survival

Nevada Barr’s fans know Anna Pigeon, her Park ranger protagonist; in this 17th book in the series Barr brings us a survival thriller instead of the usual mystery story. The biggest surprise in this riveting novel is Anna; we get to meet her in her survival mode. We know who the bad guys are from the start. Anna is on vacation with 2 friends and their teenage daughters. One friend, Heath Jarrod is a paraplegic. Long timer readers will remember her from “Hard Truth” in 2005. The other is an engineer friend who is designing a wheelchair for Heath for use in the wilderness. They are on a canoe trip in Minnesota’s Iron Range. Anna was on a solo canoe ride when the Kidnappers enter the camp. She and the injured family dog then trail after them waiting for a chance to rescue her friends. Barr, who once lived in Minnesota, creates an authentic sense of place. The motivation for the kidnapping once revealed is reliably inventive and contemporary. This novel brings us a different Anna from prior books. Watch carefully during the story for information about destroyer angel you will find it interesting. I enjoyed the golden voice of the Audi Award winning narrator Barbara Rosenblat.

7 people found this helpful

Indomitable Anna

This book read more like an action thriller with thinly drawn characters and bad guys who were truly evil than in previous Anna Pigeon novels. I enjoyed the resourcefulness of Anna and the other women and girls but the unrelenting pain and psychopathic behavior wore thin. Anna's (and other women's) abilities to outwit the kidnappers was very farfetched and the ending, though a clever twist, was anti-climactic.
Barbara Rosenblat is a skilled reader but in this novel her smoky, almost bored delivery overshadowed the story. Not my favorite.

7 people found this helpful

not like the old days

Any additional comments?

I have loved this series for years, in part b/c Barr mixed in some information and history of the particular park that was the setting of each book. This time there was virtually no connection to a national park....could have been anywhere. Series just seems to be getting tired and I found myself not particularly interested in a weak and pointless storyline.

6 people found this helpful

Classic Nevada Barr

If you could sum up Destroyer Angel in three words, what would they be?

Lee Child would be proud. Revenge with the female touch. If you thought Bob was bad wait till you meet up with the Dude. Love to read and listen to these books Barbara Rosenblat is the best in this and any other series she performs. My only regret is no national park info in this one. Anna is on holiday with the girl friends. Then they meet up with the boy fiends.

What other book might you compare Destroyer Angel to and why?

The Reacher series by Lee Child

Which scene was your favorite?

Anna rescue of Wiley the Dog.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Wiley finding his real master. Anna needs a new dog. Or is the old one with Paul.

Any additional comments?

Classic Barr love the story and the thought processes and descriptions

4 people found this helpful

Lifs is too short to waste it on this book

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

No one

What could Nevada Barr have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I have read all of the Anna Pigeon books and have enjoyed them tremendously. This was, by far, the worst one. It doesn't take place in a national park. The bad guys are just way overdone. Anna seems to be there only to provide comic relief - cracking wise to her canine sidekick.

How could the performance have been better?

Barbara Rosenblatt was a terrible reader. She overdoes it. I don't really want the books I listen to to be acted out. If I had to listen to her over the top portrayals of the bad guys any longer I would have been physically sick.

What character would you cut from Destroyer Angel?

All of them - including our beloved Anna. Anna was reduced to comic relief in this novel. All of the characters were really caricatures. It was shameful.

Any additional comments?

Please don't waste your money or, more importantly, your time on this book. I odn't usually like to comment on what I read or listen to in this type of forum. This book was so bad that I couldn't hold back.

8 people found this helpful

Classic Anna Pigeon

If I had to go into the wilderness I would want to go with Anna Pigeon. She is the ultimate kick butt heroine. She is not afraid to do what needs to be done even if it’s killing. She has the touch of crazy and at the same time you know she is sane enough to get through whatever situation she faces. I love the conversations with the dog. This book not only had Anna as a heroine but all the female characters were tough and gritty.

3 people found this helpful

Violent

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Nobody I know

What do you think your next listen will be?

Not so violent and horrific

What about Barbara Rosenblat’s performance did you like?

I love everything she reads, it's the only reason I got as far as I did in the book.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Destroyer Angel?

Most of it. It was too violent and degrading to women and children AND putting one ofthem in a wheelchair was just awful.

Any additional comments?

I loved her first dozen or so novels, couldn't wait for them to come out. But the violence was unrelenting in this book. I tried skipping ahead (which i never do) in hopes that it would be over soon but the violence and torture never stopped. I so loved the mystery in her previous books, but there wasn't any room for mystery in this one.

7 people found this helpful

Just an okay Anna Pigeon story

As usual Barbara Rosenblatt does a good job of reading the story. However, the story itself wasn't great. I'm not sure why Nevada Barr made the turn in her books that center on such horrific happenings in her stories. Obviously, because of the nature of the stories, there's always murder and/or violence but the last several books have delved into very dark stuff. This one was no different. I find it takes away from my enjoyment of Ranger Pigeon. I don't care that there is violence. I'm not a pacifist but it's like Anna Pigeon must devolve into some animalistic dehumanized beast in every book now. She's always being treated for PTSD or on administrative leave while her violent actions are being investigated. I much preferred when Anna used her intellect to move the story forward with an occasional arse kicking when needed. If you like the series, you might as well go ahead and listen to it but if you'te anything like me, you can skip whole chapters and not really miss anything important to the story.

1 person found this helpful

Definitely not worth it. Skip this one.

What disappointed you about Destroyer Angel?

The plot was tedious and repetitive, not to mention violent with whiny self recrimination from Anna. It was predictable and fantastical at times. I couldn't finish listening to it but I have a pathological need to finish books so I went to Tuebl and got a digital version to skim to the end.

Has Destroyer Angel turned you off from other books in this genre?

Nevada Barr & Anna Pigeon have provided many hours of good listening to I won't give up quite yet, but I will take a break.

Would you be willing to try another one of Barbara Rosenblat’s performances?

I love Barbara Rosenblat as a narrator, but I think even she was overcome by this book and tried too hard to infuse some energy into it.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The ending too was predictable in many ways but did have one interesting twist.

Any additional comments?

If you must read this book, get a paper or digital copy so you can skim over the really annoying parts.

1 person found this helpful

a good Anna Pigeon novel.

this novel seems more violent and less informative than others in the series. I look forward to being transported to the various natural areas where Anna has worked and learning something about animals or the terrain or behind the scenes of something (yes, I know it's fiction). but this book was all about the hunt. nonetheless I enjoyed it very much.

1 person found this helpful