Track of the Cat

Anna Pigeon #1

by Nevada Barr

Anna Pigeon has fled New York and her memories to find work as a ranger in the country’s national parks. In the remote backcountry of West Texas, however, she discovers murder and violence. Fellow park ranger Sheila Drury is mysteriously killed, presumably by a mountain lion. But the deep claw marks Anna finds across Drury’s throat and the paw prints surrounding the body are too perfect to be real.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Thriller, Crime, Suspense

245 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Nevada Barr is a mystery fiction author, known for her "Anna Pigeon" series of mysteries, set in National Parks in the United States. Barr has won an Agatha Award for best first novel for Track of the Cat.

Barr was named after the state of her birth. She grew up in Johnstonville, California. She finished college at the University of California, Irvine. Originally, Barr started to pursue a career in theatre, but decided to be a park ranger. In 1984 she published her first novel, Bittersweet, a bleak lesbian historical novel set in the days of the Western frontier.

While working in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Barr created the Anna Pigeon series. Pigeon is a law enforcement officer with the United States National Park Service. Each book in the series takes place in a different National Park, where Pigeon solves a murder mystery, often related to natural resource issues. She is a satirical, witty woman whose icy exterior is broken down in each book by a hunky male to whom she is attracted (such as Rogelio).

Currently, Ms. Barr lives in New Orleans, LA.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/nevada...

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐ Female Park Ranger! This one is set in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas. Feline lover, Anna Pigeon, refuses to believe a mountain lion has killed a fellow female park ranger. Could there be foul play?

I'm not sure how I feel about the MC yet, she's fine for the most part but does stupid and reckless things every now and then. This is not a cozy mystery and details of the found body in the wild can be graphic. I enjoy these outdoor-type thrillers. As I understand it, each installment takes place at a different national park. I can't wait for the next adventure and wonder where it'll take me!

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

One fun thing about reading books that were written back in 1993 is you get to enjoy the main character pawing through their cassette tape collection trying to find some great tunes to listen to. 😊 Anna Pigeon is a park ranger in west Texas and while she’s out on patrol she discovers a body. The other rangers are convinced it was a mountain lion. Some people are determined to hunt the lions down. Anna isn’t so sure. This was a great mystery that combined sleuthing with lots of park ranger-ing (yay—I love books that are neat and unusual like this), details specific to this park, and National Park facts. Apparently, every book in this series is set in a different park in the US, so this should be fun.

This was a good mystery with a quick pace, not too long and never felt like it dragged. Fun scenes with the MC’s sister. Lots of fun as Anna works to figure out who is the real murderer from her list of suspects. I was kept completely guessing on this one all the way up until the end, which is always great in a mystery. As a bonus, I got to learn more than I ever thought I’d need to know about mountain lions! 😊

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Track of the Cat is a mystery title that I have had on my “To Read” list for a long time. Also, the entire Anna Pigeon series has interested me as they all take place in national parks and I used to live in Yellowstone National Park. I figured I would find these outdoorsy mysteries appealing.

This first in the series feels like “a first” with Nevada Barr just getting used to the characters and format. It is okay but felt a bit unpolished. Anna is supposed to be a strong character, but I felt like her personality and harsh introspection got in the way of the story at times. Also, when all the characters were introduced, it did not feel organic. Instead, it felt like an in-your-face avalanche of everyone all at once. Because of this, I found them hard to keep straight and remember who is who when they came back into the story later.

While my experience with this one was lukewarm, I look forward to trying more. I imagine that Barr eventually gets into the groove!

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like this concept - each book in the series is a murder mystery set in a different national park, and the protagonist is a park ranger. You learn all sorts of cool things about the park service and about the parks themselves. Definitely a tourism booster - except for the whole death thing, as my mother pointed out: Anna Pigeon, the protagonist, is definitely the Jessica Fletcher of the NPS - wherever she goes, someone dies.

