Hard Truth (2005)

Another excellent story in the Anna Pigeon series although with a little bit from other people's perspectives which I didn't particularly care for. I had a few questions like how the media described the girls' disappearance in the first place. All that was talked about was how they were found in the beginning of the book. Also, at one point Anna talked to Heath about something privately and it was never clear what they talked about. An another big problem that bothered me from the beginning was that the man who was with the kids when they disappeared was never brought in for questioning.

But despite those, it was a good read as I always expect from Barr and I eagerly await reading the next one. ( )

Another excellent story in the Anna Pigeon series although with a little bit from other people's perspectives which I didn't particularly care for. I had a few questions like how the media described the girls' disappearance in the first place. All that was talked about was how they were found in the beginning of the book. Also, at one point Anna talked to Heath about something privately and it was never clear what they talked about. An another big problem that bothered me from the beginning was that the man who was with the kids when they disappeared was never brought in for questioning.

But despite those, it was a good read as I always expect from Barr and I eagerly await reading the next one. ( )

A ranger, newly in charge of the Colorado park, is confronted with kidnapped children, tortured animals and a very strict religious sect. Her life is in danger as she seeks to unravel all the threads to this mystery.
I have not been thrilled with this story, and in fact quit listening when I was two discs away from the finish. I knew the identity of the killer in disc one and had very few surprises. The only reason I continued so long was because I liked the voice of Anna and the other woman, Heath. I might have finished this if I had been reading it in book form and could skim, but the vivid descriptions of torture, abuse, filthy language and a psychopathic mind were impossible for me to listen to. I listened at least two discs further than I should have as it is. The narrator did a fine job of reading. ( )

Anna Pigeon is a fascinating character--a 50 something Park Ranger, who's in great shape, has spent her life outdoors, but is still concerned enough to take care of her skin! A role model for us elder ladies!

In this adventure, she's recently married but has left her new husband back in New Orleans when the call came to take this post in Rocky Mountain National Park. It appears to be a good career step and they agree to take one year to decide whose career will be the one driving where the couple will ultimately live. I sense plenty of room for future tension in that aspect.

When Anna arrives at her new post, she is briefed on an ongoing case of three missing girls from some sort of church campout. When two of those girls emerge from the woods dehydrated, filthy, almost naked, and suffering from 'amnesia' about what happened to them and where they've been for the past two weeks, Anna is skeptical. Church and family elders do not want to pursue the adventure, and if it weren't for the fact that one of the girls is still missing, would not allow any questioning at all.

Add to this mix the fact that the two girls were discovered by a young paraplegic in a wheelchair who is camping in the park with her 80 year old auntie who happens to be a physician, and you have a delicious mix of motivations and characters. This one has a great plot, lots of suspects - not too many too track of though--a gorgeous setting which Barr describes well, and some well developed characters.

Although I have not read the previous 12 in the series, I had no trouble following with the limited backfill. While I am curious about some of the previous adventures (who the husband is and how they met for instance), the lack of knowledge did not detract from my enjoyment of this story. The plot makes a very steady climb to an especially chilling and thrilling climax. I don't usually like "scary in the dark woods" kinds of stories, but I found this one quite believable and was sufficiently grabbed that I had to stay up long past my bedtime to finish it. It is a true cliff hangar. (Read the story and you'll see that is no pun.) ( )

This latest installment of Nevad Barr's http://www.nevadabarr.com/ Anna Pigeon national park mystery series has the investigator move to a district ranger position at Rocky Mountain National Park. This was a fitting leisure read while we were camped several weeks at Elk Mountain RV Resort in Estes Park, Colorado. The story regained some to the fresh, unique elements that seemed to have been ebbing away in the last few Barr books. Connect to the Nevada Barr Resource Page http://mindharp.tripod.com/nbarr.html (fan site). (lj) ( )