I have never been a huge reader of mystery and suspense novels.
I realize this puts me in the minority of the reading population - at least in my corner of the world. Everyone here clamors for the next James Patterson, can't wait for the new David Baldacci, and are practically tearing down the walls trying to get the new Harlan Coben. I've read them all, and I like them all, but I don't generally gravitate to the mystery novels first when I’m trying to find what to read next.
However, several years ago one of my work colleagues introduced me to a mystery writer that I've been devoted to ever since, reading every novel she writes: Nevada Barr.
Barr's mystery novels don't follow the formula usually set forth by this genre: a male protagonist, working as a cop, private investigator or spook, solving a murder in the 'burbs or trying to snuff out crime in the big city one case at a time.
Instead, Barr has a very different approach.
Anna Pigeon is not in the first bloom of youth, she's not all sweetness and light, and she's not a cop working in the big city.
Anna Pigeon is a park ranger.
A single, middle aged, no-nonsense, take it or leave it park ranger.
Barr's Anna Pigeon novels - now numbering 13 - are a fantastic blend of a likeable and relatable (female) protagonist, unusual and creative murder mysteries, and some of the most extraordinary settings in mystery fiction. Barr does a remarkable job of transporting the reader to National Parks across the United States - from Yosemite to the Statue of Liberty, from the Natchez Trace to Carlsbad Caverns. Barr evokes the season, the scenery and the spirit of each park, letting the reader feel as though they are truly in the wilds with Anna as their sometimes cantankerous but always appreciative guide.
Barr's most recent novel - Winter Study, released April 1 - returns Anna to a park she visited about 15 years ago (in a previous novel), Isle Royale. Located in Lake Superior between Canada and the United States, Isle Royale is a little visited, unspoiled park filled with lush forest, lakefront coastline, amazing diving experiences, and on occasion... murder.
This time Anna is visiting the park in the dead of winter, a part of the "Winter Study", a small group of National Park Service employees, scientists and one member of Homeland Security to study the wolf and moose populations on the island. The Winter Study has been going for fifty years, but now Homeland Security is threatening to open the park year-round as part of a plan to protect the United States from terrorists at our borders. Normally closed October through May to observe the wolves and allow the island to recover from the onslaught of tourists that arrive each summer, this is a marked change for the park, and one that not everyone is happy with.
Anna and Company are on Isle Royale during a bitterly cold January winter, observing the wildlife when a strange being appears... and someone is being blackmailed... and where someone ends up dead in the snow. Anna works to solve the mystery, save herself from the elements around her, and protect the park at the same time.
Unlikely and outlandish though it may be at times, this story will grab the reader and pull them along, flipping page after page to find the "whodunit". Though I read this during a balmy Saturday afternoon, laying in the 75 degree sunshine, I found myself chilled with Barr's wintry descriptions of the icy, arctic cold, the freezing temperatures of the lake, and the ways one can die in the wilderness of northern Lake Superior.
Over thirteen novels, I have come to regard Anna Pigeon as a friend - a character I long to hang out with, admire, and enjoy spending time with. Her spunk, straightforward manner and even her flaws are rarities in fiction, and I sometimes find myself envious of her wandering lifestyle, her deep appreciation for nature, and the fact that she is truly her own person, unwilling to bend for anyone.
Even better, I can't wait to see where Anna Pigeon is going to transport me to next!
The first Anna Pigeon novel is Track of the Cat, followed (in order) by: A Superior Death, Ill Wind, Firestorm, Endangered Species, Blind Descent, Liberty Falling, Deep South, Blood Lure, Hunting Season, Flashback, High Country, Hard Truth and then newly released Winter Study. My personal favorite is A Superior Death (the “other” Isle Royale novel), and while I prefer to read series in order, these can be read as stand-alone novels without too much confusion.
If you enjoy the novels of Nevada Barr, you may also enjoy reading J.A. Jance, Marcia Muller, Dana Stabenow, or Sara Paretsky.
Looking to ask the Loud Librarian a question or comment on one of her reviews? Email her at marissa.priddis@crucialpop.com.
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