I didn't really care for Pigeon herself, though, and really liking at least one major character is essential if you're going to read a whole series of books. Pigeon and the national parks seem to be the only constants. I can't quite put my finger on what I didn't like about Pigeon, other than to say that we see people and the world very differently and thus would approach situations very differently (this a tactful way of saying that I think she makes really stupid decisions - without them, though, the plot wouldn't move forward at all). I didn't dislike her as much as I do Stephanie Plum: while I will do just about anything to make sure I never read another Janet Evanovich book again, I would pick up another one in the Anna Pigeon series at some point to learn more about the parks.

[Jacqueline · Rating 1 out of 5]

The good stuff: Detailed descriptions of the Guadalupe Mountain Range and its natural environment.

The bad stuff: Too many detailed descriptions of the Guadalupe Mountain Range and its natural environment.

The really bad stuff: Repulsive descriptions of vultures picking through the victim's entrails as seen by an emotionally vacant character. In other words, she seems to enjoy describing the gruesome scene in lurid detail but voices no empathy toward the victim.

The deal-breaker: The main character Anna is a zombie of a human being devoid of emotion and completely unable to connect to another person. As a result, I disliked Anna and never formed any positive connection toward her character. In fact, the majority of the characters in the story were unlikable and underdeveloped. This made the book VERY difficult to finish.

Anna's approach to solving crime while executing her job as a law enforcement officer was at best unethical including performing illegal searches by breaking into an office and rifling through files rendering any evidence she might have found useless and inadmissible. Did anyone perform a psychological test on Anna when she applied for this job? Some of her disturbing thoughts include: (i) Liking Karl even if he's killed a ranger or two; (ii) Admitting she would certainly commit murder and even has a list for those "better off dead", and (iii) Manipulating the crime scene to protect wildlife. Anna then crosses the line into immoral and criminal behavior when she takes justice into her own hands.

I hope that Anna grows as a person and gets some much needed therapy (if not jail time) in the rest of the books in this series. Unfortunately, I don't care enough about her to find out.

[Tooter · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

[Christine PNW · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Anna Pigeon mystery series. It is a pretty wild ride, with Anna doing some pretty stupid things and almost dying. I'm interested enough in the series that I am sure I will read on, but I hope that Nevada Barr dials down the TSTL in the future installments, otherwise Anna's continued existence will become increasingly implausible.

One sentence review: Female park ranger with no sense of self-preservation solves murder without dying.

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Halloween Bingo 2023

A pretty good little mystery to kick off my Halloween Bingo reading for this year. I've been meaning to try this series for quite a while now and I'm happy to report that I like it thus far. (It was recommended by one of my birding pals who has questionable taste, so that's a relief!)

Anna Pigeon is one of those women who I kind of wish I was like—a competent outdoorswoman. Someone capable of grueling hikes and taking care of herself. But I'm just as happy that I don't have her drinking problem or the extremely antisocial tendencies. I hate to admit how happy I am to live in a city and have regular social calendar!

I was reminded of a book that I didn't like very much, A Solitude of Wolverines. That book featured a female wildlife researcher in Montana and ended in melodramatic silliness. I am happy to report that although Anna does some brainless things and very nearly dies, she retains much more believability than Alex Carter, the wolverine researcher. I will be happy to read book two of the Anna Pigeon series at some future point.

