I'm a big Nevada Barr fan and this is an example of why I am. I ran into a forest ranger on Tybee Island, GA who had just finished reading this too and said a lot of the rangers read Nevada Barr because her descriptions of the parks are so real.

Donna V.

I have read all of Barr's books, and most of them are excellent. This one is about The Dry Totugas off Key West, and all of the interesting history there.

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Escaping a proposal of marriage from Sheriff Paul Davidson, Anna Pigein takes a post as a temporary supervisory ranger on remote Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park, a grouping of tiny islands in a natural harbor seventy miles off Key West. This island paradise has secrets it would keep, not just in the present, but in shadows from its gritty past, when it served as a prison during the Civil War, and for the Lincoln assassination conspirators afterward.

Here, on this last lick of the United States, in a giant crumbling fortress, Anna has little company besides the occasional sunburned tourist or unruly shrimper. When her sister, Molly sends her a packet of letters from a great-great-aunt who lived at the fort with her husband, a career soldier, Anna's fantasy life is filled with visions of this long-ago time.

But a mysterious boat explosion--and the discovery of unidentifiable body parts--keeps Anna anchored to the present, and she soon finds crimes of yesterday and today closing in on her. A tangled web that was woven before she arrived threatens her sanity and her life. Cut off from the mainland by miles of water, poor phone service, and sketchy radio contact, Anna must find answers--and weather a storm that rivals the hurricanes for which the islands are famous.

The setting is beautiful and the characters are great - main character even has a heart!

I really liked the way Nevada Barr tells two stories here. Normally not a big fan of the whole "flashback" thing, I was completely drawn into the story told by her great-great-aunt who lived at this fort in the past. The history of the fort is really brought to life in the story, and, of course, there's a murder to solve.

FROM OUR EDITORS
Ranger Anna Pigeon takes her tour of national parks to the Dry Tortugas, an idyllic preserve seventy miles off the coast of Key West. Even in this island paradise, Anna cannot escape murder. A mysterious boat explosion and the discovery of seemingly unidentifiable body parts catapults our intrepid investigator out of arcadia and into dire crimes both past and present. Like its nine predecessors, this Anna Pigeon mystery abounds in local atmosphere and memorable characters.

Postponing a decision about a proposal of marriage, Anna Pigeon takes a post as a temporary supervisory ranger on remote Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park, a grouping of tiny islands in a natural harbor 70 miles off Key West. This island paradise has secrets it would keep, not just in the present, but in shadows from its gritty past when it served as a prison during the Civil War, and for the Lincoln assassination conspirators afterward.
Here on this last lick of the US, in a giant crumbling fortress, Anna has little company besides the occasional sunburned tourist or unruly shrimper. When her sister, Molly, sends her a packet of letters from a great-great-aunt who lived at the fort with her husband, a career soldier, Anna's fantasy life is filled with visions of this long-ago time.
But a mysterious boat explosion--and the discovery of unidentifiable body parts--keeps Anna anchored to the present, and she soon finds crimes of yesterday and today closing in on her. A tangled web that was woven before she arrived threatens her sanity and her life. Cut off from the mainland by miles of water, poor phone service, and sketchy radio contact, Anna must find answers and weather a storm that rivals the hurricanes for which the islands are famous.
By the author of Hunting Season, Blood Lure, Deep South, Liberty Falling, Track of the Cat, A Superior Death, and other Ranger Anna Pigeon mysteries

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