Helpful Score: 5
First Line: Regis Candor took a swig of his beer and watched his neighbor, Jenny Gorman.
A fiercely held belief among old-timers is that Glen Canyon was even more beautiful than its relative to the west, the Grand Canyon. To those of us who've seen the Grand Canyon, it defies belief that another could be even more awe-inspiring. None of us will ever be able to form our own opinions, however, because a dam was built on the Colorado River, Lake Powell slowly filled, and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area was formed.
Anna Pigeon's husband is dead, and life as she's known it has ended. In an attempt to escape memories and make a clean start, she decides to become a park ranger and accepts the first opening she's offered. Before she knows it, she's boarded a bus and headed for Page, Arizona, and Lake Powell-- an incredible blaze of colors from the water and the sky to the red sandstone cliffs.
She doesn't mix all that much with the other employees, and on a day off she decides to go for a hike... and never returns. Since she wasn't the friendliest of souls, her co-workers think she didn't like the job and has moved on, but that's not the case.
Anna wakes up, trapped at the bottom of a natural dry well. She's naked. She has no supplies, and she has no clear memory of how she got in this situation. As Anna slowly pieces things together she realizes that someone has put her in this natural prison and that no one else even knows that she's missing. If she's to survive, this city girl is going to have to survive, to outwit her captor, and to emerge triumphant. The alternative is unthinkable.
Once again Nevada Barr hits a home run. Her setting is a land of incredible beauty, and she's a master of putting her readers right in the middle of the place she's chosen-- not just with breathtaking descriptions, but with facts. It's evident that Barr is as sickened as I am with how visitors treat the area, and some of her facts made me glad that I never tested the waters during any of my visits there.
This prequel was a sheer delight to read, allowing me to see Anna as she was at the very beginning and to watch her develop into the character I've come to love and trust. If you haven't read any of the Anna Pigeon books yet and you're wondering if you should read them in order of publication (starting with Track of the Cat) or in chronological order with The Rope, you could do it either way. (Personally I would prefer order of publication.) For those of you who have no intentions of committing to the entire series, please don't pass up the opportunity to read this book.
If you read the last book in the series, Burn, and did not care for the violence or the rather graphic subject matter, you don't have to worry about it in this book even though your antennae probably twitched at the words "naked, at the bottom of a well." Just sit back, relax, and enjoy this story about our Anna at the very beginning.
A fiercely held belief among old-timers is that Glen Canyon was even more beautiful than its relative to the west, the Grand Canyon. To those of us who've seen the Grand Canyon, it defies belief that another could be even more awe-inspiring. None of us will ever be able to form our own opinions, however, because a dam was built on the Colorado River, Lake Powell slowly filled, and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area was formed.
Anna Pigeon's husband is dead, and life as she's known it has ended. In an attempt to escape memories and make a clean start, she decides to become a park ranger and accepts the first opening she's offered. Before she knows it, she's boarded a bus and headed for Page, Arizona, and Lake Powell-- an incredible blaze of colors from the water and the sky to the red sandstone cliffs.
She doesn't mix all that much with the other employees, and on a day off she decides to go for a hike... and never returns. Since she wasn't the friendliest of souls, her co-workers think she didn't like the job and has moved on, but that's not the case.
Anna wakes up, trapped at the bottom of a natural dry well. She's naked. She has no supplies, and she has no clear memory of how she got in this situation. As Anna slowly pieces things together she realizes that someone has put her in this natural prison and that no one else even knows that she's missing. If she's to survive, this city girl is going to have to survive, to outwit her captor, and to emerge triumphant. The alternative is unthinkable.
Once again Nevada Barr hits a home run. Her setting is a land of incredible beauty, and she's a master of putting her readers right in the middle of the place she's chosen-- not just with breathtaking descriptions, but with facts. It's evident that Barr is as sickened as I am with how visitors treat the area, and some of her facts made me glad that I never tested the waters during any of my visits there.
This prequel was a sheer delight to read, allowing me to see Anna as she was at the very beginning and to watch her develop into the character I've come to love and trust. If you haven't read any of the Anna Pigeon books yet and you're wondering if you should read them in order of publication (starting with Track of the Cat) or in chronological order with The Rope, you could do it either way. (Personally I would prefer order of publication.) For those of you who have no intentions of committing to the entire series, please don't pass up the opportunity to read this book.