I read this book to match The Barrens on my bingo card, as Anna spends a lot of time out in the desert of Guadalupe Mountain National Park.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anna Pigeon has left her New York City life and memories for the remote life of a park ranger in the Guadalupe Mountains in West Texas. However, even the beautiful scenery of West Texas can hold violence. When a fellow ranger dies by a “mountain lion,” Anna is drawn in by a scene that is just not right. Anna’s investigations lead her to explore the lives and relationships of the other rangers around her that she had previously known only as colleagues. Her desire to keep the blame from the mountain lion leads her in more trouble than she suspected when she herself is involved with a terrible accident, and another ranger goes missing. Anna must track the harsh land to discover whoever is behind these murders, but will she find out that someone is tracking her first? The book has really incredible descriptions that make you feel like you are in the Guadalupe Mountains with Anna. It can be a bit racy, and I wouldn't recommend it to someone who enjoys a gentle read. However, the book is really well-written, and I think it could be enjoyed by a wide audience.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Track Of The Cat was a first read by Author Nevada Barr & i must say what a wonderful storyline & easy read for me i really enjoyed this book & the setting in Guadeloupe National Park Anna Pigeon wants a new start moving from New York after losing her husband she becomes a park ranger set in Texas the story starts when a park ranger is found murdered in a crevice the marks on her body say its a mountain lion but Anna says its not possible as she thinks it was murder so she sets out looking into all the park rangers that work there.
When a photo is found of Sheila Drury & a female lover Christine things roll on from there.
The ending was really good i thought i knew who had done it but was wrong as i usually am a good read for all Nevada Barr fans

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read most of the Nevada Barr mystery series books. The protagonist is a National Park Ranger and each book takes place in (mostly) different national parks. I’ve learned a lot about various national parks and the national park system from these books. Although I think Barr’s books actually generally improve with time, I have a very soft spot in my heart for this first book in the series. I absolutely love the “animal rights” message. More depressing atmosphere/depressed character(s) throughout than in most mystery fiction.

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love all of the Anna Pigeon mysteries because they take place in the national parks. She and her relatives/co-workers/friends are all fun to follow through the series. Nevada Barr has a gift for coming up with wacky characters with bizarre backgrounds. Good thing these aren't really the kind of people we have prowling our parks on a regular basis. :>)

I also really enjoy this series because I get to learn about national parks I've never visited, and probably never will.

[Christopher Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Way late to game on this one, but what a wonderful read. Such clear, focused prose and such beautiful atmospheric descriptions of the Guadalupe National Park. I look forward to devouring the rest of the series. Anna is a great protagonist. Surly and defiant like all the best fictional investigators and detectives, but also reflective and wise. Her inner monologues never feel overdone or heavily expository.

[Jolene Gen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the concept of mysteries set in national parks, but this book was a bit slow and simple. I’m hoping the series gets better because I love national parks and mysteries.

[Lisa Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

McKittrick Canyon - Pratt Cabin and Grotto Trail


★★★★½ (This is a review of the audiobook.) I truly enjoyed the start of the Anna Pigeon series! I will definitely be continuing on with the rest of the books, especially when I see that they are narrated by the talented Barbara Rosenblat. I’ve heard her in countless audiobooks; however, in this one, like the Aisling Grey: Guardian series, she sounds completely different. Granted, she doesn’t have the international accents that she has in that series, but she does a wonderful job of the different southern dialects found in this mystery novel.

This was a good “who-done-it,” too. There are not a ton of suspects, but I think this is a good thing, as the handful there are are all pretty solid and kept me guessing. I can see why this won the 1994 Anthony Award for Best First Novel. For the most part, each book in the series takes place in a different National Park. In Track of the Cat the setting was Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas. The park was not just wallpaper, but became part of the story; from the mountains dotted with ponderosa pines, to the horned lizards or western diamondback rattlers along the limestone trails, to Gideon - a big chocolate colored quarter horse who dozes while Anna talks to him because he’s walked the path so many times. And then there’s the cougar with kittens that Anna believes has been framed in the death of a co-worker.

Cougar Cub


I was surprised some of the reviewers did not like the protagonist Anna, the widowed Law Enforcement Ranger with flaws. But to each his own. I liked her and look forward to reading more of her sleuthing endeavors. I especially enjoyed the dialogue between Anna and her older New York City psychiatrist sister, Molly, her shoulder to cry on.

