5 comments about High Country (Anna Pigeon).

1. Having read a good many books in this series I found High Country suffered from a couple of sequences that lost some of their sharpness due to their protracted length - perhaps some more agressive editing was called for - but that is a hard thing for some editors to do, giving the author's pervious successes. In addition the drug plane idea has been used by others so lacked the drama that might otherwise accompany the "find".
   
   What raises this book above the average in my opinion, is the growth that the protagonist, Ranger Anna Pigeon undergoes in this story. One thing that bothered me about this very human and likable character was that I shared book after book with her and yet she wasn't really changing, not inside, no character developement, even while her life and career continued to evolve. How ironic that in this book where she is undercover, without a real identiy, that she actually does some subtle and seriously profound thinking about who she really is. Or perhaps this is not so ironic. When robbed of all she is and all she has ever been, when set adrift in humanity on the thin veneer of lies, when no one knows who you are, when every act is completely married with falsehood, then it is that Anna finds what she misses most, is herself.



2. I have read a number of Nevada Barr mysteries and have enjoyed most of them. However, I had to bail out on the last one I attempted, Liberty Falling, because of Barr's tedious descriptions. So I was very pleased to read High Country and to rediscover the Barr I've come to know and enjoy.
   
   Barr's series involves National Park Service ranger, Anna Pigeon. Pigeon goes from park to park, solving crimes as she goes. At the same time, the reader gets to learn the history (both natural and otherwise) of these national treasures. In High Country, Pigeon is plucked from Mississippi and is temporarily transferred to Yosemite. Four young people have disappeared from the park under mysterious circumstances. Pigeon fills in for one of the missing girls, Trish, who happens to be a waitress at the Ahwahnee Hotel. The hope is that some of Trish's friends will open up and provide some clues for the rangers. Pigeon not only takes Trish's job, but she also uses her dorm room and wears her uniforms. From the start, Pigeon encounters hostility from her colleagues and even threats from an unknown source. Pigeon must discover if they simply don't like her or is there something more sinister going on.
   
   Barr is an actual NPS ranger, and her writing rings true. As for working undercover, she writes "In a very real way, when working undercover, one ceased to exist. The old persona was buried with great care. The new one was a fraud. The only moments of genuine reality were when reporting to the contact in the old life regarding the goings-on in the new."
   
   One small point of disbelief in High Country was passing the 50+ year old Pigeon off as a waitress. It's not that 50 year olds can't serve as waitresses, but it is obvious to everyone that she is trained in something else. But overall, this book was a good read and I'm glad I didn't give up on Barr.



3. Park law enforcement office Anna Pigeon goes undercover to sniff out the mysterious disappearance of members of the Yosemite National Park community. If you are a Nevada Barr fan, you know Anna will uncover her own leads, ruffle feathers galore, get into a tight spot (or two, or three), be chased by the bad guys, be injured, fight back, and solve the mystery.
   
   You won't be disappointed.
   
   In High Country, I felt that I learned less about a National Park, park management, and the wildlife within the park than with other Anna Pigeon adventure novels. However, High Country kept me reading, wondering what the heck was going on and how Anna was going to get out of this scrape.
   
   There was less in this particular book about Anna's own demons. That makes this novel less dependent on knowing more about Anna Pigeon's personal history in order to enjoy it.
   
   And the writing style!
   
   "An emotion other than dull, carplike sullenness flickered in Dickie's eyes. Anna couldn't tell if it was in response to her stepping into his sister's shoes or to the halfhearted sop she'd tagged on the end about Trish's imaginary return. Either way, it wasn't a happy gleam. Suddenly Anna got tired. Fatigue dropped on her chest so heavily it was hard not to stagger under it. The day had been excessively long and filled with people who wanted, feared, or hated things Anna couldn't quite get a grip on. Sour peevish humanity had soaked her in spiritual brine till, had a vampire been around to sink fangs into her, he would swear he'd bitten into a pickle" (p 111).
   
   Pure Nevada Barr. Enjoy.
   
