Track of the Cat

a wilderness for Halloween Bingo when I came acroos 'Track Of The Cat' in my Kindle TBR. I bought it to replace my 1990s paperback copy that I released into the wild a while ago because the text was too small for me to read. My memory of the book has faded over the decades since I read it so the quality and tone of the opening paragraphs caught me by surprise:

“There hadn’t been a god for many years. Not the nightgownclad patriarch of Sunday school coloring books; not the sensitive young man with the inevitable auburn ringlets Anna had stared through in the stained-glass windows at Mass; not the many-armed and many-faceted deities of the Bhagavad Gita that she’d worshipped alongside hashish and Dustin Hoffman in her college days. show more Even the short but gratifying parade of earth goddesses that had taken her to their ample bosoms in her early thirties had gone, though she remembered them with more kindness than the rest.

God was dead. Let Him rest in peace. Now, finally, the earth was hers with no taint of Heaven."

Reading this made me want to get to know Anna Pigeon. Over the next 167 pages, I came to like her a lot. Anna is a great character - a little odd - not always comfortable with herself - not always sure that she's sane - a widow - an escapee from Manhattan sophistication to the unfiltered nature of the hight country - brave - curious about everything except the people around her - still mourning her husband - unwilling to commit to a new lover, connected to the world beyond the Park on via herManhattan-based high-priced psychiatrist sister - bad at making friends but good at getting answers to difficult questions.

The plot was mainly a framework for getting to know Anna and to share her love for the harsh beauty of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in West Texas. I've never been to that part of Texas but I love desert landscapes and it was a pleasure to spend time in this one.

Although Anna is a Law Enforement Park Ranger, her investigations into the death of a fellow ranger who is deamed to have been killed by a mountain lion is an off-the-books informal affair. I loved that Anna knows that she doesn't have the skills or experience to carry out this kind of investigation but goes ahead anyway. Anna investigates with self-mocking humour and a need to know the truth. That she started her investigation by telling her boss: 'The lion didn't do it." made me smile.

I hadn't expected much of the plot but, by the second half of the book, I was quite engaged with it, even though I had no idea who the killer was. The ending was inspired, unexpected, tense and easy to believe in.

I'm hungry for more now, so it's comforting to know that there are eighteen more books in the series. I'm going to allow myself one a month until either I'm done or I lose interest. I've already added the next book, 'A Superior Death' set in Isle Royale National Park on the coast of Lake Superior, to my shelves. show less

OK, so I’m a little late to the party on this author; I can’t speak to Nevada Barr’s entire body of work, but Track of the Cat is quite the mystery debut.

Ms. Barr uses language wisely; her lyrical descriptions of the West Texas desert – in the heat of day, at sunset, at moonrise – are the only passages in which she is extravagant with her words. Sky, trees, animal sounds, and scents are explored as Park Ranger and Law Enforcement Officer Anna Pigeon, a transplanted New York widow, takes it upon herself to find out what killed her fellow Rangers after finding their bodies in Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

The pacing is perfect, and ends in a confrontation with one of the most despicable criminals I’ve ever read – which show more made the ending so satisfying. There are one or two plot holes, including a dinner party that just dropped out of the sky with either no prior mention or a mention so far back in the narrative that it was camouflaged. Without this confusing event, I would be reviewing a five star book. I took away a half-star, but I will be reading more in this series. Anna Pigeon is one of the most intriguing protagonists I’ve met in a mystery series, and I can’t wait to see where she goes. I did guess the killer, but the book is so beautifully crafted overall that I don’t count this against the author.

Other reviewers have classified this as a cozy mystery, but I disagree. Anna is too much of a badass, and I can’t reconcile the unforgiving desert landscape with tea, humor, or any of the other cozy hallmarks. Neither is it a police procedural; Anna operates in the margins of the law, and without the support of her department. I guess I’ll just call it a mystery series; maybe it’s got a sub-genre of its own. Desert Mystery?

Regardless, this is a book to be savored. Take your time as you visit the desert with Anna. Be careful on the trail. show less

Somehow, I have never picked up one of Nevada Barr's books before. We recently caught up with Ken Burns's 2009 National Parks documentary series, in which she was one of the contributing authorities (having been a Park Ranger herself), and I wondered WHY I had not read her stuff. Miraculously, my library had the first Anna Pigeon novel right there on the shelf, so I tore in. There was nothing predictable about this tale of a law enforcement officer with the National Park Service who doesn't accept the official findings when another ranger is found dead in the desert, the apparent victim of a cougar attack. Loved the characters, loved the setting, loved the writing, and most especially loved the ending.
The cat didn't do it.