“When I told Mother and Dad I wanted a playmate, I was hinting for a kitten,” Molly said. “I like being an only child. Do you here this?” There was a shushing sound, then Molly’s voice again. “That was me pouring myself a medicinal scotch and soda. You have till I finish it to fill in the rest of the story. Then I’m going to bed. Ready? Go!”

I just loved it. Certainly a GoodRead - or listen!

El Capitan - Guadalupe Mountains National Park


Images taken from, respectively:
http://www.virtualtourist.com
http://balancedecology.org
http://www.hikingtrailsblogs.com

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending was a little too brutal for me, but this was a terrific book. The writing was thoughtful and beautiful at times, and I really like the main character, Anna Pigeon, who works as a law enforcement ranger in Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

Apparently every book in the series takes place in one of the US national parks. Nevada Barr calls the landscape, including flora and fauna, to mind beautifully and I really enjoyed that aspect of the book. People who don't like animals and don't revere Mother Earth really shouldn't work in a park. Wrongful death of animals definitely played a role in this, sadly, but in the process we learned a lot about our main character, and we bonded with her in a way that we won't soon forget.

Barr clearly loves the natural environment, and knows a lot about it, as she was a part-time ranger at the Guadalupe park when she began writing this series. If she is anything like her protagonist, she values wildlife and the environment possibly more than human beings, something I can understand, especially for someone who loves the outdoors and enjoys solitude.

The story sucked me in quickly and called me back to it often, and I'll definitely be continuing on with the series. Thank you to Lisa Vegan, who nudged me to try this sooner rather than later. 💙📚

[chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The texture, scents and sounds of the West Texas wilderness permeate this forceful debut, in which the murder of a National Park Service ranger illuminates the conflicts between those who want to place our country's open spaces and wildlife under government protection and those who want to profit from them. Anna Pigeon has fled New York City after the accidental death of her husband, and she now works as a law enforcement ranger at Guadaloupe Mountains National Park. There she finds the remains of fellow ranger Sheila Drury, who apparently was clawed to death by a mountain lion. Although an autopsy confirms this judgment, Anna becomes convinced that the claw marks have been faked. Her superiors discourage her from probing further, but another supposedly accidental death goads her into investigating Sheila's activities before her death--her campaign to open up the park to the public and her relationships with a young divorcee and with a powerful rancher opposed to Park Service policies. Anna is sure that clues reside in the thousands of snapshots the dead woman took--photos that show signs of having been rifled through. A park ranger herself, Barr develops a complex, credible and capable heroine who believes in truth and justice while remaining conscious of the ambiguities of human existence.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this book.

On the plus side, the quality of the writing is very high. Barr is especially strong in her descriptions of the terrain in Guadalupe Mountains National Park and of the way that humans interact with the environment in that setting. But although it was well done, I eventually found the detailed descriptions to be too much. I couldn’t construct a mental map of the trails, canyons, ridges, and forests where the events were occurring, and it bothered me that I was getting lost. I understand that it’s fiction, but maybe an actual map would have helped me to stay oriented in the story.

The concept of the story is fresh (or at least fresh to me). The protagonist, Anna Pigeon, is a former New Yorker who became a Park Ranger after the death of her husband and now enjoys the open spaces of the southwest and is dedicated to protecting the animals in the Park. She frequently talks to the animals (which Barr cleverly uses as an “internal monologue” device to reveal Anna’s thoughts). When several accidents occur in the Park, a couple of them fatal, it looks like animals were the culprits. But animal lover Anna isn’t willing to accept that at face value, and she soon comes to believe that foul play was involved. No one else accepts her theory, so she investigates on her own.