   Here's the list of Anna Pigeon novels, and the order in which they've been published (I've starred the ones I've read to date, to remind me):
   
   1. Track of the Cat (1993)*
   2. A Superior Death (1994)
   3. Ill Wind (1995)*
   4. Firestorm (1996)
   5. Endangered Species (1997)*
   6. Blind Descent (1998)*
   7. Liberty Falling (1999)
   8. Deep South (2000)
   9. Blood Lure (2001)
   10. Hunting Season (2002)*
   11. Flashback (2003)
   12. High Country (2004)*
   13. Hard Truth (2005)
   14. Winter Study (2008)



4. I don't usually write reviews, but I just finished "High Country" and just had to make a comment. First of all, I want to say that the Anna Pidgeon mystery series is stellar and I absolutely love it. I eagerly await every book and would recommend it to anyone.
   
   That being said, there was one glaringly obvious flaw in this book, that I just had to point it out. Anna is supposed to be a law enforcement agent. With her training, and after all her previous exploits in which she is physically harmed, why did she not inform someone of where she was going to be before she went on a 24 mile hike during the winter in one of the most harsh environments?? If someone couldn't have accompanied her, she should, at the least, have called in and let one of the other rangers know where she was going!
   
   Also, at the end, when she was walking everywhere, didn't it occur to her that there was a disfigured, partially burned murderer out there who might still want her dead? Yet she continues to be out in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, where even someone who didn't have law enforcement training, and criminals after her, wouldn't dare to walk.
   
   Anyway, I just had to get that off my chest. Other than that, this is an excellent series, well worth reading. I just wish Anna would get a bit more sense . . . .



5. THE SETUP
   Middle-aged Park Range Anna Pigeon goes undercover in Yosemite National Park to investigate the seemingly unrelated but simultaneous disappearance of 4 park personnel and visitors. She takes over the job and dorm room of missing restaurant waitress Trish Spencer. In fairly short order she discovers the fate of most of the missing, but in the meantime, her presence has stirred up trouble in the restaurant.
   
   CHARACTERS
   There are about 2 dozen significant characters, considerably more than a typical Nevada Barr novel. So, it may be a good idea to keep a dramatis personae handy, or take notes. The missing employees/visitors are Patrick Waters (working on a Trail Crew), Dixon Crofter (professional rock climber), older Trish Spencer (waitress) and her younger friend Katland Bates (summer intern). "Bad guys" immediately responsible for the missing include Mark Begalo (aka Belman) and "Phil". Among important Park personnel are Leo Johnson (Deputy Superintendent), Loraine Knight (the Chief Ranger), George Casney (assistant acting Superintendent). Important restaurant (of the Ahwahnee Hotel ) personnel are Jim Wither (chef), Scott Woodridge (assistant cook), and Tiny Begalo (head waitress). Brainless twits Nicky and Cricket are waitresses, both roommates of Trish Spencer (missing), and later Anna Pigeon (who replaces Trish). Richard "Dicky" Colif is Trish's brother. Anna is assisted by 17-year-old "park brat" Mary Bates, who works as a maid in the hotel.
   
   Note that I listened to the unabridged audio version, so some names may be misspelled.
   
   EVALUATION
   "High Country" is an exciting, vivid, fast-paced mystery thriller. The varied characters feel genuine. This is one of the best Anna Pigeon novels.
   
   COMPARISONS
   Some Anna Pigeon novels are predominately mystery, some are mostly action thrillers, some are predominately suspense thrillers, one is even a gothic romance (ugh). "High Country" is one of the better mysteries and is certainly a thriller, but not as high suspense as some. Actually, that's fine with me, my ulcer has problems with some of the higher suspense Barr novels such as "Firestorm" and "Blind Descent". "High Country" is perhaps the darkest of Barr's novels--but that is only in comparison with other Anna Pigeon novels. I'd prefer to describe "High Country" as "psychologically richer". Indeed, the darker touch is absolutely in keeping with the older, less dare-devil, more reflective, Anna Pigeon.
   
   RATING
   "There is no accounting for tastes". It isn't the purpose of the Amazon ratings to comparitively rate the Anna Pigeon novels among themselves. Compared to the average "best selling" dreck out there, ALL Anna Pigeon novels are at least 4 1/2 stars.

5 comments about Burn (Anna Pigeon).

1. OMG - what the heck was this mess? I read, and re-read the prologue twice trying to figure out what the heck was going on! I never did. What a confusing mess. How on earth did BURN get published? Thank God I got it from the library.



2. I don't usually abandon any book, but I finally just put this one down and did not pick it up again. I generally enjoy any book by Linda Howard, but this one is not up to her usual standards. The characters did not seem real or the situation plausible.



