Firestorm

I read 'Track of the Cat' (1993), the first Anna Pigeon book, back in the 1990s when I was travelling through American National Parks. I re-read the book last year and was pleased to see that the writing held up. I realised that I was probably better able to appreciate Anna, a widow in her forties, now that I'm older, rather than younger, than her. I wanted to see what she did next, so I started to read my way through the series.

'Firestorm’ was my fourth visit with Anna Pigeon. I think it is the strongest in the series so far. It differed from its predecessors in three ways that made it a stronger mystery and a more intense read.

Firstly, it was effectively a version of a locked-room mystery. In this case, the locked room was the show more space occupied by the people who survived a flashover fire in the mountains of California by sheltering under their individual ‘shake and bake’ aluminium covers. One of the party doesn't survive - a knife in the heart will do that to you- meaning one of the survivors is a murderer.

Secondly, it had a compressed timeline. Anna and the other survivors are trapped on the mountain by extreme cold weather for a few days after the murder. So, Anna has to try and find the murderer while knowing that he or eating and sleeping meters away from them. She spends most of the investigation cold, exhausted and feeling very vulnerable.

Thirdly, part of the story is told from the point of view of FBI agent Frederick Stanton, whom Anna worked with in 'A Superior Death' and 'Ill Wind'. Stanton inserts himself into the investigation when he hears that Anna is involved and that she is trapped on the mountain. He never makes it further than the Base Camp, but he has the resources of the FBI at his disposal. Stanton's perspective helped the exposition along nicely. His growing relationship with Anna also helped develop Anna's character.

As usual, Nevada Barr did a sterling job of bringing the setting of the story to life. The description of the fire is spectacular. The description of waiting for rescue in the mountains in the depth of winter made a great contrast and provided a dramatic backdrop for what is a fairly static story.

I didn’t guess who the murderer was, so I was kept hanging until almost the end of the book, and even then, things didn’t go the way I’d normally expect them to.

I enjoyed the book. I was impressed by how contemporary (communications technology to one side) the twenty-nine-year-old book felt. I have another fourteen books to go in the series. I'm looking forward to them. show less

Anna Pigeon has been sent to the Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California, to serve as security officer and medic for a team fighting a wildfire they believe may have been accidentally or intentionally started by a man camping in the forest. The camper turns up burned to death, and is identified as the brother of Jennifer Short, one of Pigeon's colleagues. But why would Josh Short, an environmental activist and experienced outdoorsman, set his beloved landscape aflame; neither mishap nor arson seem to explain that to Anna. Just as the team is getting the fire under control and planning to demob off the mountain, an unexpected change in the weather creates a firestorm, putting everyone at risk, destroying their camp with all show more supplies and equipment, and preventing rescue for days. Most of the team manages to take shelter and avoid incineration, but there are casualties...including one man who is found with a knife in his heart. Stranded on a charred-over mountainside with no food or water, limited communication with the outside world, and an exhausted, traumatized group of mixed personalities, one of whom must be a murderer... hmmm.... Anna is highly trained, experienced and resourceful, but this is a mighty challenge, and I might have done a couple things differently. But then, I'm not a badass park ranger. A fast adventure with a somewhat unexpected ending. show less

The Anna Pigeon series keeps getting better and better. Firestorm is a suspenseful and terrifying story of the Jackknife fire in the Caribou Wilderness and Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California. I know what horrific damage fires can cause and how fast they can move because I live in California. Although this book is fiction, we have hundreds of real fires every year. In this fourth book, the author takes us inside the hell that belongs to those on the front lines. When Anna—still stationed at Mesa Verde National Park—volunteers to join the San Juan Plateau Fire Crew as medical support, her group is sent out to rescue a fallen fighter. But, before they can get him and themselves to safety, a rare firestorm causes them show more to shelter in place. Nevada Barr's narrative is so intense I felt like I was with them—burning under a flimsy aluminum fire shelter, suffocating with dirt and dust in my nose and mouth, and praying for it to end. Just when the worst is over, they discover one of the firefighters was stabbed to death during the panic. Now, Anna finds herself trying to solve a murder and keep the peace while stuck on a mountain without food or water. Frederick Stanton, her sometimes FBI partner, tries to help from base camp. I love that Fred and Anna might become romantically involved in future books. show less

I discovered Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series this year. The first I read, [b:Flashback|76705|Flashback (Anna Pigeon, #11)|Nevada Barr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389107441l/76705._SY75_.jpg|1963038] was the best, with a great location and a nifty dual plot. The next was just OK, but this one, an early entry, was super.

