Customer Reviews

High Country (Anna Pigeon Series)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Nevada Barr is at her best in Western settings, where her characters have room to roam. In this book, she returns to the west, but sets her story in a Novemberish Yosemite, hemmed in by clouds, trapped fog-like, barely above the treetops. A lot of reviewers of the hardback complained about that, but they've obviously never lived in a climate that can produce this kind of weather for two weeks at a crack. I do. It can chill you, right to the soul.

Which is what this book is all about. The set-up is simple enough: Anna Pigeon, upwardly mobile park ranger, is working undercover in a swank hotel as a waitress, hoping to suss out the fate of four hikers who went missing and are presumably dead. But what this book is really about is evil: the human evil that, like endless November fog, can invade even sacred places like Yosemite; and the spiritual evil to which some people have surrendered more than others, but which is beneath the skin of us all. Opposing this, Barr sets a collection of women of varying degrees of spiritual and emotional innocence (and in some cases, intellectual innocence) and throughout, she uses undercover detective work as a metaphor for the loss and retaining of one's identity in the face of pressures that would make you someone you don't want to be.

Basically, this is Barr's most ambitious work, and for about 350 pages it works stunningly. In the final 50 pages it comes partially unglued-one of the critical innocence-related plot threads gets dropped, and the behavior of some of the villains seems to have been altogether too convoluted, given their motives. For those reasons, I can't give the book a perfect score.

Bottom line: This is a very good book. But beware, it's darker than the normal Anna Pigeon fare, and the normally sunny landscapes of Barr's natural world share in the darkness.

I am an avid Nevada Barr reader, and can't wait for every new book she brings me with Anna Pigeon's next adventure. This one, however, dealt less with the wonderful, descriptive visual images of the National Park,in this case,Yosemite,and more with Anna having to do chase scenes of superhuman acts under more and more physical duress than any "normal", or even, "super middle-aged Anna" could be expected to realistically do!

Barr does not even begin to pull off the reality of Anna's waitress character's relationships to young people, as anyone who works with such an age group can see right through. The one, really believable character, Lorraine Knight, is MIA at times that prove unrealistic. Is anyone really surprised by the "ringleader" of the drug gang? Any mystery reader can figure that out pretty early on. Add to this ad naseum chase scenes, and this definitely is one of Anna's most forgetable adventures in one of America's most unforgetable parks!

Even with that, I wouldn't miss reading any of Barr's Pigeon books. We all have our 'bad days', and, regardless of how outrageous the plot can be, Barr always shows us the wonderful, human and evolutionary side of Anna Pigeon!

We've read every entry in Barr's Anna Pigeon (National Park Ranger / Supervisor) series and have generally enjoyed them for two distinct traits. The first are the unusual settings and the illuminating descriptions thereof. Almost like travelogues, Barr takes us from one Park to another, often in highly different geographic areas around our country, acquainting us with places many of us have not experienced. The second is that Anna is a real-life woman -- NOT overly gorgeous, overly intellectual, overly brave -- just kind of a normal person like the rest of us. So her persona, coupled with her obvious outdoor living and law enforcement skills, tends to create stories we believe and care about. Add a dash of danger and suspense, and Barr usually delivers a gripping, enjoyable mystery.

Certainly in "High Country", we get another unusual setting -- California's (apparently) oft-gloomy Yosemite National Park. We find Anna on temporary assignment here looking into the mysterious (and likely, criminal) disappearance of four young Park employees. Her "cover" is working as a waitress at one of the Park hotel restaurants -- to our thinking, a regrettable choice as Anna's questioning and probing sessions with just about everybody label her not as a busybody, but some sort of spy. Thus all the events at the hotel were marred by what at best is a flawed premise. When Anna gets outdoors and goes hunting for either the missing persons or the probable suspects, things improve; but it seemed like it took an awful long hiking story (and a lot of pages) to get us closer to the real plot and story line of the novel. Several readers have complained the story ("drug plane crashes into lake") is based on a true-life event (without any hint from the author); it does have a ring of familiarity about it.

The last few Anna Pigeon tales have seemed to fall short of the entertaining earlier entries in the set. Maybe as Anna continues to age, perhaps somewhat ungracefully, so do her exploits. Perhaps letting her retire would be a wise step after the current contract expires. Hopefully Barr can land a couple more gems before that happens.

Our favorite NPS ranger Anna Pigeon has been called to California in order to quietly investigate the disappearance of four young people. While she "works" as a waitress in the Ahwahnne Hotel restaurant, she keeps her eyes open, asks questions, and noses around a bit. After she takes a long hike and finds a secret lurking in a remote area of the park, the action takes off and this book is difficult to put down. (Turns out the elevation isn't the only thing in the park that's "high.") Anna ends up finding some rather nasty folks in the midst of the spectacular glacial scenery. Thank goodness she's a trained and capable law enforcement officer and outdoors-person. A lesser woman wouldn't make it past page 155! Following the style of Nevada Barr's earlier titles, this engaging story ends with the best moral of all: There's no place like home.

Nevada Barr's novels featuring National Park Ranger Anna Pigeon are a nature adventure for the price of the book. "High Country" is Barr's twelfth installment of Anna's adventures in the nation's National Parks. "High Country", set in Yosemite's National Park in the Sierra Mountains, puts Pigeon in a role different than we are accustomed to seeing her in the historic Ahwahnee Hotel working undercover as a waitress. The plot is full of twists and turns, a harrowing chase through the mountains and more than a little soul searching.

I enjoy Barr for her vivid descriptions and her obvious love of all things natural; her character Anna Pigeon is real, rough around the edges and human. I've read every novel in this series and I agree that some are better than others. But I will also argue that this is true with other authors whose series I have read over a long period of time.