3. Really a page turner. Read it in 2 days. Linda Howard has been a favorite of mine since she put out the first novel.



4. After twelve years of reading and buying her novels i don't honestly believe i have been disappointed. This damsel was probably the most severe hard ass she had ever created. Can you imagine going on a cruise to have fun and its ruined before you bored a ship scheduled for Detonation? Held hostage in your own suite, forced to participate in a covert operation with a complete jerk, and threatened daily? REFUND and shoot your travel agent!!!!
   Of my top ten favorites this one had wedged a tie with Open Season. Still waiting for one of espionage to take the number one slot from "All The Queen's Men".



5. Jenner wins the lottery ($295 Million) and her world goes from dead-end meat packing job to mingling with the rich and glitzy people of the world. The book starts off describing her dead end life, to winning the lottery, to getting a financial planner so she didn't lose all that newly won money, to losing the few people she was somewhat close with because of the money, to making a new life with the money. That whole part of the story just seemed unnecessary because the bulk of the story had nothing to do with her former life.
   
   Jenner and her friend, Syd, (a rich young woman) plan to go on a glitzy charity cruise, but that never happens because they are both kidnapped: Syd kept off the cruise; Jenner put on the cruise ship where she is the "hostage" of Cael, a black ops leading a small crew onboard into discovering what the ship's owner (who is a bad guy trading weapons to bad countries) is up to. The part with the ship owner has a whole Speed 2/Willem Dafoe feel to it. I was waiting for the the man, Frank, to start with the leeches, but instead he's dying of cancer and intends to blow up the whole ship, thereby killing himself and all the rich people he apparently despises. Like I said, the whole scenario is weird; you don't really understand Frank's distain for the innocent people onboard.
   
   Of course, Jenner and Cael are attracted to each other, even though Jenner says up front she won't be going all Stockholm syndromy on him. But, she does and they wind up sleeping together each night with her handcuffed to him, until she no longer needs to be handcuffed and is there because she wants to be. They have sex finally and have strong feelings for each other.
   
   There are other characters that are filler and you don't wind up interested in them. In the end, it's as you would predict: Jenner and Cael wind up together, and Jenner winds up as part of Cael's team.
   
   Readable, but not like you'd want to read it again, or think about it again for that matter.

No comments about Nevada Barr CD Collection 2: High Country, Hard Truth, Winter Study.

5 comments about Borderline.

1. I too have read the Anna Pidgeon series and loved them all except for the last two. In Winter Study, while the plot was decent, there were behaviors that were implausible, which infected the story line. There is no way that young couple would have suffered no consequences for what they set in motion.
   
   What I'm feeling in the recent books is endings are being rushed as though there is a deadline that has to be met. The resolutions are choppy and leave some loose threads, leave questions.
   
   I just don't feel that her heart or attention are focused on her work. It's like she's writing to have a book out for the publishers instead of for her readers.



2. I don't know why I'm so hit-or-miss with Nevada Barr because I generally enjoy her books but I hadn't read her in a while when two friends recommended this book within a week of each other. It's a good book but something about it felt really uneven and even surreal, like we were asked to do just a little too much suspension of disbelief.
   
   Barr's constant heroine Anna Pigeon is in a bad way after her last outing and so she and her husband are on leave and on a rafting trip on the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park, where things go horribly amiss. That part of the story was enchanting, startling, and very well done. The part about the big-time political handlers and state-level Texas politics was harder to handle. The characters were just not believable to me. But I will give Barr major credit for putting a face and a feeling on the despair of the borderlands Mexicans.
   
   All-in-all, I'm glad I read this but not delighted.



3. Excellent Anna Pidgeon adventure. This writer gets better with every book, writes with humor, insight, and skill. The plot moves along briskly.



4. 
   I have read and enjoyed every single Anna Pigeon novel since what, Track of the Cat, or something like that? I prefer character-driven stories, and although I personally like the first-person best, I enjoy Nevada Barr's sociological spin on life, gender roles and equality, and the strength and insight she has given Anna thoughout the series. Over the years Anna's character has evolved and matured in a way that I, as a mid-life female, can identify with. In the current novel within the plot, Anna examines her maternal choices over the years, and becomes more human than I've ever seen her. I also loved how her character never judges character's and their truth-telling ability with certainty, admitting to a human reality that most fictional characters rarely admit to. I did not find that the "evil-doers" were given away too early; in fact I could have seen it go either way until well past the 90% (according to my Kindle. I enjoyed this book very much, and found it a warm and comfortable read, especially after the frigid and dark Winter Study.