So far so good. I understand that it’s common for protagonists in crime fiction to make choices that set them apart from those around them and cause them to take some actions that may seem ill-advised. I’m often willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. But I had something of a hard time giving Anna the benefit of the doubt. The reason may just be that I’m neither much of an outdoors person nor much of an animal lover, so I couldn’t relate to Anna. But I also think that she (or rather, Barr) doesn’t make it easy. Anna is suspicious of just about everyone around her, including her lover and most of her co-workers, including a woman who befriends her and repeatedly forgives Anna when Anna accuses her of involvement in the deaths. The only person whom Anna appears to trust is her sister Molly, a psychotherapist in New York. But they are 2,000 miles apart and only talk occasionally. I think I might like Anna more if Molly were in the picture more often. (Maybe in subsequent books in the series, she is?)

The mystery—multiple mysteries, really—that drives the plot is intriguing, and I did want to read on to the end to see how it would be solved. But I thought there were some holes in the plot, and I didn’t think the ending quite tied everything up as much as I would have liked.

So, with my mixed feelings, I’m giving Track of the Cat two stars, which in my rating scheme means “it was okay.” I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it, and I’d be willing to give Anna Pigeon another try.

[John Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the inaugural book in the Anna Pigeon series, we learn that Anna has recently fled NYC after the accidental death of her husband and is now employed as a law enforcement ranger at Guadaloupe Mountains National Park in west Texas. When she stumbles upon the remains of fellow ranger Sheilah Drury who appears to have been mauled to death by a mountain lion. Although an autopsy confirms this supposition, further investigation by Anna appears to shed doubt that her death was anything but accidental. However, when another accidental death occurs, Anna suspects something nefarious is occurring.

Barr's experience as a park ranger herself aided her in creating a credible protagonist. Her description of the rugged western wilderness was so well drawn that I found myself grabbing for the bottled water when I read about it. Although a bit formulaic of other similar mysteries, it was an enjoyable read anyway and I will be reading more.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of the series featuring Ranger Anna Pigeon. I have read others of this series and decided to go back and read the first one. Although it's Barr's debut novel, it's as good or better than any of the others that I've read. Each book in the series is set in a different national park in which a murder is committed and Pigeon has to solve whodunit. I enjoy reading about--and learning some things-- about the parks. This one is set in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in West Texas and I confess I knew nothing about it--which made the story all the more fascinating for me. The story begins with Anna finding the body of a fellow woman ranger who looks like she was killed by a mountain lion. Anna begins to suspect it's a murder made to look like a lion attack. And then there's another "accident" and, as in other books, Anna finds her own life in danger.

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit on the naive side but the MC got such a driving personality!

Q:
"Work on 'how,' " Molly advised. "Take my professional word for it: everybody's got ten good reasons to do away with everybody else. It's just nobody knows how. Do 'how.' "....
Maybe in New York everybody has ten good reasons for killing everybody else but in West Texas we are somewhat more civilized.
We like the personal touch. (c)
Q:
"Anna, I don't want to throw cold water on your new career as a lesbian.
Lord knows it would increase my status in therapists' circles if I could produce a sibling who was a bona fide gay woman, but how long has it been since you've made a friend?" (c)

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★ 1/2

This book has been on my radar for a while. A number of my bookish friends read this one and enjoyed it and the National Park setting intrigued me.

I wasn't disappointed, largely because I like the main character so much. Anna Pigeon is a tough loner, scarred by the loss of her husband and largely uninterested in the people around her. Her compassion is only evident when she is engaging with animals or with the stark desert landscape of West Texas. She absolutely makes some questionable choices when solving the mystery and puts herself in danger more times than most humans would I think. Perhaps since losing her husband, she doesn't value her life as much as she should.

I like the isolated setting of the story and the vast emptiness of Guadalupe Mountains National Park comes across clearly in the wonderful descriptions. I went down a bit of a rabbit hole researching the park and learned a few interesting facts. For example, the Park hosts eight of the highest peaks in Texas, including Guadalupe Peak which at 8,751 feet above sea level, is the highest natural point in Texas.

As someone who remembers a time before smart phones and the internet, I also enjoyed the references to cassette tapes and other nods to the 1990's setting.

I will definitely be reading more in this series as I'm interested to see where Anna goes next.

