In the Barren Ground

By: Loreth Anne White

Narrated by: Cara Gee

Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

In the Barrens, a vast wilderness in northern Canada bordering the Arctic Circle, night consumes every hour of the winter. Humans are scarce; ferocious predators roam freely. Locals say spirits do, too.

Rookie cop Tana Larsson doesn't mind the dark and quiet. Five months pregnant and hoping to escape the mistakes of her past, she takes a post in Twin Rivers, population 320. Maybe here she can find peace and community for her child.

But with her superior out of commission, Tana becomes the sole police officer in 17,500 square miles. One bitter night, she gets a call about the fatal wolf mauling of two students, and the only way to reach the remote scene is to enlist the help of the arrogant, irritatingly handsome Cameron "Crash" O'Halloran, a local bush pilot with a shady reputation for smuggling and a past cloaked in shadow.

When the macabre scene they uncover suggests violence much more sinister than animal, Tana must trust Crash if she wants to protect the town - and herself - from the evil that lurks in the frozen dark.

©2016 Loreth Beswetherick (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Terrible narrator-too annoying to even listen

Maybe I should have read the book but I enjoy a good book with a good narrator- this fell far short of that. Could not finish, had to give up after a few chapters because the voice of the narrator just drove me crazy. Too many great books out there with talented narrators to listen to should a poor performance

Not much romance

This is a dark serial killer murder mystery with a little romance on the side. Good story. I just would not call it romantic suspense.

Excellent!

Great storyline! Very original and takes place in a world very few ever have a chance to even visit. I'll be looking for more books by this author!

Good but not great

I thought that the reader was adequate. I found the story itself to be very slow and uninteresting until about halfway through at which point I must say that I really enjoyed it.

loves it!

Loreth Anne White does not disappojnt, full of suspensa and hard to put down! ready for another read 😊

Best

The story was well told, sometimes the character’s was a bit hard to follow. I enjoyed this book more than others I’ve read. Parts of it made me want to cry. I recommend it to everyone.

I was surprised

When I read the synopsis for this book. I thought "I'll give it a go". But boy was I in for a surprise. This turned out to be a pretty good read. Set in the wilderness of northern Canada near the Arctic Circle, it makes for a pretty "chilling" read. Hoping to escape the mistakes of her past we find five months pregnant Tana Larsson, rookie cop in the RCMP. She's here to find a bit of peace and community for her unborn child. But she never thought to be left alone as the soul arm of the law for 17,500 square miles when her superior is injured and out of commission. Local bush pilot Cameron "Crash" O'Halloran enters her world when she enlists his help to get to the remore scene of the killing of two students apparently by wolves. On arrival at the scene, all is not what it seems. Something very sinister has occurred beyond a simple animal killing and it will challenge Tana for she must put her trust in Crash with his shady background. An evil is loose in the wilderness and Tana must protect not only herself and unborn child but also the community she is responsible for. Excellent dialog, strong characters and intriguing story line makes this one worth a read.

a really good mystery

it has pretty nature, a little sweet romance, action, and good narrators. highly recommend this book.

Unusual setting, great story.

4/5; 4 stars; A-

I really enjoyed this unusual thriller. At first I considered abandoning it because the main character, Constable Larson, was very hard to like. She was judgmental, intolerant, and downright prickly. However, as the story progressed it became clear that she was also courageous, smart, and compassionate. She had a pretty big pile of baggage that she was carting around. I thought the narrator did a good job, managing various accents and genders.
One of the things that makes this story unusual is the setting, the far north. Also, the author uses an interesting blend of multiple cultural details and native lore to add flavour to the story.
I thought the depiction of life in an isolated community was pretty accurate, as was the odd collection of personalities and social rules.
The only thing that bugged me in this book was a very minor quibble, the repeated use of the word 'fortnight'. It know it seems petty but its really jarring. I have never met a Canadian or an American who uses that word in their everyday speech yet Crash used it two or three times within a couple of days.

Story was great but narration a bit robotic

This was a good story with some unpredictable turns. Narration sounded a bit robotic. I could have enjoyed the story more is narration was a bit better.