5. I'm an avid follower of Anna Pigeon's exploits who was disappointed in the latest book in the series. Barr's plots aren't her strongest suit, but this one was truly out there. I had a very hard time believing the motives for many of the characters' actions. While Barr does her usual great job describing the physical setting for the novel, along with Anna's inner thoughts, this believable depiction is at odds with most other parts of the story.
   
   As usual, we are expected to believe that Anna (and others) are somehow physically strong enought to endure multiple injuries, fatigue, lack of food and water, etc. without succumbing to their attackers. That's OK -- most male protagonists in crime novels have to do the same and as a 50-something female, I enjoy reading about a middle-aged woman who isn't a couch potato. But this time I was annoyed by Barr's inaccuracies about the subject of the book: a river trip. She has a whitewater outfitter ignoring a basic rule of wilderness river travel by floating the Rio Grande in a single raft, with no other craft for safety or backup. No NPS concessionaire would be allowed to do that on a river with any hazards. Then she repeatedly confuses oars with paddles. Along with this, the WW guide seems unfamiliar with the river's flow stages and rapids. She does not have much of a plan for the float trip, e.g. one that would allow for sufficient rest, for scouting rapids, or that involved the kind of pre-trip basic safety training the outfitter's insurance company would mandate, as would NPS and the guide's professional association. The rafting accident that follows, while necessary as a plot device, is difficult for this reader to believe -- especially given Anna's substantial experience.
   
   Ms. Barr, please bring back more believable story lines. And we're still waiting for a book set in Alaska, where over half the land NPS manages is located! I'm sure Kate Shugak wouldn't mid too much if Anna spent some time mushing near gold claims in DENA, or sea kayaking among cruise ships and humpbacks at GLBA, or dealing with end-of-roaders in McCarthy (WRST).

5 comments about Winter Study (Recorded Books Unabridged).

1. Anna Pigeon is an appealing protagonist, and the change of setting in each entry in the series keeps interest high. In Winter Study, Anna takes an assignment in the frigid winter of a Lake Superior island wolf and moose sanctuary. As if simply trying to conduct outdoor research and staying alive isn't enough of a challenge, some of Anna's colleagues, all sharing a primitive cabin, begin behaving oddly. So do the wolves, though the moose seem OK. Evidence of some sort of fearsome mega-wolf sets everyone on edge, and near-fatal accidents start occurring. When one of the scientists is killed by wolves, Anna wonders if there's been a setup.
   
   While the mystery is engaging, the information about the animal study is even more so. The tracking of wildlife, the collection of data, and the scientific analysis, all taking place in a harsh, unforgiving environment, are fascinating, and play a meaningful role in the story as a whole. Kudos to Nevada Barr for writing an intelligent series about a strong woman performing difficult, important work.



2. I have always enjoyed Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series, and have eagerly awaited each new installment. I was a little behind, and only just finished Winter Study. While I still enjoy the character of Anna Pigeon, I thought the violence in this book, particularly to women, disturbing -- and I didn't see that it was necessary, or at least so graphically, to serve the purpose of the story.



3. Another great Anna Pigeon adventure! I read this in two days, and I was under a blanket for most of that time! Literally chilling! My only complaint is about the publisher, who (I assume) is the one who opted for using very cheap ink. My eyes were burning and watering so bad, I had to put a piece of clear plastic over the pages while I read. I know they've come up with alternative inks for those of us who are allergic, and this is the first time in years that I've experienced this problem.



4. Winter Study -- too much violence, too much psyco babble, too much cursing, too much of Anna in trouble and too much time taken to get her out of it -- again and again. This was not the Nevada Barr I'd come to anticipate. This could have been a good read--the basic plot was believable and interesting, but was ruined by too many unbelievable situations, over-the-top violence, disgusting language, and drawn-out escapes of the heroine. I slid past many pages with only a cursory glance, waiting for the real story to pick up again. Too much. Too bad.