Working in Lassen Volcanic National Park as an EMT during a wildfire, Anna Pigeon is attached to a small crew that is cut off from the outside when the blaze shifts and a snowstorm sets in. One of their number is murdered, and Anna is forced to put on her security officer cap to keep a lid on the situation, and try to figure out what happened.

Barr makes the most of the location: show more the hydrothermal features, the rugged terrain, and the wildfires. I was struck by the difference in attitudes toward the fires then and now. There was no years-long drought in the mid-1990s, and the fire was perceived as a normal event that could, within a few days, be contained. Given climate change and the persistent drought, California wildfires today take on such a different character.

I will definitely be reading more in this series, and I now know how to select the ones that are likely to appeal to me most - those in natural settings, where Anna Pigeon can use her skills and sense to outwit the bad guys. show less

Certainly Anna Pigeon has the patience of a saint. There are assholes galore in this one. My patience with them would have run out, but Anna stays to the higher ground and comes up the winner every time. Not to say she doesn’t pay the price sometimes.

In this one everyone on the mountain is a suspect. But who is covering up for whom? They all had to take shelter in these tent-like things that would protect them from the worst of the heat and smoke – hilariously called shake-n-bakes. A few people witnessed others coming out of their shake-n-bakes, but not everyone. So Anna has to try to ask people questions without giving away so much that she becomes a victim herself.

Turns out that the sister of the hiker killed when his fire caused show more the forest blaze is covering for her brother’s lover. The guy who was killed actually started the forest fire to give people work. Without logging, a lot of people make their living fighting fires. So he tells people to set them and takes bribes by the fire fighters groups for starting them. He tried to get this guy to light one but he refused. So the asshole killed him and tried to make it look like it the guy set it on purpose or an accident so stupid that the guy would have been embarrassed posthumously. So the lover finds out and knife’s the guy.

Anna takes pity on him when she is trapped and about to fall into a boiling sulfur lake. She puts a plan to him that he accepts. He had been fighting with this real asshole who has now been rendered unconscious. The killer hauls Anna out and escapes. When the asshole comes to, she tells him that he rescued her and got a bump on the head for his efforts. The fleeing killer fell into the sulfur lake and died immediately. Because a head injury case often doesn’t remember the few minutes leading up to the injury, she knew she could plant a fake memory there that he would cherish forever because he was a pompous ass. The last scene we see is Anna and the sister flying over the area in a helicopter and Anna surreptitiously points out to the sister a small figure way in the distance making his way away from civilization.

An interesting ending. Very different. show less

In this 4th book of a series, U.S. Park Ranger Anna Pigeon is on temporary duty as the security officer and EMT with a group fighting the Jacknife fire in Northern California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park. A weather system promises some rain or snow to quench what is left of the fire, so the crew is dismantling the camp and pulling out. But one man is injured in an accident and Anna and a few others trek to his position to help evacuate the big guy down the mountain. Before they can get to safety, the storm front pushes high winds into the small remaining fires and a firestorm results, trapping them with only their individual safety shelters to protect them. When they emerge two men are dead – but one of them didn’t die in the show more fire; he’s been stabbed. With few resources, and a several days wait for rescue crews, Anna is alone in trying to figure out who among them is the murderer.

Nevada Barr writes good, suspenseful and intricately plotted mysteries, and this is a good one. I like Anna as a lead character; she’s intelligent, tenacious, strong (in body and mind) and resourceful. Barr includes a little romantic tension with Anna’s long-distance relationship with FBI agent Frederick Stanton, but that’s okay. There are several stereotypical characters – school-bully-turned-cop, weak-indecisive-bureaucrat, good-time-girl-camp-follower – but most of the team are reasonably complicated with strengths and weaknesses that come out under the stress of their predicament.

All told it’s a solid mystery with fast action that kept me interested from beginning to end show less

Joy's review: Park Ranger Amanda Pigeon gets trapped with a forest fighting crew behind the lines. Naturally, there is a murder. This is the fourth book in this series that I've read and so far, it is my favorite. The characters were interesting and the descriptions of the scenery and fire vivid. This is a good mystery series to curl up with.