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Hard Truth (An Anna Pigeon Novel)
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Manufacturer: Berkley
Author: Nevada Barr
Publisher: Berkley
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $7.99
You Save: $ ( % )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Berkley
Author: Nevada Barr
Publisher: Berkley
Average Customer Rating:
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Hard Truth (An Anna Pigeon Novel) Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780425208410
ISBN: 0425208419
Label: Berkley
Manufacturer: Berkley
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 336
Publication Date: 2006-02-07
Publisher: Berkley
Studio: Berkley
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780425208410
ISBN: 0425208419
Label: Berkley
Manufacturer: Berkley
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 336
Publication Date: 2006-02-07
Publisher: Berkley
Studio: Berkley
Editorial Review of Hard Truth (An Anna Pigeon Novel)
Just days after marrying Sheriff Paul Davidson, Anna Pigeon moves to Colorado to assume her new post as district ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park. When two of three children who'd gone missing from a religious retreat reappear, Anna's investigation brings her face-to-face with a paranoid sect--and with a villain so evil, he'll make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end
Customer Reviews of Hard Truth (An Anna Pigeon Novel)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Predictable and unpleasant
Review: I've read a few other Nevada Barr books and liked them well enough (although Ann Pigeon is far from my favorite mystery series protagonist), but this one I really didn't care for. I picked out the likely villain very early and I was waiting for an unexpected twist but it didn't come. Really there were virtuallly no surprises and those which there were didn't really matter much. I also got annoyed and very tired of her (the author, through mouth of the protagonist) harping on the one character's fatness, going on and on about it and describing him with really contemptuous language -- it gives a strong impression of someone who is rabidly "sizist." OK, the guy is fat - so are a lot of people, so get over it. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: VERY disappointed
Review: This is my second Anna Pigeon mystery, and I listened to it on audio. I don't do crime books, but the first was so entertaining (and so well-narrated) and well-written, I looked forward to Hard Truth. I like mysteries, but not when they feature sadomasochistic scenes of violence, which is why I was happy to find these novels. Not now. The last two discs, where Anna is captured, are horrific to read.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Beauty and Evil
Review: HARD TRUTH by Nevada Barr takes Anna Pigeon fans deep into the stark contrast of the beauty of the Rocky Mountain Park and evil of religious cults which use faith to mask their unholy deeds. This is a different Barr, which explores kidnapping, child abuse, violence and evil. It is not a story for the faint hearted, but it contains all the classic elements of Barr's fictional prose, vivid descriptions of the locale, tight plotting, sensitive and striking characterizations.
The scenes move seamlessly between the points of view of Anna and Heath Jarrod, a wheelchair accident victim who has problems of her own when Heath discovers and bonds with the lost children.
New territory for Barr, a eye opener for her fans.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Hateful
Review: This is just an ugly, hateful, horrible book. Although I have regularly read the Anna Pigeon series, I have always found the gratuitous violence and brutality disturbing.
This one, though, is the worst ever---I loathed the animal torture, the child molestation, the child abuse, and the extremely unsettling religious extremism. And, of course, Anna Pigeon HAS to be brutalized, as she is in EVERY ONE of the other books.
This one was the last, however. No more for me.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A harrowing read
Review: I have long been an admirer of Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series. Hard Truth is an exceptional story. A psychotic killer kidnaps young girls and has them perform unspeakable acts, a Mormon sect practices polygamy, a newly paralyzed former rock climber, orphaned wolf pups that have been "rescued" by a seasoned park ranger, and Anna's new job at Rocky Mountain National Park are all part of the narrative mix of the story. Anna's activities as a law enforcement National Park officer bring her to very core of an evil she has trouble fathoming. She is human--she makes mistakes, some very grievous mistakes, that show her flaws , but also make her more human at the same time.
This book is unlike any other Anna Pigeon novel I've read--start reading this one early as you'll be up all night, unable to put it down. But make sure there's someone else in the house and all the doors are locked.
Review Summary: Predictable and unpleasant
Review: I've read a few other Nevada Barr books and liked them well enough (although Ann Pigeon is far from my favorite mystery series protagonist), but this one I really didn't care for. I picked out the likely villain very early and I was waiting for an unexpected twist but it didn't come. Really there were virtuallly no surprises and those which there were didn't really matter much. I also got annoyed and very tired of her (the author, through mouth of the protagonist) harping on the one character's fatness, going on and on about it and describing him with really contemptuous language -- it gives a strong impression of someone who is rabidly "sizist." OK, the guy is fat - so are a lot of people, so get over it. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: VERY disappointed
Review: This is my second Anna Pigeon mystery, and I listened to it on audio. I don't do crime books, but the first was so entertaining (and so well-narrated) and well-written, I looked forward to Hard Truth. I like mysteries, but not when they feature sadomasochistic scenes of violence, which is why I was happy to find these novels. Not now. The last two discs, where Anna is captured, are horrific to read.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Beauty and Evil
Review: HARD TRUTH by Nevada Barr takes Anna Pigeon fans deep into the stark contrast of the beauty of the Rocky Mountain Park and evil of religious cults which use faith to mask their unholy deeds. This is a different Barr, which explores kidnapping, child abuse, violence and evil. It is not a story for the faint hearted, but it contains all the classic elements of Barr's fictional prose, vivid descriptions of the locale, tight plotting, sensitive and striking characterizations.
The scenes move seamlessly between the points of view of Anna and Heath Jarrod, a wheelchair accident victim who has problems of her own when Heath discovers and bonds with the lost children.
New territory for Barr, a eye opener for her fans.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Hateful
Review: This is just an ugly, hateful, horrible book. Although I have regularly read the Anna Pigeon series, I have always found the gratuitous violence and brutality disturbing.
This one, though, is the worst ever---I loathed the animal torture, the child molestation, the child abuse, and the extremely unsettling religious extremism. And, of course, Anna Pigeon HAS to be brutalized, as she is in EVERY ONE of the other books.
This one was the last, however. No more for me.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A harrowing read
Review: I have long been an admirer of Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series. Hard Truth is an exceptional story. A psychotic killer kidnaps young girls and has them perform unspeakable acts, a Mormon sect practices polygamy, a newly paralyzed former rock climber, orphaned wolf pups that have been "rescued" by a seasoned park ranger, and Anna's new job at Rocky Mountain National Park are all part of the narrative mix of the story. Anna's activities as a law enforcement National Park officer bring her to very core of an evil she has trouble fathoming. She is human--she makes mistakes, some very grievous mistakes, that show her flaws , but also make her more human at the same time.
This book is unlike any other Anna Pigeon novel I've read--start reading this one early as you'll be up all night, unable to put it down. But make sure there's someone else in the house and all the doors are locked.