"Winter Study"

I was getting very worried that something had happened to Nevada Barr since she had published a book featuring Anna Pigeon every year from 1993 through 2005. Then nothing in 2006 or 2007. It turned out that Hurricane Katrina was the problem. She lives in New Orleans and had 30" of flood water in her home.

I was so tickled when I found out about this book and immediately requested it from the library. At first, I didn't think that it was going to live up to my expectations, but it got more exciting as it went along, although it isn't my favorite. (Those would be "Firestorm" and "Hard Truth".

It is set on Isle Royale as was "A Superior Death", but this time it's January with sub-zero temps. Anna has gone there to learn about managing wolves in a national park, as a part of the famous 50-year-old wolf/moose study. When giant wolfprints are found and scat with DNA alien to the island's packs, the team fears that a hybrid animal has been brought in. Before long, a young woman researcher is found dead...apparently the victim of a wolf attack. Anna, knowing wild wolves are generally timid around humans, fears that there is a murderer on the team. Of course, that proves to be the case, and Anna has several near-death encounters before the truth comes out.

Those of you who've read my blog's archives may remember that I always paint my pages ahead, and just look for a spread that matches the mood of the story when I get ready to journal about a book. This time I couldn't find any pages that suited me just as they were, so I toned down the "Periwinkle Blue" and "Wedgewood Green" that I had previously painted by brushing with a thin whitewash. Then I lightly sponged on full-strength white paint to create the effect of snow, concentrating it more heavily at the bottom. The words were written with a blue Uniball Vision Elite pen, with the title done in the Art Deco style.