This is the first book in the long running mystery series featuring Anna Pigeon, a ranger with the US National Park Service. I believe that each book is set in a different national park. This first book is set in Guadalupe national park in west Texas.
I don't know about everyone else, but I always get a bit of a thrill when I start a new series. Will I like the characters? Will the books interesting? And (in mystery series only of course), will the mysteries be good? Well, I'm happy to say that this book hit on all three. I took me a while to warm up to Anna, but I think that a lot of that had to do with the fact that her character has walls built up around her emotions because she's still dealing with her husband's death. After a while, I really liked Anna's no-nonsense manner and attitude. I also appreciated her love of animals.
What made the story most interesting to me - and is one of the reasons I'll keep reading this series - was that Guadalupe national park wasn't just the setting of this story. It was almost another character. The author must have done her research well, because the park itself played a major role in the story. Learning about the animals, the plants and the layout of the park was fascinating.
And lastly, the author did a great job of creating multiple options for "who done it" and creating the mystery.
This is the first in a series of mysteries set in National Parks with the protaganist a park ranger named Anna Pigeon.
The author Nevada Barr writes from experience since she is a National Park Ranger.
This was a great read . A Park ranger is killed and the police and the Park Rangers accept it as a random mountain lion killing. But since Anna has found the body, there are things that just don't add up.
I loved this book. You get to see things through Anna's eyes and she is one sharp lady. And the feeling that you are there in the rugged wilderness with her and what you learn about the great outdoors and those that try to preserve it made it more than just a helluva mystery story which it was.
This book was a quick easy read. Enjoyable plot line with several interesting twists. I will read more in the Anna Pigeon series. I enjoyed the descriptions of the park.