Customer Reviews

Endangered Species (The Anna Pigeon series, Book 5)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Nevada Barr is not above a bit of sly humor now and then, and in "Endangered Species," she indulged herself a bit, to our benefit.

In this adventure, ranger extraordinaire Anna Pigeon is on temporary fire-prevention duty at Cumberland Island National Seashore Park, off the Georgia Coast.

Wilderness-lover that she is, Anna is having some trouble with the habitat: ticks, chiggers, huge golden orb spiders, a mythically gigantic alligator who is not above taking a bite of a human, and all sorts of other creepy crawlies are part of the venue. And the people aren't much better. There's an equally creepy crawly and very surly biologist whose mission in life is to Save the Turtles (by helping them lay their eggs and get back to the sea safely), an impossibly pregnant and very weepy wife who may or may not be involved in nefarious deeds, two vintage WWII ladies who take no nonsense, and an adorable pet fawn named Flicka who thinks he's a dog.

It was only with Flicka that I took issue. Where was Barr's heretofore wonderful editor? This fawn is very much a boy--"Flicka," as anyone who read the book in childhood can tell you, is Swedish for "Little Girl." But enough trivia.

When a small plane crashes in the heavily forested part of the island, Anna and crew suspect sabotage. Is there a drug ring operating in this turtles' paradise? And if so, who is involved enough to want to murder the pilot and passenger? Anna sets off to solve the mystery--and winds up inhaling an entire huge cash crop of marijuana, truly one of the funniest predicaments in any mystery book I can remember in recent years. Our intrepid ranger is in grave danger, either from the criminals or from a terminal high, one isn't sure.

As for Anna's sometime swain, the FBI Agent once known in an earlier book as "Fred the Fed," we see another, less attractive side of this previously likeable guy. Can you say....Midlife Crisis? His sudden adolescent crush on Anna's sister Molly (whom we finally meet in person) is just...well, too too. Anna deserves better.

But I digress. This is a fast, fun entry in the Anna Barr series. Read and enjoy

As always, Nevada Barr, a former park ranger, delivers wonderfully vivid descriptions of the great outdoors; an abundance of colorful, well-drawn characters; a thoughtful and courageous female sleuth; an inside look at the National Park Service; and an intricate and suspenseful mystery. However, the most mysterious thing about "Endangered Species," set on an island off the coast of Georgia and involving the investigation of a plane crash caused by sabotage, is that the paperback has been extensively revised from the hardcover. Namely, a major character, an exceedingly unpleasant, repulsive person, has undergone a sex change! In the hardcover, Marty is a woman in her 50s; in the paperback, Marty is a man in his 30s. It's not just a matter of changing pronouns; dialogue and descriptions are altered too. For example, in the original version, Marty's long hair is "worn in pigtails like an aging Pippi Longstocking's"; in the revision, it's "worn in pigtails like Willie Nelson in his heyday." There must have been a compelling reason for such changes, since ordinarily paperback publishers don't even bother to fix obvious errors, such as referring to someone by the wrong name. I think the character works somewhat better as a woman, but whichever version you read, you'll likely find it a good, absorbing, entertaining whodunit.

Anna is in the south again - but this time on one of the islands off the coast of Georgia. And she's not 'wrastlin' gators this time, it's turtles instead. There's a plane crash, Bambi (real name, Flicka), cannibus (marijuana), and more. She's still contemplating moving to Chicago to be with the distant Frederick, but that possibility seems to always be on the backburner. As usual, Nevada fights the good fight, goes skinny dipping, gets her hair cut, and is finally free of her ex-husband (in a hilarious manner), while discovering the the secrets of Cumberland Island's murders.

This story's a bit of a mess. There are too many characters to keep straight, none of the great set pieces such as the motorboat chase in "A Superior Death," and a distinctly "who cares" attitude about the eventual unmasking of the villain. Just as Cumberland Island is a backwater in the National Park System, this book is a backwater in the Anna Pigeon series. Anna spends the story trying to figure out what to do about a difficult personal relationship, and Barr spends it as a combination of revisiting old ground (fire fighting) and gearing up for a serious foray into the southern parks. Read "Firestorm" for a better story of fire fighting, and skip to "Deep South" for a better-developed take on the southern parks. Still, even a ho-hum Anna Pigeon mystery is good enough to keep the pages turning.

Ms. Barr has an area pretty much all of her own in the mystery genre. She was a park ranger for the National Park system, and so not only can she concoct mysteries in an area that no one else has been able to do (the parks are never the same twice) but she knows all about the people who work for the system and unfortunately, some of the idiots who visit the parks and don't obey the rules put up for their own safety.

