Customer Reviews

Liberty Falling

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I have liked and admired Anna Pigeon since I read Nevada Barr's first book in this series but this is the first time that I really -liked- Anna as a person. Maybe it's because she's not officially on duty or maybe it's because she's in New York, but the Anna in "Liberty Falling" is much more approachable and human than she has been in the previous books.

The story itself is first-rate with expert plotting and character development. One of the best things about the last two Anna Pigeon mysteries is that you really have to pay attention to what's going on -- Barr interweaves very subtle clues throughout the story. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the endless descriptions of the rides back and forth between the city and the monument but that's a small thing. This book is most definitely worth reading.

Anna Pigeon is staying with a ranger friend on Liberty Island while she visits her sick sister Molly who's in the hospital with a life-threatening kidney ailment. While living in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, Anna gets involved in the death of a supposed suicide. A teen-age girl leaps to her death from the top of Liberty's pedestal. If that's not enough, a few days later the security guard who tried to stop the girl from jumping dies the same way in almost the same spot. Before she knows it, Anna is caught up in a mystery involving a sleazy doctor and Castro look-alike.

Like all Anna Pigeon novels, this moves slowly. It does take quite a while for the bones of the mystery to appear but Anna Pigeon is such a likeable heroine and Barr such a good writer that the book never seems to drag. At times, Barr's stream-of-conciousness style of writing can be hard to follow but overall the novel is a fun read.

This writer can really evoke a sense of place. Her descriptions of Ellis and Liberty Islands, and the people that populated and cared for them, were done with liveliness and affection. It will be interesting to see how the Molly/Anna/Frederick triangle will develop. A thoroughly exiting "chase" scene at the end was one of the best written of the genre.

This book was a more difficult read than the other Anna Pigeon novels in that it was harder to visualize the crumbling ruins of Ellis Island than the sites of the other novels in this series. Although I have never been to any of the sites of the Anna Pigeon novels, the others seemed much easier to imagine (especially Blind Descent and Superior Death). The descriptions of the NY city environs made me, as well as Anna, long to get back to a good read about a less populated park. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the continuing development of the characters of Anna, Molly, and Frederick. Some of the other characters, Dr. Madison in particular, seemed pointlessly, as Frederick would put it, "ishy". I also hope that in future adventures Anna will not get so beaten up...she is obviously bright; perhaps she could use her brains to avoid some of the physical violence in this book and the others.

(from the "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel")Nevada Barr takes her heroine Anna Pigeon out of her natural element (the forests, rivers, and deserts of our National parks) and sets her smack dab in the middle of the ultimate asphalt jungle: New York City. Oddly, this change of venue has produced some of Barr's best writing to date. In fact, "Liberty Falling" is her best novel to date. And when considering her small but powerful oeuvre ("Blind Descent," "Firestorm," "Track of the Cat" and three other top-notch efforts), that says a lot. After learning that her sister, Molly, has succumbed to pneumonia, Anna Pigeon travels to New York to hold vigil. When Frederick Stanton (a former boyfriend and FBI agent who has fallen in love with Molly) shows up, she begins feeling like an unneeded crutch. Bunking down in the ranger's quarters on Ellis Island, Anna shuttles back and forth among the three New York islands (Ellis, Liberty and Manhattan), trying to keep busy as she settles in for what could be a long wait. On a visit to Liberty island, Anna comes on the scene just after a young child is apparently pushed off of the statue. A new found friend, Park Policeman James "Hatch" Hatchett, falls under suspicion. Relying on instincts, Anna senses something amiss. And what forensic evidence is available suggests the child may have jumped. Unable to help herself, Anna begins snooping about. Among the caretakers, policemen, rangers and actors (who act out the roles of immigrants on Ellis Island), Anna finds more than enough suspects for murder. What's more, stories about ghosts haunting the ruins on Ellis Island have been bandied about. Her investigations turn up evidence of a strange and unexplained happenings in the night on Ellis and Liberty Islands. Further digging uncovers a murderous plot that could have worldwide political ramifications. When "Hatch" dies in what others assume is a freak accident and a young actress goes missing, Anna Pigeon knows she is, once again, on the right track to catch her killer. There's only one problem: he seems to be after her as well. The subplot involving Anna's sister Molly and Frederick Stanton makes for a gentle and humane counterpoint to the often violent, moral morass of the main story line. Sporting plenty of action and suspense, and a timely subtext involving racism and misplaced patriotism, "Liberty Falling" offers something for mystery fans of every stripe. (from "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1999).

When I first read the synopsis of Liberty Falling, I thought, New York? Nevada Barr? No way. How in the world can you compare New York City with the deep south, the western deserts, Colorado, and the northern lakes? Although she doesn't have the beautiful landscapes to describe, she makes up for it with a very good plot line and characters that are so life-like, it's hard to believe they don't exist in real life. (I would really like to know someone like James Hatchett Sr.) I liked Anna Pigeon in Track Of The Cat and I like her more with each addition in this wonderful series.