5. Nevada Barr is a new to me author who I have wanted to read for a long while. I own several of her books, but have not read any until now. For those of you who are not familiar with her books, the Anna Pigeon series is about a National Park Services Ranger/ sleuth of sorts (Anna Pigeon). All of the author's mysteries are based at least in part on her personal experience. Barr worked as a park ranger at several national parks, and so she is familiar with the various locales where her stories take place. This book is #14 in a series, but I was told it was not necessary to read them in order.
   
   Anna Pigeon is forty-something, newly married and madly in love with her husband. It is obvious she misses him when she is called away on assignment. She is also funny, sharp, and independent. In this particular mystery Anna is sent to The Isle of Royale on the northern shore of Lake Superior. It is the dead of winter and her assignment is to study the interaction of gray wolves with moose. This has been a 50 year project that may soon face extinction if Homeland Security gets their way. Homeland Security is exploring the possibility of keeping the park open and guarded year round, in an effort to control the illegal alien situation at the Canadian border.
   
   Anna gets to camp out in a cramped cabin with several research scientists, and Homeland Security official. Frigid weather, blizzards, dangerous ice, and wolf calls near by are just some of the things the project participants must contend with. Strange things begin to occur on their very first night there. Before long one of the researchers is found mauled to death, and strange footprints are found at the scene. Foul play is suspected, but when Anna herself has a few too many close calls, it becomes clear something very dark is going on.
   
   MY THOUGHTS - This was my first Nevada Barr book, and I enjoyed it a lot. The reader Barbara Rosenblat is always a pleasure to listen to. The story is tension filled, and parts made me shiver a bit. It was probably not the best story to be listened to before bedtime :) The tracking information gathered as part of the study was really interesting. The author did a terrific job depicting the beautiful, natural surroundings of the area, and of setting the mood. If you enjoy mysteries with a likable heroine who certainly has her act together, I would recommend trying one of her mysteries. I did not feel the least bit lost by starting my experience with this author at book #14. Mystery fans -- this book is recommended (4/5 stars)

5 comments about 13 1/2: A Novel.

1. I have read and recommended all of Nevada Barr's previous novels and awaited
   my chance to enjoy 13 1/2........I'm still waiting. The clue should have been 1/2
   because you probably will not endure more than that much of this rambling montage
   of uninteresting characters. Please, no more like this.



2. I started to listen to this book and couldn't finish. I'm a big Nevada Barr fan but this was too depressing. I wasn't engaged with the characters at all.



3. I want to begin by saying I am a HUGE fan of Barr's Anna Pigeon series. I have read every one of them and thought (in error) that this book would be as good, if not better. I was very disappointed. This book is choppy and doesn't hold together. I was often a bit confused as to who the characters were and what was going on. Now that can be a good thing early in a book, but I was well through the book and still had no clue. I read a little more than half before I just quit. Life is too short to read bad books - if you want a good read try one of her others. Sorry Nevada Barr but it was terrible....



4. Nevada Barr has outdone herself. This is a must read! Could not put the book down, as it is a fast-paced, exciting book.



5. Not quite sure how to approch this review. On the plus side, this book has many "hooks" to grab the reader for a pull into the story all along the way. As a negative, some of the main characters are hollow as adults when so much time was spent building them as children. This means reader opts out and must be "hooked" back in. I am a Barr fan and was not looking for this to copy the Anna Pigeon aspects of former books. That said, this book could not seem to decide what to be. This was like reading a debut that is fairly predicable (all but the culprit get extensive childhood work/writing). Worth reading, but I hope Ms. Barr continues to try new things and to improve.

5 comments about Hard Truth.

1. I thought this book was "on the edge of your seat" kind of reading. I mostly read thrillers, horror and mystery and this one was right up there with the best. Nevada Barr must have a very large vocabulary and a way of putting words and ideas together to make a very suspenseful novel. I really couldn't put the book down because it was so intense. For those who just want to read about parks, get a travel book, this one is not for you. Keep it up Ms Barr! And thank you for a great read!



2. I've always loved the spunky Anna and she is great in this book as always. It's the plot itself that I found chilling. Children being abducted and molested, a cult of ex-mormons, all taking place in the remote Rocky Mountains...well, you get the picture. You are on the edge of your seat the whole book. It's certainly not a cozy series any longer but still a very good series.
   
   The author is a great author, but I'm getting a little spooked by the plots. I think I liked her earlier books better when you could expect the men to always be the bad guys!