[Laura (Kyahgirl) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those books that I thought, at the beginning, that was going to be a four star read because it had some elements I really like: a woman in her late thirties in an unconventional job, detailed and informative descriptions of a well known part of the world, animals, mystery, several quirky characters who are not your typical people.
Slowly my rating kept eroding away for a few reason, the primary one being the main character made so many TSTL decisions that is was a wonder she survived until the end of the book. I really appreciated how this character was inquisitive enough and skeptical enough to realize there was sinister doings going on but she consistently acted foolishly on her suspicions.
Another factor, and this is for the audiobook, is that Barbara Rosenblat is a good narrator but the recording often has mouth noises that are really distracting.
So, I wont be pursuing this series even though I can see why its popular. Not for me.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first Anna Pigeon novel. I read this to get more background on the ranger who tackles environmental issues at the risk of life and limb. In this novel, she is on the lion's side and she's working at Guadalupe in Texas. She is irreligious from the first sentence of the novel - "There hadn't been a god for many years" - and I had noticed this in the one other novel of Nevada Barr's I had read - Hard Truth.

There's a little bit about her personal life in here but she's a hard person to get to know. I like her psychiatrist sister. The plot of this novel was a little bit "out there" - crazy stuff happens and Anna is, of course, the only one who knows who did it and what is going on. No one believes her. I have a feeling it's going to be like this in the other books, too. We'll see.

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anna Pigeon, a law enforcement ranger at Guadaloupe Mountains National Park in West Texas, finds a colleague supposedly mauled to death by a mountain lion. Anna is leary and begins an investigation that nearly ends in her death by looking into the death despite opposition from her bosses. Suspicion falls on everyone from the murdered ranger's lover, someone oppposed to the dead ranger's efforts to open the park to the public and a powerful rancher opposition to Park Service policies. Decent whodunnit.

[Russ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anna: New York transplant to the sagebrush. Savvy park ranger. Agnostic yet sagacious. Bi-curious, apparently. Enjoyed the telephone banter with her sister. The murder from the initial pages was mysterious but the suspects were mostly distant and uninteresting. The solution seemed tacked on--not a natural product of the crime and the investigation. I liked the mountain lion elements, the desert setting & descriptions, and Anna's insights. Apart from the flawed solution, pretty enjoyable (and great narrator Barbara Rosenblat if you listen to the audiobook).

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went hiking in the northern NM mountains for a week last month, and 3 different people at 3 different times all recommended that I read this author. Very strange, especially because this book is pretty old and what are the odds that 3 strangers would all feel that I had to read it?! So, I thought, ok, I'll try it. I was pleased that I was wrong about whodunit, because it really sucks when you can see an ending coming from the first few chapters. There was something nagging at me though. Something seems missing here, like an orchestra without a second violin section. I will be generous, however, since it's the first in a series and it seems like it usually takes a while for books and TV series to find their voice and style. I will give the next one a go, and see if that mystery stays until the end for me as it did here.

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series has a strong start. Barr utilizes carefully terse prose that still paints an evocative picture of the beauty of West Texas and then follows it with several paragraphs detailing mysterious animal scat in all its glory. We meet Anna Pigeon, who has left what seems to be a relatively lucrative life in New York City to become a law enforcement ranger at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. She seems to enjoy creating a running commentary to the wildlife during her patrols.

A tarantula the size of a woman’s hands, the most horrifying of gentle creatures, wandered slowly across Anna’s path. “As a Park Ranger I will protect and serve you.” She talked to the creature from a safe three yards away. “But we’ll never be friends. Is that going to be a problem?”

The tarantula stopped, its front pair of legs feeling the air. Then it turned and walked slowly toward her, each of its legs appearing to move independently of the other seven.

“Yes. I see that it is.”

This is all within the first twenty pages. I didn’t even know what the mystery was (though I was banking on murder, because it‘s always murder), but I immediately loved Anna. Anna, who upon further inspection, has some serious emotional problems in the way that pretty much every fictional LEO/PI protagonist does.

