Burn: An Anna Pigeon Mystery, Book 16

By: Nevada Barr

Narrated by: Joyce Bean

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.

Not a light, happy story

If you want a simple murder mystery, try some of the earlier Anna Pigeon books. This one has a story that is hard to hear, but needs to be heard. I found it quite shocking, and not in the least bit titillating.

I was also intrigued at how easy it was to draw the wrong conclusions about people, particularly the heroine of the story. This is a story you won't forget, and its setting makes it all the more bleak. I trust all the bad guys will BURN in hell.

A tough one, but not for the reasons I expected.

I was really put off by reviews and delayed listening to this book. The subject matter is horrible. But I figured it was Anna, so goodness would prevail (it does, of course). However, I was really disappointed in the lack of good editing and plotting that left holes you could drive a truck through. Claire hadn't smoked in 20 years--she quit when she was pregnant with her seven year old (for example). Where did all of Jordan's pictures come from? Where did all of Claire's untraceable money come from? How does Claire regain her health so quickly at the end? And so on. Just a lot of sloppy stuff that I don't usually see in these books.

As for the story, well, you have to stick with it because if you don't, the subject is so unremittingly awful, you might just succumb to despair. Listening to the end provides enough resolution to bring some relief.

If you are an Anna fan, and you probably are, you will like a lot about the story. But you also will have high expectations that might not be met. I'm glad I listened to it, as I have listened to all the others, but it is not my favorite, for sure.

I like Joyce Bean as a narrator. I think she has a lot of talent, and did the characters of Claire and Jordan justice, which can't have been easy.

Not Anna Pigeon without Barbara Rosenblat.

What did you like best about Burn? What did you like least?

Story was okay. narrator made Pigeon unrecognizeable.

Would you be willing to try another book from Nevada Barr? Why or why not?

I have 16 unabridged Anna Pigeon books. Hated Joyce Beans interpretation. I'm buying paperbacks for any new works while Bean continues as narrator.

Would you be willing to try another one of Joyce Bean’s performances?

No. This will be the last Nevada Barr I will be downloading and I have them all so far. Joyce Bean is not Anna Pigeon.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

At least tell us why the change in Narrator

Good book

Would you listen to Burn again? Why?

I listened to Burn twice but will probably not listen to it again. I have loved all of the Anna Pigeon books, but of them all, this one was my least favorite. That is possibly because of the urban setting. or because I am hooked on Barbara Rosenblath as a narrator and a different voice was a distraction for me.

good

I liked the story.. I am just a bit frustrated by the out of control dangerous choices Anna makes. it just to many stupid choices vs using her head

Not what I expected!

Nevada Barr writes some of my favorite books and I return to them when I want a book that's comfortable. This one had me very upset. The subject is disgusting and I don't expect that of the Anna Pigeon series. And, it wasn't even set in one of the national parks!!

Also, I missed Barbara Rosenblat and her amazing voices. She really brings these books to life.

different

this is Claire's from Seattle story that is woven into Anna's New Orleans vacation. I was bothered by Claire having so much first person narrative and took awhile to become accustom to it which is why I rated the story fewer stars. the topic is dark, one most people want to deny happening yet Nevada Barr brings it to light which is her power to pull the reader into a realm most would never experience. in reality this topic rarely is in the news but is becoming a growing tragedy in the USA and affecting world's children.

NOT New Orleans!

As a resident of New Orleans, I was truly offended by this book. It sounded like Barr wrote her story first, and then spent a week in the French Quarter to gather some color. Some of her descriptions sounded like they came right out of the introduction to a guide book. Other than Anna's friend Geneva, no New Orleanians were presented in a sympathetic light -- they were all hookers, swindlers, muggers, on the take, corrupt, and, of course, pedophiles. Nor does she explore the character of the city itself, except for some facile comments about how Katrina cleaned up the streets. She sounded like she really hates the place. While supposedly connected to the National Jazz Historic Site and Museum, nothing about the story is even remotely about jazz -- even Anna's friend was a BLUES singer.

As for the story, she kept interrupting the action to philosophize on self-deception or to emote about how disgusting child sex abuse is. I got the feeling that not even Barr herself could really stomach the subject, so she had to keep distancing herself from it. The plot itself was decent, but it could have been set in any major city, a whole bunch of small cities, and even an isolated town or two.

Narration was okay. Frequent mispronunciations were jarring, but par for the course.

I've been a fan of Nevada Barr for a long time, but she lost her way with this one, and she may have lost a loyal fan.

Very Good

Great book, love the characters and good reader. I enjoyed the one before this a little more, but still great characters and story line.

Excellent

I was concerned that this book would be too graphic based on a few other reviews. That was not the case at all. This was well done - giving you the jest without too much. It is also a really intriguing story as well. I also think this is one of her best. It was engrossing from beginning to end!