I have read many Nevada Barr novels – in particular those in the Anna Pigeon series. She is a New York best selling author though here in New Zealand few seem to have heard of her. I came across her books in the days when I was homeschooling my son and frequently visited libraries. For the uninitiated, she writes mystery stories set in the various different national parks of America. I love books set in the wildernesses of the world and if there is a mystery to keep me glued to the pages, all the better. Her heroine is a park ranger and each book is set in a different park so the readers learn heaps about each park while trying to solve the murder. Nevada herself was a park ranger for many years so knows her stuff and it shows. I have read many of them but there was a gap in her writing after her home town of New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina and I guess I wandered away from her to other authors while waiting for the next book because I am only just getting back to her now. I see she has a brand new book out in the series called “Rope”, which takes us back to the early days in the Anna Pigeon series before the first book started. A kind of a Star Wars thing.
It has the most harrowing passage near the end that I have ever read. The depth of terror and emotion and the brilliant way it was written has never left me. If you do decide to read them, start from the beginning because there is progress in her life and it can be a little disconcerting to read backwards although I did because the first book I saw in the library was number four in the series.
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