If you love our National Parks (I do) and you are an avid reader (I am), it’s inevitable that you will find Nevada Barr’s series of novels. Anna Pigeon is the heroine, and she is a park ranger.
The novels – with the 18th installment expected April 1st – is not only a best-selling series, it’s also available for sale at select National Park gift shops!
The charm of the books is that Ms. Barr weaves the unique character of her setting into the plot of each novel. Her love of nature is clear – she worked as a law enforcement ranger for several summers, so she does know something about the life of a ranger.
The current issues that impact the Park are endemic to each of her novels. With Borderline, the setting is the Big Bend National Park. The multi-layered plot is firmly focused on a central issue of that Park: border security.
And murder. Anna Pigeon is always surrounded by murder. She must be the unluckiest ranger in the country, because where she goes, the body count grows. In this particular case, there are 4 dead quickly and Pigeon’s river rafting group of 6 is running for their lives – with a newborn infant in Anna’s care.
As this plot thickens, you’ve got everything from a wayward Mexican cow to a politically climbing mayor from Houston complicating things. Barr’s plots are a bit wacky and fun … and the tension always builds to a surprising conclusion.
The novels are a bit formulaic for my taste … and when the action slows just a touch, that can become annoying. When the action ramps up, though, Anna Pidgeon is the friend we’d all like to have in a tight spot. Like with many cop novels (because she is a law enforcement ranger, paramedic and all-around survivor), Pigeon is always up to every task. The good girl always wins.
And that’s a wonderful thing.
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i’ve enjoyed her novels for some time – nice tie-in!