National Park Service Ranger Anna Pigeon would never feel lonely even if she were the only person in Yosemite national Park. On the other hand, place her in a teeming metropolis like Manhattan and she feels both claustrophobic and lonely. However, when her sister is in a Big Apple intensive care unit, fighting for her life, Anna visits her, residing at a friend's home on Liberty Island.

Anna explores the ruins of Ellis Island, the locale where millions of immigrants entered this country. However, strange happenings occur on both isles. A teen tumbles from the statue with a witness screaming that a security person pushed the victim. In turn, the accused seemingly commits suicide. Anna has doubts and begins to snoop. For her troubles, someone breaks the crumbling stairwell from under her feet, an incident that could have led to Anna's death. At a subway station, an unknown assailant tries to push her in front of an oncoming train. The attacks on her person continue, but nothing deters Anna from trying to ferret out the truth.

Looking at New York City, and Liberty and Ellis Islands from the perspective of a person who enjoys the vast outdoors is an interesting treat. LIBERTY FALLING succeeds because of the attitude of Anna, who is not just tourist, towards the large metropolis. Nevada Barr has the uncanny ability of hiding her clues in plain sight, leaving the reader to struggle with determining who is the perpetrator. The historical research on the two smaller islands adds depth that leaves the audience feeling like they made a recent visit to the Gateways National Park that includes Liberty and Ellis Island. Any Anna Pigeon novel is a treat, but LIBERTY FALLING is a special delight in a top series.

Harriet Klausner

The book is set in the Statue of Liberty National Monument (which includes Ellis Island). These sites are prominent in the American imagination but Anna Pigeon spends much of her time rummaging around the unfamiliar "backside" of these parks. The result is fascinating: I had no idea what was lurking off-stage at both sites.

The story combines a mystery set at the park with a continuation of Anna's personal sagas involving her sister and a more-or-less boyfriend. Because of the weight given this part of the story, you should read other Anna Pigeon books before tackling this one. In fact, this book really needs to be read in proper sequence because some of these personal issues reach resolution in a way that appears in later books - - which would then "give away" the story in this one.

The book has that odd feeling of those books and movies set in New York before 9/11. Anna regularly looks back to the Manhattan skyline and refers to the World Trade Center, for example. The sense of anachronism is enhanced by the fact that there are some white supremacist characters and Barr refers several times to the Oklahoma City bombings - - events that we all seem to have forgotten in the post-9/11 world. As it turns out, some of those things play an important part in the mystery. If these issues strike too close to home for you, don't read this book.

Overall, this is a welcome addition to the Anna Pigeon series, about in the middle in terms of overall quality. The mystery is perhaps on the low side of average, the issues surrounding the recurring characters on the high side of average, and the sense of place surprisingly good.

I have never read any of the author's books prior to this and hence from my objective view point I don't see why this book is being so trashed by fans of the prior books in this series. While I can't say the writer's style is something I am overly fond of, her book is well put together and the plot filled with enough twists and turns to keep you turning the pages.

I thought her view of Liberty islands 2 and 3 were great, an almost perfect setting for criminal actions and spooky, almost other worldly events. So what that this book lacks the material on nature that the prior books did? This is NY City. That the writer was able to alter style in line with the setting is a tribute to her ability. Readers should not be lazzy wanting simple repeats of prior material slightly altered like so many cheap romance novels. I enjoyed the character's problem of coping with the city of New York. It is a feeling I get everytime I have to go there.

In short the book while not on my list of all time greats was a good solid read and better than most of what passes for quality fiction these days It rates four stars maybe more. Enjoy it for what if offers rather than what you hope might have been.

Part of the problem of continued characters from book to book is that they don't always live up to our fantasies about what they are going to do next. That is not the author's fault just proof that we are different and like real people, fictional characters do not always do just what we wish.

Who knew? A National Park Service exists in New York City. Yes - at The Statue of Liberty! Anna Pigeon is a guest, rather than a working ranger, while she waits for news about her sister, Molly. Molly is in critical condition with complications that followed an operation. Anna races between The Statue of Liberty and the hospital. She works to solve the murders of a young teen girl and a NPS ranger/guard, both of whom appear to have 'fallen' from The Statue of Liberty. Meanwhile, her boyfriend Frederick tries to hide his love of Molly from Anna! The romantic element for Anna is Molly's doctor, who asks Anna on a date. And clueless Anna accepts. For a while, I wondered if Molly's remission reversal was due to the 'evil' doctor - but turns out his evil is in another arena.
This is probably my least favorite Nevada Barr book. I'll admit that I had a clue to the identity of the killer and accomplices about half way into the book. I was right. I think the most disappointing thing about this book is the urban setting. Barr can make any national park setting come alive, but the 'big city' of New York seemed stereotypical and uninteresting to the plot.