"High Country" has a few holes in character development. Even Pigeon at times seems to act a little out of character. I suspect that those locations for which Barr has a real affection are better, the descriptions more vivid, the characters written more comfortably. When Barr is out of her element, Anna the character comes across as incongruous with her surroundings. For this reason, Anna seems most comfortable and realistic in those novels written in the Natchez Trace area. Barr's affection for that locale comes across in the depth of imagery and color with which she writes.

Anna has taken me inside the Statue of Liberty, into the claustrophobic depths of Carlsbad Caverns and down to the icy depths of Lake Superior. Every novel is like a visit with an old friend and I hope she never runs out of National Parks!

Please understand that I am recommending this book. For Nevada Barr it is a workable effort and fans of Anna Piegeon especially will want to read it. I like the idea of taking away Anna's badge and gun and letting her experience life through the eyes of a waitress, not a ranger. The author gets some humor from this; she could have had more. Anna is a compelling character. On the down side the mysteries are pretty predictable. I was actually surprised only once. Also Anna acts like a rookie repeatedly just to advance the plot. But then, I guess anybody could have an off week or so. Personally I find the settings and the characters more interesting than the mysteries anyway. If you have not read the series don't start with this one. If you want to read just one Nevada Barr try Blind Descent or Firestorm.

I am a Nevada Barr fan and was unfortunately disappointed with "High Country." The story takes place in a restaurant (boring). The characters were dull and I kept getting them confused. Anna's constant thinking of how old she feels is tiresome. I also missed Anna's sister, Molly, who is only mentioned a few times in the book.

Sorry, but I really can't recommend this book as a good read. If you want to get a feel for a real Anna Pigeon adventure, pick up "Track of the Cat" or "Liberty Falling."

Ranger Anna Pigeon is back, graying and pushing fifty, and very much her own person. Going undercover in Yosemite's prestigious resort, she works as a waitress caught between a temperamental chef and a dictatorial head waitress. Anna has been detailed to the park because four young workers have disappeared, mysteriously, and investigators hope she will pick up clues by blending in as a lowly staff person.

High Country is archetypal Nevada Barr. As usual, Anna meets a cast of characters who seem larger than life because her Park world is so claustrophobic. And as usual, she's matter-of-fact about everything, always the detached observor. She belongs but she's always a little on the outside.

As usual, Barr serves up scenery. We get a vivid picture of Anna in the High Country, using her wits to outmaneuver two murderers, includes every detail. Anna realizes how far she's willing to go to save herself, accomplish her mission and return to Paul, her fiance back in Mississippi. We see a new side of Anna as she transports herself to New York, where her sister lives, and to Mississippi, where Paul takes care of her animals. I'm reminded of Martha Beck's visions in Expecting Adam.

The grayness of a Yosemite December seemed real. In summer, Anna would be dodging tourists at every corner. I think she's remarkably patient about being separated from her fiance -- surely they'd have a way to communicate?

Anna grows and some readers may not be comfortable watching. Her sister, now married, seems less available. Engaged to Paul, she tentatively reaches for the traditionally feminine symbols. She slows down, physically, and accepts the aging process with grace.

So I'm not ready to see Anna retire! And authors are human, so Barr undoubtedly will change the way she writes about Anna. So far, I'm still a fan. This series remains one of the most literate and sensitive on the market. Let's hope the publishers and the bookstores keep it there.

As a former park concession employee, I rolled my eyes virtually every time I turned the pages of this book (and yes, I turned them and kept going-- kept hoping things would get more logical).

Concession employees with huge boxes of makeup don't make best friends with NPS backcountry rangers. Concession employees don't even act like the NPS exists, and vice versa. Climbers wouldn't put up with Californians driving off-road in their SUVs (can anyone say let-the-air-out-of-their-tires-- or better, piton-in-the-sidewall?) And as awful as the assistant superintendent is, Yosemite is famous for its gung-ho law enforcement folks who would be all over a quadruple disappearance-- I can't see even a drunkard law dog ignoring Anna's repeated pleas for help.

Lastly, Nevada based the crux of the mystery on a well-known actual incident, just as she did her mystery in Glacier. Seems a little convenient to me-- where's the creativity in that?

Having said all that, the thing that rang absolutely true was the pecking order of the NPS and the concessioner, in which a waitress would seem slightly less-than-human by "real" park rangers. Not fair, but that is how it is, and this is why I keep reading Nevada's stuff (and giggling)-- even with its flaws.

It's good to have Anna Pigeon back at any time, and Nevada Barr doesn't let us down with this latest in her series about the intrepid and way too independent forest ranger. But somehow, "High Country" never gets the reader's blood flowing the way earlier entries in the series have done.

That is not to say that the book is not enjoyable, or even that it's a tough read. It simply does not, for this reader, anyway, have the spark that so many others have had. Perhaps it's because Anna is working undercover at a lodge in Yosemetie rather than in her park-ranger personna--and also because all through the book, she keeps harping on the fact that she is middle-aged now and has slowed way down. I kept expecting her to order a rocking chair! And her thoughts are belied by her eventual confrontation with the villain--no used-up woman could ever fight back the way Anna does.

The plot concerns Anna's placement in the park to help investigate the mysterious disappearance of four young and able climbers, each of whom was more than able to fend for him/herself. Anna starts to nose around while trying to keep in the guise of a waitress--the temperamental chef hates her, the boss lady hates her, everybody seems to hate her. And they have reason to as Anna doggedly and determinedly uncovers a truly nefarious set of circumstances.

This was a fun read despite its curious lack of life. I wouldn't read it as a first sample of the Anna Pigeon series, but for us diehard readers, it's a must.