Play Book Tag discussion

I recently read The Rope which was #17 in the Anna Pigeon series. It was supposedly Anna's first case and I hated it. I decided to go back and read her first published book to see how the two compare. Track of the Cat introduces Anna Pigeon, a ranger in the U.S. Park Service. She's currently stationed in the mountains of the Guadalupe National Park in Texas. Hiking her way back to the station, she comes across the body of a fellow-ranger, Sheila Drury, who has apparently been killed by a mountain lion. When her superiors announce a plan to hunt and kill the lion, Anna is deeply concerned. She becomes even more upset when she notices an abnormality in the track of the cat left at the crime scene and realizes that the killer was most likely a human.

We learn that Anna used to live in New York City, and after the violent death of her husband, took a job with the ranger service to get away from the memories and change her life. She has a sister who is a psychologist and we get to know more of Anna's history in phone conversations between the two of them. It's a great way for the reader to learn more about the main character and it changes the setting between a big city and the desolation of the park.

The mystery was fast-paced and suspenseful. The characters were sharply drawn and the ending was very satisfying. I thought this book an excellent start to a series where I've now read 17 of the 19 books. All of the books are set in national parks so it's a great way to take a literary tour of America's national parks. This one was a great start.