She writes with a great sense of humor. I am not squeamish, but running into an area where ticks drop off the trees is not my idea of heaven either, and the picture she drew of one of the male rangers gyrating to remove any ticks on him made me laugh. It's nice to be reminded that women aren't the only ones allergic to those things!

Her plots are well though out and the books read quickly. They don't require a lot of thought from the readers. My only wish is that the character development was more involved, but for some people this isn't important. I always find it enjoyable to read about parks where I haven't been and make plans with my husband to visit them someday. She does do a good job giving some background of the park and the history of the area. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

I find Barr solid as an author. She writes well but not as poetically and lyrically as some others I read. Her mysteries are nicely constructed and quite page-turning at the end. This book is no exception.

Anna is a good character. Flawed and misanthropic at times, she is a very believable character. Her little insecurities always strike me as genuine and I like her wise cracking and her affection for the parks. She's well developed and yet still something of an enigma.

I was glad to see Molly round out this story though the subplot involving her was rather throwaway at best. Still, it was nice to see this character in person rather than at the other end of a telephone, which is how she was always viewed in past novels in this series. It was also interesting to learn some tidbits about her childhood with Anna.

I was deeply disappointed in Frederick in this novel. I can't help but feel that Barr's ideas for him just sort of petered out. He added an interesting twist to the series.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this novel was the introduction of several new characters, always a strength of Barr's. Dijon was funny and made a nice counterpart to Anna. Mona and Dot were nice and multi-faceted and the Disneyish twist with Flicka the fawn was fun.

As always, what resonates most deeply is Barr's vivid depiction of the latest park in which Anna is working. Barr's descriptions of its wildlife and flora and her evocative writing about the heat and humidity of such climes makes it easy to get lost in the setting. While she is good at creating characters, her true strength lies in setting a scene.

I've been tearing through Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon mysteries ever since I discovered them. The tighest and best story in my opinion is Firestorm - this one was a little harder to follow and I'm not sure I ever totally understood the denouement of the mystery. But like with all the Pigeon novels, the characters and physical setting were interesting and well-drawn, and the story arcs that continue from book to book are intriguing, such as the relationship between Anna and her sister, and the relationship between Anna and Frederick the FBI agent (be prepared to be surprised!) I don't think I'm going to read anything else until I've finished all the Anna Pigeon books out there - on to Blind Descent!

Nevada Barr is one of the most consistently good mystery writers I have ever come across. The heroine, Anna Pigeon, remains fresh and intriguing in this the fifth book of the series. The story moves along at a brisk pace, the characters are colorful, and the dialog is well balanced. Ms. Barr has included a little more humor in this one and it works so well I am hoping she will continue with it in future books. I don't hesitate buying each Nevada Barr book as it becomes available because I know I won't be disappointed.

A fire watch assignment on hot and humid Cumberland Island isn't too exciting for park ranger Anna Pigeon until a twin-engine Beechcraft crashes, killing two people inside. When investigators determine the Beechcraft was sabotaged, Anna's curiosity prompts her to do a little snooping. But snooping on this quiet little island becomes dangerous, although not dangerous enough to stop Anna. And this is the problem I had with Endangered Species.

Because there's no emotional stake in the outcome for Anna, why is she investigating at all except to relieve boredom and quench her curiosity?. She's been warned off by both her supervisor and a mysterious stranger who ends up striking her on the head with the butt of a rifle. You'd think that'd be enough of a hint to stop most people, but not Anna. On the other hand, if she stopped investigating, there wouldn't be a mystery, so what can I say?

The thing is, I liked the basic plot because it's a true whodunit. Here's a group of people with secrets and tumultuous relationships, stuck on a small island. Nevada Barr's detailed narrative descriptions made the island intriguing. I also enjoyed the subplot involving a death threat to Anna's sister Molly. Molly's life as a New York psychotherapist is a terrific contrast to Anna's world. While some secondary characters are more interesting than others, this book should have a lot of appeal to those who love whodunits set in parks all across the U.S . . . and Anna Pigeon fans, of course.

Four out of Four isn't bad. That's Nevada Barr's batting average as far as I am concerned. What she brings to mystery novels is an intricate knowledge of her locales and an ability to describe them in minute detail, painting a picture in the head of the reader. I could feel the West Texas heat, see the splendor of Mesa Verde, and dreamt about falling into lake Superior's icy grip in her previous novels. Now I am getting to know the Georga coast as described by a first class storyteller. Great plots, great locales, great characterization! This is another in a series of Nevada Barr masterpieces! Bravo!