The Rope: An Anna Pigeon Novel (Anna Pigeon Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Nevada Barr (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 17, 2012 | Series: Anna Pigeon Mysteries (Book 17)

Anna Pigeon's first case—this is the story her fans have been clamoring for...this is where it all starts.

 

In The Rope, the latest in Nevada Barr’s bestselling novels featuring Anna Pigeon, Nevada Barr gathers together the many strings of Anna’s past and finally reveals the story that her many fans have been long asking for. In 1995 and 35 years old, fresh off the bus from New York City and nursing a broken heart, Anna Pigeon takes a decidedly unglamorous job as a seasonal employee of the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area. On her day off, Anna goes hiking into the park never to return. Her co-workers think she’s simply moved on—her cabin is cleaned out and her things gone. But Anna herself wakes up, trapped at the bottom of a dry natural well, naked, without supplies and no clear memory of how she found herself in this situation.

As she slowly pieces together her memory, it soon becomes clear that someone has trapped her there, in an inescapable prison, and no one knows that she is even missing. Plunged into a landscape and a plot she is unfit and untrained to handle, Anna Pigeon must muster the courage, determination and will to live that she didn’t even know she still possessed to survive, outwit and triumph.

For those legions of readers who have been entranced over the years by Park Ranger Anna Pigeon’s strength and determination and those who are new to Nevada Barr’s captivating, compelling novels, this is where it all starts.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for New York Times bestselling author

NEVADA BARR

 

THE ROPE

 

“Terrifying…Dark and visceral, the novel is sure to appeal to Barr’s legion of fans, especially those who have been clamoring for the author to light the shadows of Anna’s past...A crisply written and revelatory entry in the Pigeon series.”—Booklist

 

“Barr’s exciting 17th Anna Pigeon thriller takes readers where they’ve wanted to go for years—to Anna’s beginnings as a park ranger.…Misdirection and a rising body count ratchet up the tension.”—Publishers Weekly

 

“Barr’s luxuriant depictions of desert landscapes with its colors and hues and details about Lake Powell’s tourist population are interwoven into the narrative as an indispensable element of her popular series. Anna emerges from this canyon escapade as a strong, determined woman...Verdict: Another awesome winner for Barr.”—Library Journal

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

“ANOTHER AWESOME WINNER FOR BARR…

 [Anna Pigeon’s] legion of loyal fans can find out how her story began.”

—Library Journal

 

NEVADA BARR

THE ROPE

 

It’s 1995. Fresh off the bus from New York City, a broken-hearted 35-year-old named Anna Pigeon takes her first job as a park employee: a decidedly unglamorous, seasonal stint at the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area. On her day off, she goes hiking alone in the park—never to return. Her co-workers assume she’s moved on since her cabin is cleaned out. But when Anna wakes up—trapped at the bottom of a well, naked, with no supplies and no memory of how she got there—she must draw upon all of her strength, courage, and skill to survive. Because whoever set Anna’s trap isn’t through with her yet…

 

“EXCITING…takes readers where they’ve wanted to go for years—to Anna’s beginnings as a park ranger.…Misdirection and a rising body count ratchet up the tension.”—Publishers Weekly

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; Book Club (BCE/BOMC) edition (January 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312614578
• ISBN-13: 978-0312614577
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (173 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #350,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

113 of 120 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars How it all began... October 27, 2011

By Divascribe VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Fans of Nevada Barr's long-running series of novels about park ranger Anna Pigeon are in for a slight but enjoyable detour with "The Rope." Instead of advancing the series in time, it takes us back to the beginning, when Anna, in 1995, first gets involved in ranger work as a seasonal employee on the shores of Lake Powell. The novel opens with Pigeon's co-workers wondering why she's disappeared, and some thinking she skedaddled back to New York after finding the work too difficult.

The truth is far different. Anna is lying naked, her head aching from a blow and one arm dislocated, at the bottom of a "jar" -- a smooth-sided canyon that can only be accessed or escaped by a ladder that Anna doesn't have. As the sun beats down, she finds what appears to be a miracle -- a canteen containing water. Anna drinks it and sleeps -- the water was drugged. When she wakes, she finds the word "whore" carved into the flesh of her thigh.

How Anna escapes her prison and unravels the clues to find the identity of her assailant form the basis for a mystery that keeps the reader's interest, whether a first-timer to the series or a fan who's read all of the Pigeon books. Going back to the beginning, The Rope establishes Anna's self-reliant personality and the ways it is tested by her ordeal in the desert and her dealings with others. Supporting characters are also well-defined, as well as details about the not-so-glamorous life of a park ranger. It's a good read.

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Anna Pigeon, young and raw, in this series prequel November 9, 2011

By Jaylia3 TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Almost twenty years after Track of the Cat, the first Anna Pigeon mystery, we have the prequel, the missing link filling in the story of Anna's transformation from New York Theater type to national park ranger. In The Rope Anna is just a seasonal employee whose job it is to clean boat-dumped human waste off the shores of Lake Powell in Glen Canyon National Recreational Area. It's only a few months following her husband Zach's death and she's still shrouded in grief, avoiding human contact as much as possible, when after solitary hike she finds herself coming back to consciousness at the bottom of a deep, dry well--naked, alone and injured with no idea how she got there.

The plot spools out with Anna gradually figuring out what happened and taking action. Like all Anna Pigeon books this one is layered with National Park details, distinctive characters, and hard-earned philosophy. It's 1995, a time when homosexual National Park employees like Anna's roommate Jenny, an eventual friend and ally, have to stay fairly close to their closets. My favorite series character, Anna's insightful, unshakable sister Molly, is on hand as the voice of sophisticated composure, mostly residing in Anna's brain. This is not my favorite Anna Pigeon mystery, for me nothing can beat Track of the Cat or Blind Descent, but there's a renewed freshness I've been missing from the later books in the series.

87 of 96 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great potential but too dark and depressing November 29, 2011

By CJ-MO VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Anna Pigeon is mourning the death of her beloved husband Zach and she tries to escape the memories that New York holds by heading west to work in Glen Canyon Recreation Area. So far, the job isn't working out the way Anna expected. Anna doesn't fit in with the other rangers and nobody is surprised when she packs her belongings and leaves. What the others don't know is that Anna didn't leave voluntarily - she has been abducted. Anna wakes up at the bottom of a dry, natural well, but doesn't remember how she got there. She soon realizes it's no accident that she ended up trapped in the "jar" and there is no apparent way out. Now along with fighting to get her memory back she must fight to survive!

"The Rope" is a prequel to all the prior books in the Anna Pigeon series. I have followed this series since the beginning and it's interesting to see young Anna learning "the ropes" about being a park ranger since she is usually the one in charge and teaching others. Besides Anna, her roommate Jenny is the most interesting and only other likeable character in the book. Jenny is strong, but kind, and both her physical and emotional strength becomes an inspiration to Anna later in the book. Unfortunately, almost all of the other characters in the book are repulsive and downright evil, which doesn't make for an enjoyable read. It is an intense and suspenseful story, but the whole book is so dark, there are times it's hard to keep reading because of what Anna is going through.

The book is well-written and has all the usual details expected from the author that make the setting come alive. One enjoyable part is how a young stray skunk fits into the story. In addition, the new character Jenny adds some entertaining and touching moments to the book. The excellent writing and my affection for the character of Anna motivated me to stick with it, but this just isn't the type of book I enjoy reading. Some of Barr's later books in this series are also very dark, but I had hoped this prequel would bring a lighter tone. That is definitely not the case and for me, greatly detracted from what could have been a great book.