompanied the reading as if the microphone was mere centimeters from the reader's lips. This was a first for me in a long history of listening to audiobooks and it was a bit disconcerting. While I recommend this book to faithful Nevada Barr followers, I encourage those of you with decent headphones to listen to it in the car where the distracting noises may be drowned out by engine noise.

Highly recommend

This was a great book. I am a fan of the series, but some of Nevada Barr's books are better than others. This was one of the really good ones. Compelling mystery, interesting characters, thoroughly enjoyable.

Murder and mayhem in the parks

Enjoyed the story, but agree with a previous reviewer that this one is somewhat darker than the previous novels in the series. Narration was a bit distracting with frequent mouth noises. I'd like to see the handicapped climber and her dog in future books.

Fantastic

One of Barr's best! Intricate and suspenseful plot. Grabs you at the start and keeps you guessing til the end. Highly recommended.

The best one yet

Having discovered Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon series, I’m enjoying them in order. Hard Truth was not only beautifully written, but so intense at times that I had to take breaks, even while desperate to know what was going to happen. The narration was excellent.
What a story!

Great addition to the series

I'm really enjoying the series, and I've been a long-time fan of narrator Barbara Rosenblat. Characterization was especially rich in this book proving that Nevada Barr is truly a master at her craft. Moreover, I continue to be mesmerized by her compelling descriptions of both our national parks and the lives of its workforce. Every time I finish one of the Anna Pigeon books I inevitably come thiiiiiissss close to running away to join the Park Service. My only criticism is that the climax of this story is excruciatingly and unnecessarily protracted. I found myself skipping multiple 10-20 minute blocks of the last couple chapters with no ill effect on the plot.

Something is wrong with the recording.

When I listen to an Nevada Barr book, I usually know what to expect. I don't even care about the reviews, I am just glad to listen to an exciting detective story written by one of my favorites featuring the intrepid Anna Pigeon while I tend to other things.
I also usually know what to expect from Barbara Rosenblat, the narrator.
Not this time.
Did Rosenblat have a losange in her mouth the whole time she was reading? Or did she have no water in the studio to re-hydrate her mouth? Perhaps the engineer who produced this recording had never done this before or was not paying attention.
Needless to say, this is not a book for headphones. It felt like someone was chewing and swallowing in my ears, which is really too bad, because the story itself is classic Nevada Barr and Barbara Rosenblat is still a stellar narrator. Could somebody just bring her some water?

Good story. Annoying narrator.

Story was good. I would have enjoyed reading the hard copy of this book more than the audio version because of the narrator's annoying breathy, wet distractions.

Lost Children Break Us

Park Ranger Anna is newly married and takes an assignment to Colorado for a promotion. A recent case of three young girls going missing has not been solved. A great cast of characters with many twists and turns. Love the series.