If you read the last book in the series, Burn, and did not care for the violence or the rather graphic subject matter, you don't have to worry about it in this book even though your antennae probably twitched at the words "naked, at the bottom of a well." Just sit back, relax, and enjoy this story about our Anna at the very beginning.
Helpful Score: 2
If I had read this book first as part of the series, I most likely would not have continued with the series. The placement of this book in the series is brilliant. I have been wondering for several books what motivated Anna. The Rope explains her motivation. Anna Pigeon continues to be an amazing character.
Helpful Score: 1
Anna Pigeon's story of ''back when." What a role model of a courageous and clever woman...and as always a wonderful glimpse of the amazing outdoors, this time around the Lake Powell area of Utah and Ariz. You will enjoy Nevada Barr's love of nature, the desert canyons and wilderness as one of the characters in this book as Anna struggles with her personal demons and must confront real demons to survive. A great read! More More More!
Having read all of the Anna Pigeon adventures as a park ranger, I enjoyed reading about her first experience as part of the park service and how it led to her career as a ranger. It was interesting, suspenseful, and as always quite a mystery. Nevada Barr's writing style makes it hard to put a book down once you start reading.
This will be the last book I read by Nevada Barr. Story drags on with a lot not making sense. Too many side stories that don't have much to do with the story of this seasonal ranger that keeps running into death challenge situations.
I am done with trying to read Barr's books, I've tried before but this character just does not interest me at all and this book is so slow and drawn out with page after page of descriptions of every character in the book and has to give every detail about them---borrrrrring!!
exciting as always
Very good story of how Anna got her start in becoming a NPS.
The is the first Nevada Barr book that I have read in a long time. I liked the idea of a prequel and the plot was convoluted and dark. This is one mystery that I did not determine the killer in a long, long time.
Anna Pigeon, reeling from the loss of her husband, Zach, leaves New York where every turn and activity reminds her of him. Working as a temporary employee for the Park Service, she keeps to herself and pursues solitary activities. It is this quality that gets her in trouble. In the beginning of the novel, she finds herself trapped in a hole in the earth, naked and with no way out. The walls are impossible to climb. She discovers that she is not alone when she finds a dead woman buried with her. This situation seems unsolvable but with the help of a baby skunk and her mind she traps someone who descends into her hole and escapes, leaving the man behind trapped as she was.
The situation is not as simple as it seems. Anna fears this man who tells everyone that he came to help her. As the plot winds throughout the novel more people die. Whether the deaths are accidents or murder no one really knows. Evidence is skimpy if not absent. The reader does not discover who is doing the murdering until close to the end and it's a twist that leaves one wondering how could I miss that. Well, I did and even though this mystery is a bit long for my taste it focuses how a naive approach a young grieving woman from the big city (New York) who is grieving can get into trouble. It's a good read!
Anna Pigeon, reeling from the loss of her husband, Zach, leaves New York where every turn and activity reminds her of him. Working as a temporary employee for the Park Service, she keeps to herself and pursues solitary activities. It is this quality that gets her in trouble. In the beginning of the novel, she finds herself trapped in a hole in the earth, naked and with no way out. The walls are impossible to climb. She discovers that she is not alone when she finds a dead woman buried with her. This situation seems unsolvable but with the help of a baby skunk and her mind she traps someone who descends into her hole and escapes, leaving the man behind trapped as she was.
The situation is not as simple as it seems. Anna fears this man who tells everyone that he came to help her. As the plot winds throughout the novel more people die. Whether the deaths are accidents or murder no one really knows. Evidence is skimpy if not absent. The reader does not discover who is doing the murdering until close to the end and it's a twist that leaves one wondering how could I miss that. Well, I did and even though this mystery is a bit long for my taste it focuses how a naive approach a young grieving woman from the big city (New York) who is grieving can get into trouble. It's a good read!
This book answers many questions about who Anna Pigeon is and what shaped her. It also leave on intriguing question at the end. A little different that other Anna Pigeon books in the way the reader is moved through the story. Definitely a read for fans of Nevada Barr, and her vivid descriptions of our National Parks.