Anna has more compassion for the animals around her than most of the humans she meets. Her psychiatrist sister Molly characterizes Anna’s mixed feelings about the death of a fellow ranger as rage against a miscarriage of justice. It may be true, but based on the way she interacts with nearly all people in this book, I am not convinced that if it were a human being falsely accused instead of a mountain lion that Anna would be quite so focused. Her interest in the lions & their wellbeing is the impetus for her initial investigation.

The way Anna observes people is quite clinical, from their appearances to what she perceives as their motivations; rarely is there any substantial emotion attached to as single person. Just idle thoughts. She doesn’t even show a single ounce of upset at her own logical suspicion of Rogelio as a potential murder suspect, despite their connection (she’s been sleeping with this dude for some time, though reading between the lines makes him sound tiresome). This impersonal viewpoint may be an extension of her grief over the loss of her husband Josh who was killed under unspecified circumstances. Or maybe she’s always been this way. We may never know, except to see if Anna evolves in the next novels. We find out, at least, that her disinclination toward making close friends seems to stem from said aforementioned trauma - Anna knows “that she [wears] her loneliness like armor … to the casual observer it looked very like arrogance.”

The mystery itself ended up being less important to me than the exploration of who Anna is through her investigative progress and a crash course on how some national parks function. Still, I enjoyed the ending confrontation immensely - Anna is a motherfucking boss, regardless of her flaws.

… she saw trails of black on her hands: blood. It seeped down from her throat, dripped to the ground. Anna chose not to worry about it. Had an artery been severed, she’d be dead by now. Next time she was in town she could get her rabies booster.

NEW THINGS I LEARNED:

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the start something irked me about the lead character, Anna Pigeon, park ranger. I think it was the hints from the beginning of a disconnect between her and people, her yearning to be solitary. This is the first in a series featuring her, so I think wanting to spend time with the character, either because she's fascinatingly complex or quirky or likable is important. The author was deft and seemingly knowledgeable about the milleu she was writing about, the West Texas wilderness. I've read Barr was herself a Park Ranger and I can believe it. The description puts you right there among the scrabble and saw-edged plants. Pigeon is making rounds in Guadalopue Mountains National Park trying to detect scat of the rare mountain lion. Then she finds the body of a fellow park ranger, Shelia Drury. And when she examines the body and finds evidence this young woman, her colleague, was mauled by a cougar, her first reaction is to damn the dead woman for being killed since it will undoubtedly result in more of the animals being hunted down and killed. Right there, on page 16, the author lost me. I guess I'm not the Sierra Club type--people who put the deaths of animals over people they know leave me cold, cold, cold. After that I just could not care about Anna Pigeon or spend another page with her.

[Kandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I were rating the audiobook I would probably give this four stars. Barbara Rosenblat has a fabulous voice and delivery. I absolutely loved it. She had an almost William Shatner style delivery in that she enunciated in an odd way and placed the accent on parts of the sentence I would not had I been reading from the page. Or aloud, for that matter.

Patrolling the remote West Texas backcountry, Anna Pigeon’s first job as a national park ranger is marred by violence she thought she had left behind: the brutal death of a fellow ranger. When the cause of death is chalked up to a mountain lion attack, Anna’s rage knows no bounds. It’s up to her to save the protected cats from the politics and prejudices of the locals—and prove the kill was the work of a species far less rare…

I liked this book and it was a cozy enough mystery. Most of the violence, and every death, takes place off page. Not that I am adverse to gore, but cozy is a genre of its own and I enjoy them. This was definitely that. I really like Anna. A friend and I had a grand time trying to "cast" her. She's feisty and smart. Kind, but not recklessly so. Clearly this was an introduction to characters that Barr planned on using for the long haul, and I liked that too.

This isn't something I would have read on my own, but for a book club selection, it was definitely a successful pick!