Deep South

According to the author info on the back cover, Nevada Barr lives in Mississippi and worked as a ranger on the Natchez Trace. Little wonder that this book, in which Anna Pigeon leaves Mesa Verde and goes to work on the Natchez Trace, seems so authentic.
Anna has taken a promotion to leave the desert that she loved and she may have cause to regret it. Her two subordinates, Randy Thigpen and Bartholomew Dinkin, exhibit behavior reminiscent of men before women’s lib. They are insubordinate, messy, lazy and generally lacking in social graces. On the other hand, the chief ranger in the next district, Steve Stilwell, is helpful and funny and the sheriff for the district, Paul Davidson, is more than helpful and he’s pretty good show more looking.
Anna’s housing is right next to one of the NPS campgrounds so she has to field all the campers’ questions and complaints even when she’s not technically on duty. So when the head of a boy scout troop comes to complain about teenagers driving at high speeds and shouting obscenities through the campground Anna has to go investigate. What she finds is two boys dressed in tuxedos in a graveyard next to an old church. After scaring them half to death Anna hears someone crying. After some searching she finds a young girl in a prom dress hiding in one of the enclosures. The girl is almost incoherent with drink and can hardly move. Anna manages to get her back to her new housing and in the morning is able to contact her parents. However, the young girl, Heather, is reticent about what occurred the night before claiming she doesn’t remember anything because of the drink.
When Sherriff Davidson comes looking for a young girl who didn’t make it home from the prom, Anna assumes it is Heather he is talking about and tells him she has already been reunited with her parents. The Sherriff thinks that’s great news and says he is going to phone Danielle’s parents. Then Anna realizes that it’s another girl who has gone missing. So the search continues. Anna goes out to go over the area she found Heather in which has the added benefit of orienting her to her turf in the daylight. She takes her dog, Taco, with her and lets him off leash. When he returns with a bloody scarf she realizes they may be looking for a dead body. She calls in some help, including Randy Thigpen, and eventually they find Danielle who is indeed dead. Bizarrely she is wrapped in a sheet with eyeholes, like the Ku Klux Klan would wear, and she has a piece of clothesline around her neck.
Since Sherriff Davidson has concurrent jurisdiction he and Anna spend a lot of time trying to solve the mystery of Danielle’s death. Anna gets a late night call out about a road accident and when she goes into the garage an alligator is under her car. Anna is slightly hurt but her dog is severely injured when he comes to her rescue. It’s pretty obvious that the alligator was put there to intimidate her. Not one to be easily deterred Anna continues to pursue the case and thinks the perpetrator may have been Danielle’s date for the prom. She and Paul (because they have gotten to first name basis and more) hold off charging him. That night Anna finds out Paul is married when his wife comes to visit. She goes for a late night stroll and almost doesn’t make it back alive. She runs into Danielle’s killer who beats her up pretty badly. Anna manages to inflict her own damage that makes finding the man easy. With the case solved she is convalescing at home when Paul arrives. He tells her that he has filed for a divorce and that he has been separated from his wife for three years. It looks like Anna’s love life is looking up! show less

Anna Pigeon is a National Park Ranger who is constantly on the move, sharing housing with fellow rangers and doing a lot of grunt work in the parks. At forty-five, she realizes the next step in her career at the NPS is to take a promotion, which would mean more money, better housing, and the chance to be the boss for a change. She applied and was accepted for the only job available, a GS-11 district ranger position in the Port Gibson District of the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi, a place she's never been to. Anna quickly finds out the South is different. The park suffers from the same influx of destructive and obtrusive visitors; however, the Trace and the deep South exist in another culture where women are treated like show more second-class citizens, and the good-old-boy rules govern. Anna finds it difficult to gain the trust and loyalty of her two park rangers, and she clashes frequently with the slovenly, arrogant Randy Thigpen and the casually indifferent Bartholomew Dinkin.

Before Anna, her dog, Taco, and cat, Piedmont, are settled in, a young girl is brutally murdered, and Anna is quickly caught up in a murder investigation that puts her life in danger. While Anna deals with searching for a murderer and the rising racial tensions among the residents, Taco loses a leg to an altercation with an alligator, and Piedmont takes up residence in Anna's closet. This story, like all the books in this series, has its violent side; however, the author still reminds the reader of the idiosyncrasies of indigenous wildlife, the creepiness of numerous, hideous insects, and the unruly beauty of the southern countryside. show less

Really good, just like the first Barr I read. Rings with authenticity in descriptions of both Southern characters and Southern places, and beautifully paced through the first three-quarters of the book. A little bit of a collapse thereafter; I found the motive to be not particularly realistic, and Barr gets her heroine into such a mess near the end of the book that I don't think she ever could have realistically gotten out of it. Definitely well worth the read, though.

Park ranger Anna Pigeon has been transferred again, this time in order to get a promotion, which are hard to come by in the park service. She’s being sent to the Natchez Trace in Mississippi, and as she drives all her worldly possessions down to her new park, she quickly feels like a fish out of water. But soon she discovers boys messing around in a graveyard after dark, a young high school girl left drunk and alone in a party dress, and soon after, the body of a second girl.

This mystery went in some interesting directions as Anna is forced to investigate despite uncooperative new colleagues at her new ranger station, good ol’ boy locals, and an unfortunate number of hungry alligators lurking about. I thought the investigation part show more was especially methodical this time and liked the way the new romance as well as conflicts with colleagues played into it at times. Bonus points for great scenes with her cat Piedmont and especially with dog, Taco. show less

Book 8. Anna Pigeon is promoted to District Ranger for The Trace in Mississippi and needs to get her bearing. Works with some jerks but makes some good contacts. Girl is found murdered in a way that looks like a KKK-related killing. Hard a hard time keeping track of all the dues with similar names. Great sense of place and sleuthing.

This was my 1st Nevada Barr book. Having grown up in the area, I am biased toward the setting but was worried about how the people and religion of the region would be portrayed. Detailed the descriptions of the land were spot on and amazing. The people are neither all saints nor cross burning inbreeds. The mystery of an up and coming teen beauty queen /wild child was for the most part very good. The character of Anna Pigeon is ok but not totally captivating. Despite an ending that seemed rushed I enjoyed this book.

Book #8 in the Anna Pigeon series finds Anna moving up into management as district ranger in the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi. She arrives at her new post to feel the resentment of her two field rangers at having a woman boss and their ensuing insubordination. Coming from Mesa Verde, the whole feel of the Trace is different with its dark, dank vegetation and creepy, crawling critters. Then a young girl is found dead in a nearby cemetery on park property. She is all dressed up, but with a cover over her head and noose around her neck. As Anna’s investigation gets more involved, Anna finds herself the target of resentment for her being “Northern” and a woman, and aware of the currents of racial bigotry that run deep.

While show more reading this book I enjoyed the descriptions of the area and followed the events on the map that was provided. More of the woman who is Anna was revealed as her character evolves throughout the series. show less