Rating: 
Summary: Better as a series than a single book
Review: I gather from the jacket and some of the text that this is part of an ongoing series of books dealing with the adventures of a female forest ranger/police officer. This one's adventure consists of a job transition from the Western United States to something about as far a different environment as possible. That is, modern day Mississippi. As a stand-alone book, it's pretty good. There are two major areas of narration, the transition to a new part of the country, and a nasty murder to solve practically out of the gate. As murder mysteries go, it's OK. We find a body, track down acquaintances, and then get to figure out suspects and motive. As a murder mystery is usually a murder mystery, I always try to add what I learn about the world surrounding it as part of making it interesting. In this case, it's the world of Civil War enactors. We get just a glimpse of their world, but it's covered in much more detail, and much more interestingly in Elmore Leonards' "Tishomingo Blues". The other area is the transition. I would have liked to have seen a longer novel where this area is explored. We do get some conflicts, especially because she's a woman. But they get into the murder right away, where and this part is left at the wayside. I would imagine that the topic will be explored in more depth in "the further adventures", which would get the SERIES a four-star rating. But as this detail is lacking in this particular book, I hold it to three stars.
Rating:
Summary: Better as a series than a single book
Review: I gather from the jacket and some of the text that this is part of an ongoing series of books dealing with the adventures of a female forest ranger/police officer. This one's adventure consists of a job transition from the Western United States to something about as far a different environment as possible. That is, modern day Mississippi. As a stand-alone book, it's pretty good. There are two major areas of narration, the transition to a new part of the country, and a nasty murder to solve practically out of the gate. As murder mysteries go, it's OK. We find a body, track down acquaintances, and then get to figure out suspects and motive. As a murder mystery is usually a murder mystery, I always try to add what I learn about the world surrounding it as part of making it interesting. In this case, it's the world of Civil War enactors. We get just a glimpse of their world, but it's covered in much more detail, and much more interestingly in Elmore Leonards' "Tishomingo Blues". The other area is the transition. I would have liked to have seen a longer novel where this area is explored. We do get some conflicts, especially because she's a woman. But they get into the murder right away, where and this part is left at the wayside. I would imagine that the topic will be explored in more depth in "the further adventures", which would get the SERIES a four-star rating. But as this detail is lacking in this particular book, I hold it to three stars.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Read
Review: I have read all of Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series, and have yet to be disappointed. Ms. Barr's novels are always fresh and fun. Anna Pigeon being a park ranger opens the world to this series. Some series get stale because the hero doesn't have the opportunity to change and grow because of the environment. Not so with Anna Pigeon, Ms. Barr does an excellent job of taking you places that the average person does not think about or understand. The author does a wonderful job of explaining these great places in America. This book is no exception. Ms. Barr has a great mystery in this book, with lots of "red herrings". Reveling the killer and why only in the last few pages. Caught me off guard. All the ends tied up making perfect sense to the reader and plot. Not withstanding a very good mystery, what makes Ms. Barr's stories so fun too is her descriptions of the environment and people. The author beautifully describes the nature of this part of America. I felt that I was there experiencing right along with Anna. The Anna Pigeon series is a very fun read. I always look forward to the next installment. Wondering where Nevada Barr is going to take me next. I know that it will be a fun experience. Read them all, I think you will enjoy yourself and wish that you had started earlier.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful book
Review: I just finished reading this book & it was so hard to put down. When Nevada Barr writes a book you feel like you are right there with Anna. And when she is hurt, which she really was in this book, you can feel her pain. Nevada Barr is one of the best writers out there. All of her books are wonderful. If you have not read any of her books do. They are great
Rating: 
Summary: Huge Disappointment....Why do people LIKE this series??
Review: I love mysteries, series mysteries, Female leads, nature, animals..yet once again I was reminded why I hate the Nevada Barr series as I slogged thru "Deep South"! What a drag...stereotypes, cliches...and a thoroughly unlikeable character in Anna Pigeon. The line about her "bureaucratic clock" ticking was one of the few funny parts of the book ...but it essentially reminds us what a government worker Anna is...I had the feeling she is truly just putting in her time. Reading this book is about as boring as reading bureaucratic handbooks! I strongly disliked the plot too...too many suspects, red herrings, and the final "motive" in the last chapter did not ring true...when the corpse is a young teenage girl, I would expect a more serious plot/motive...there was no real motive here...I also despised the gratuitous maiming of the dog...and the fact that the culprit in that maiming was named, yet apparently nothing was being done about his crime. Anna's battle with the wine bottle was distasteful; very other little info is given about her other than her obsession with wine. We have no idea what sort of food, music, movies, she likes.....I agree with other reviewers that Anna has NO friends, no other woman character except for her phone conversations with her sister...she doesn't like much...and frankly I don't like HER or these books!
Rating:
Summary: Classic Barr
Review: I loved this book. I never saw the ending coming. It kept me on the edge. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Barr
Review: I loved this book. I never saw the ending coming. It kept me on the edge. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Good read
Review: I really enjoyed reading this well writtin story. Interesting to the very end.
Rating:
Summary: Mississippi Mud
Review: I was entranced with Nevada Barr's DEEP SOUTH. Talk about sense of place....In each book, Anna Pigeon is working at a different National Park. Here, she's in the Natchez Trace in Mississippi, and one can feel the heat and see the flora and fauna. The story almost disappears into the locale, but the murder of a high school girl is still the focal point of the story. Don't try to read this in the summertime, unless your air conditioner really works well.
Rating:
Summary: In many ways, one of the best of the series
Review: I've enjoyed every Nevada Barr mystery I've read, which is all of them except for "Blind Descent." "Deep South" is no exception. In fact, it's one of my favorite entries in the Anna Pigeon series, even though I've never been farther south than Virginia and am a native of California who's always lived there. I've enjoyed the other novels immensely with their predominant western venues, but one of the joys of reading about Anna Pigeon's adventures in law enforcement as a U.S. National Park Ranger is the vicarious experience of traveling and experiencing new places. Nevada Barr is excellent at making the reader feel as if he or she were actually there. In "Deep South," we readers get to have an experience of the southern portion of the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi. Some interesting characters are introduced -- people who make Anna's professional life interesting, positively and negatively, as she has assumed a management position in a completely unfamiliar park venue and a part of the country that is utterly new to her. The plot is specific to the place and reveals much about local residents who live in towns and cities adjacent to the Trace. If I have a complaint at all, it's that Anna is subject once again to great injury and this time I found it upsetting. I had to put the book down and tell myself, "This is fiction. Anna Pigeon is not a real human being." I came to realize is that I wish she were a real human being. One of the best parts of this book is the introduction of a new character who looks to be a promising love interest for Anna, someone she actually deserves who deserves her, too. We shall see in forthcoming books what happens in this regard as Anna progresses through her 40s. Read "Deep South" and you'll feel the heat and humidity, experience aspects good and bad of Southern culture and politics, and learn the obvious truth that racism there, while firmly entrenched and prevalent, isn't universal. Nevada Barr writes this novel very convincingly as she ought to -- her most recent post as a ranger with the National Park Service was on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi and even though she's now working as a novelist, she still lives in that state.
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