3. This was my first Nevada Barr book. This book only averaged a 3 star from the readers but I think it was a very exciting read. The villian is a real villian and the heroes are true heros. Very graphic not for the faint of heart but definitely a thriller.



4. I agree with other reviewers that this is the darkest and most chilling installment in the series so far. It's not the sort of topic I choose to read about and I, too, noticed the relative lack of engagement with the natural park setting that drew me to this series in the first place. Neither is there much in terms of further developing the Anna Pigeon character. But that said, as far as a mystery story goes, this one was well done--enough so to give me a nightmare.



5. Nevada Barr is my kind of writer. Strong, secular, humanist, nature-loving and a woman. I can't understand the murderers she writes about. But, I know they exist. I've had just enough darkness in my life to identify with her protagonist. When Anna Pigeon rights the wrong, I am vindicated. But, like Anna, I know too much to live a traditional life, now. Yes, most of her other Anna Pigeon mysteries have less painful situations. So, start with them, experience the National Parks and their beauty. I take comfort thinking there are rangers and police who, like Nevada Barr, keep their sanity when very bad things happen.

No comments about Hunting Season.

5 comments about Endangered Species.

1. I'm a fan of Nevada Barr and enjoyed the plot of this book, but Cindy Williams makes this one hard to listen too. She reads like she is racing to the end in a performance with all the passion and variety of a lump of coal. Buy the book; it is an engaging story. But wait for an unabridged audio version read by Barbara Rosenblat.



2. I always enjoy Nevada Barr's books and this one did not disappoint. I was fully involved in the story and while her main character Anna Pigeon, prefers her life in the parks to a full time relationship with someone, there is just enough personal story to make her human. There is suspense and tension throughout and while I suspected who the killer was, I was content to let the author lead me to the conclusion.



3. ... that' said, I've only experienced 4 and 1/10 of them. I enjoyed the story, even though some parts weren't really believable, like the Disneyeque baby deer named Flicka. The descriptions in any Nevada Barr book might be overdone, but they are beautiful if heard aloud. If you like the series but are tired of plodding through the prose, grab a copy of the audio cd's from a library. They're excellent.
   
   I really thought there'd be more about the baby sea turtles, but they were very much overshadowed by all the other events. It's a predictable, yet enjoyable story. Anna, flaws and all, is a likable character.



4. THE SETUP
   "Endangered Species", set on Cumberland Island, Georgia, opens with Park Ranger Anna Pigeon (usually a Park Policeman, but this time working on a fire-suppression crew) helping to gather eggs from a loggerhead seaturtle, as they are being laid. Soon thereafter, a small plane, piloted by Slatery Hammond (a somewhat shady character), carrying Tod Balfour (the District Ranger) as a passenger, crashes, having been sabotaged. Both were previously the sole law enforcement officers in a district of Cascade National Park. Tod's beautiful young wife (who has been harrassed by Slatery) is near-term pregnant. The same day, a young Austrian tourist is shot in the leg while hiking overland. Things snowball from there. Among other notable characters: Mich Hanson (a maintenance man) and his wife Louise, seem to have excess time on their hands. Marty Slesinger is an eccentric slobbish doper marine biologist.
   
   In the meantime, a completely independent side-story, of interest only to fans reading the series in order: Anna's sister, Molly (a NYC psychologist) has received death threats, and Anna asks her (FBI agent) boyfriend Frederick Stanton to look into it.
   
   COMMENTS
   The plot develops slowly, but that's okay. Barr creates a vivid compelling setting in exceptional clarity, detail, and accuracy. The setting (a subtropical coastal seaisland) will be unfamiliar and alien to most readers, but fascinating.
   
   The plot isn't the usual collection of evidence toward a sudden satisfying revelation of "who did it". Rather, the plot is mostly less-satisfying slow revelations of relative culpability and related but independent criminal and immoral activities, revealed in layers, like pealing an onion. This gets a little long for my tastes--I would have preferred fewer characters and fewer complications. In this story Anna is a bit irrationally "gung-ho".
   
