Helpful Score: 13
One of her best -- you actually feel trapped in the caverns!
Helpful Score: 3
Anna Pigeon's willingness to come to the aid of an injured friend trapped in the bowels of Carlsbad Caverns (the part off-limits to the general public) forces her to wrestle with her own claustrophobia-induced demons. In doing so, she places herself in greater physical peril than in most of the earlier books ... or perhaps it just seemed that way to this claustrophobic reader.
Anna remains one of the more interesting and three-dimensional amateur sleuths around today, and while the supporting cast is not necessarily so well-defined (and there are moments when readers who hadn't read the earlier books might have to struggle a little too much to understand relationships), there is a level of elegance to the writing which is not often found in works that have no pretensions to high literature.
This is a well-written novel with an engaging protagonist and a clever plot. Light reading doesn't get much better.
Anna remains one of the more interesting and three-dimensional amateur sleuths around today, and while the supporting cast is not necessarily so well-defined (and there are moments when readers who hadn't read the earlier books might have to struggle a little too much to understand relationships), there is a level of elegance to the writing which is not often found in works that have no pretensions to high literature.
This is a well-written novel with an engaging protagonist and a clever plot. Light reading doesn't get much better.
Helpful Score: 2
I generally like the Anna Pigeon stories, although sometimes they get a bit tedious. This one is my favorite of the four or five I've read in the series. I am fascinated by caves, yet have a healthy near-claustrophic fear of them. So does Anna Pigeon.
When she joins a rescue team to descend into the almost unexplored deep parts of Carlsbad Caverns, all sorts of interesting things transpire. The writing is excellent--I could actually feel the emotions (fear, primarily) as the story went on. This story even affected my dreams for a time!
I recommend it. The mystery elements are good, but the actual feeling of being way down deep in the bowels of the earth in tiny, tight places as well as in huge empty underground rooms is the main reason to read this amazing story.
When she joins a rescue team to descend into the almost unexplored deep parts of Carlsbad Caverns, all sorts of interesting things transpire. The writing is excellent--I could actually feel the emotions (fear, primarily) as the story went on. This story even affected my dreams for a time!
I recommend it. The mystery elements are good, but the actual feeling of being way down deep in the bowels of the earth in tiny, tight places as well as in huge empty underground rooms is the main reason to read this amazing story.
Helpful Score: 2
I'm reading all of Barr's Anna Pigeon mysteries in sequence, and while I like all of them, this one is my least favorite so far, partly for personal reasons. The personal part is that I am claustrophobic, and the whole idea of caving in "wormholes" gives me the willies. As a matter of fact, I just had to put the book down a couple of times because I was so uncomfortable. Less personal, the book has a lot of spelunking and climbing technical lore in it that I just didn't follow. Ultimately, the plot is OK and the characterizations good, so if you don't share my personal phobias, plunge in.
Helpful Score: 1
I am really enjoying this series. I really like the mysteries and I enjoy reading about all the national parks where they are set.