3.5***

Anna Pigeon is a US Parks Ranger who is escaping a tragic past by working in the remote Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which straddles the New Mexico / Texas border. It’s rugged country, mostly desert, but including the highest peak in Texas and some forested land. On a routine patrol to check for signs of the park’s mountain lions she notices an unusual number of large buzzards circling. The carcass must be rather large if so many birds are interested, so Anna descends into the canyon to investigate. What she finds is not a deer or elk, but a human.

This is the debut for Anna Pigeon, and a good debut it is. Anna is a strong woman – not only physically fit, but emotionally and mentally strong. Sure she’s carrying some show more baggage, but she deals with it and never waits to be rescued if she can save herself. There are some obvious red herrings here, and the experienced mystery reader will recognize them for what they are. Still, Barr writes a good story. There’s a little too much time spent on tangents, but even so, the plot moves fast enough to keep one turning pages, I’ll read more of the Anna Pigeon series. show less

Nevada Barr's Track of the Cat, is the first book in her Anna Pidgeon series. Set against the arid backdrop of the Guadaloupe Mountains in West Texas, Track of the Cat follows park Ranger Anna Pidgeon as she tries to unravel a murder plot.

Seeking the solitude and healing powers of nature after the accidental death of her husband in New York, Anna has come to the Guadaloupe Mountain National Park to work as a Ranger. While searching for traces of the elusive mountain lion, Anna discovers the body of fellow Ranger Shelia Drury, an apparent victim of a puma attack. Appearances can be deceiving however, and as she begins to really look at the evidence, Anna discovers that there may be more to Shelia's death that meets the eye. Will Anna show more discover the truth before the Park Service issues death warrants on the area cougars?

I actually picked up Track of the Cat for the first time about 14 years ago. As a teenager I couldn't really get into it, but as an adult, the imagery of the West Texas desert enchanted me. The stark description of Guadalopue Mountains National Park is magnificent - the punishing heat of the Texas desert, the beauty of the pristine mountains and canyons - I could feel the rocks crunching beneath my feet as I followed Anna throughout the park. I am a born-and-bred Texan, but I live in Southeast Texas. I've never physically been that far West, but I felt as though I was there while reading this book!

As a character, Anna Pidgeon was compelling and interesting. Possibly as a result of her career as a National Park Ranger, Nevada Barr has created a unique and believable character in Anna. She is a flawed, "real" character, making her feel like a friend, rather than just a character in a book. It is easy to put yourself in her shoes and follow the clues. I have always enjoyed reading and learning about nature, and it was fascinating to follow Anna and see what the job of a Ranger entails.

Track of the Cat was promising, but didn't quite deliver. The progression of events was good, but the ending just fell flat. All of the big "unveiling" of the murderer happened at the very end of the book, and then... nothing. Did the murderer go to jail? Did he survive his injuries? What happened with the missing mountain lions? What about the ranchers? Did Anna get a promotion or a medal or something for figuring it all out? Agh! I need a tidier ending than this! As it is just the first book in a series that currently numbers 15, I'm going to give it another chance. I'll read on a couple of more books in the series and hope for the best.

Don't be discouraged from picking up Track of the Cat based on my 3-star review. If GoodReads allowed it, this is one book that would receive 3 1/2 stars from me, but I'm erring on the side of being a stingy beyotch and just giving it 3. show less

Trying to hide—and drink—away her sorrow after her husband's untimely death, Anna Pigeon chooses to live on the edge of civilization as a National Park Ranger in the remote Guadalupe Mountains in the great state of Texas. Because of her independent attitude and love of nature and animals, her choice brings her some peace. Then, after she starts investigating the death of a fellow ranger, she falls down a cliff and is almost killed. Anna, convinced her fall wasn't an accident, follows the evidence, which leads her to a dark secret she can't let go. I love Anna's humourous self-talk and her entertaining relationship with her sister, Molly. Nevada Barr's descriptive narrative of the trails, desert, and plant life alone is worth the show more read. I also love the author's no, nonsense ending. I can't wait to dig deeper into this series. show less

Short, and good to the end.

This is the first in a series of murder mysteries set in National Parks, written by a former park ranger. Barr describes the Texas landscape and the life of the protagonist with the emotional charge and you-are-there quality of the best non-fiction. The immediacy and texture of the writing also make the (inevitably a bit far-fetched) murders and action scenes compelling, with a real sense of risk when the main character gets herself into trouble.

There's also an interesting hard-boiled quality to it. The author gives us a main character who seems to be lonely and vulnerable, but as we follow her through the story, we see other aspects to her. In 1993, when the book was written, it may have been ahead of its show more time, and it still feels fresh today. show less