Many writers have used national parks as settings for novels, but none have managed to do it more successfully or more durably than Nevada Barr. The books in her Anna Pigeon Mysteries series have consistently made the best seller lists, won prestigious awards, created a large base of fans who eagerly await her next book, and established Barr as the premier writer of national park-focused novels.
If you've read any of the 17 books in the Anna Pigeon Mysteries series, please take a few moments to share your thoughts.
Tell us about anything that's relevant. Which books in the Anna Pigeon Mysteries series have your read? Do you believe that Barr's descriptions of park physical and cultural resources are reasonably accurate? Have you ever visited a park because you read about it in a Nevada Barr novel? Would reading a Nevada Barr novel set in a particular park be a good thing to do before visiting that park? How much do you think the characters inhabiting Barr's novels resemble the real-life rangers, superintendents, concessioners, and others who work in, manage, and protect our national parks?
Comments
The one set in Glacier was Not Good. It turned bear management policy on its head (allowing people to continue to camp in the same area of the backcountry- even in the same backcountry campground- where a night-time bear attack had occurred) in order to make the plot "work." There were a number of geographical convolutions that had to be gotten by in order for things to make sense, although I thought of that more like how a movie uses different locations for its purposes that may not make sense to people who really know the area. But the bear management stuff upset me most-- I was so ANGRY at the characters who flouted good bear policy in order for the mystery to work out.
I enjoy the novels for the snarky thoughts about NPS uniforms, seasonal life, etc., which are usually pretty accurate. I don't find the mysteries themselves very intriguing, usually. They're too often direct rip-offs of actual Park incidents. That said, I keep reading!
I enjoyed the first few, but they got a bit gory for me.
I always did wonder why she never set one in Yellowstone, though. Or has she and I just don't know about it?
Yellowstone National Park has not provided the setting for a book in Barr's Anna Pigeon series, Meg. The list at this site has the relevant park information.
Just finished The Rope, and once again I was "roped" in hook, line and sinker! I vascilate between reading the mystery and looking the park up on line and doing all I can to "see" where she is in the park....My dream retirement job is be a raanger at Yellowstone.....a few more years and then, here I come! Also have found Box and Bowen to be great reads. But there is only one Anna Pigeon......fan for life!