   I especially appreciate Barr's depictions of NPS employees violating NPS regulations by feeding wildlife, and even keeping wild animals as pets. Okay, I understand the justifications, and generally approve. Don't feed the bears. Yet in my opinion, feeding a family of racoons at picnic ground (for example), or nursing a squirrel back to health, cements a child's love of wildlife (and later devotion to preservation of nature) stronger than any other experience. Indirectly, Barr also unveils the illusion (rigorously promoted by NPS) that the Parks are pristine, or must be "made pristine". Truly pristine wilderness is virtually non-existant, but nature can "reclaim" even extremely disturbed areas without assistance within a few decades. Nature works best left alone---the NPS itself has caused much damage to the Parks on misguided theories of "management".
   
   I understand that in the original hardcover version, Marty was a woman. The gender change in subsequent editions was undoubtably a great improvement. Barr's greatest strength is that the appeal of her novels is gender neutral. As a crusty 60-year-old guy, Barr is one of the few female authors I read. Without getting into an elaborate explanation, a female Marty would have seeemed implausible or at least unseemly to male readers. Many of the themes, pregnancy, loss of a woman's "man", sexual harrassment, excessive concern about insects, etc. are already heavily female---not a problem per se, but with a female Marty, the novel would have been unbalanced and much less appealing to male readers.
   
   Note to the author: One technical annoyance are excessively abrupt change of scenes, which are particularly disconcerting when listening to the audio version (in my case, audio-CDs). Several times, I found myself going back to check if a tract was missing or defective. This is not a trivial concern. At least several years ago 75% of the "e-audiobooks" I heard had missing tracts, or large sections were out-of-order.
   
   For American readers, a "budgie" (aka "budgerigar") is British English for what we call a "common parakeet".
   
   VERDICT
   Despite the minor caveats above, this is my third reading of "Endangered Species" (at intervals of several years), and it only gets better with additional re-readings. I consider that high praise.



5. A fire watch assignment on hot and humid Cumberland Island isn't too exciting for park ranger Anna Pigeon until a twin-engine Beechcraft crashes, killing two people inside. When investigators determine the Beechcraft was sabotaged, Anna's curiosity prompts her to do a little snooping. But snooping on this quiet little island becomes dangerous, although not dangerous enough to stop Anna. And this is the problem I had with Endangered Species.
   
   Because there's no emotional stake in the outcome for Anna, why is she investigating at all except to relieve boredom and quench her curiosity?. She's been warned off by both her supervisor and a mysterious stranger who ends up striking her on the head with the butt of a rifle. You'd think that'd be enough of a hint to stop most people, but not Anna. On the other hand, if she stopped investigating, there wouldn't be a mystery, so what can I say?
   
   The thing is, I liked the basic plot because it's a true whodunit. Here's a group of people with secrets and tumultuous relationships, stuck on a small island. Nevada Barr's detailed narrative descriptions made the island intriguing. I also enjoyed the subplot involving a death threat to Anna's sister Molly. Molly's life as a New York psychotherapist is a terrific contrast to Anna's world. While some secondary characters are more interesting than others, this book should have a lot of appeal to those who love whodunits set in parks all across the U.S . . . and Anna Pigeon fans, of course.

3 comments about Nevada Barr CD Collection: Blood Lure, Hunting Season, Flashback (Anna Pigeon).

1. Joyce Bean brings Nevada Barr to life. This performance is brilliant. I lived inside Anna Pigeon's head (a great place to be) and felt like I was seeing the world through her eyes. Bean's delivery is matter-of-fact. This may sound strange, but I like the way Bean lets you hear her breathe. She is reading and it feels like you're sitting around a campfire with the best of them. On top of Bean, this is a fantastic plot. The long opening scene of the recovery in the cave is gripping. The first long third of this book takes place underground but Barr brings each room, tunnel, corkscrew and wormhole to life. The characters around Pigeon are interesting and diverse and while the action moves to the surface for the middle section, it's equally compelling. The wrap-up? One of the best. Great story of greed, brilliantly read by Joyce Bean.



2. While these were abridged versions of the books, the editing was very well done. My only complaint were the occasional mispronounced word - suite pronounced as suit, for example. This is a very small thing, but it served to bring me out of the story. The biggest drawback was that I listened to these books in the car and didn't want to go in to work until the current exciting bit was done. Barr's descriptions of the parks, the people, and the events were very well done, crisp and clear, and brought you right into the story. Well done!



3. This is a good set CD of books to take along on a long car trip. As a Navada Barr fan, I was glad to find a CD available to listen to when I could not read.