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.
Rating:
Summary: A+ In Every Way
Review: I've read all of Nevada Barr's books and couldn't put this one down. Great story line and excellent descriptive writing. Barr does her usual great job with Anna's latest assignment and the mystery storyline, plus she writes beautiful descriptions of the sights, sounds, and feel of the Natchez Trace Parkway. I felt like I just took a trip South!
Rating: 
Summary: My favorite Anna Pidgeon novel to date!
Review: I've read all of the Anna Pigeon mysteries by Nevada Barr and this one takes the cake. Anna makes her first permanent move to a new park, the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi, a far cry from her dry yet beautiful Mesa Verde home. From the first chapter in the book where she gets lost due to the bogus directions of a bitter new coworker, I could tell this book would be different from the rest -- a little less comfortable, a little more edgy. The South is a world of it's own and Anna is thrown into it all alone. Her subordinates are cagey, fat-assed, greasy-food-loving couch potatoes. The park is hot, steamy, dark and full of fast-growing kudzu vines. Even the land itself seems to sink in upon itself as if nothing is certain. No one can be trusted. Having just finished Blind Descent (a previous Anna novel) and reading about the death of a long-time friend Frieda, I thought I was safe for a while from having to endure really emotional content. Wrong, totally wrong. Anna comes up against even more heart-pounding and soul-wrenching events in this book as well. What's next? Killing off the cat? Geesh, give a lady a break. If anyone needs it, it's Anna. She's beaten and pummelled, left with a handicapable dog, and a possibly divorced love interest. Too bad we don't get to read about her taking a trip to Aruba with said love interest and thereby repairing both body and soul. Nope. If I have one complaint about this novel is that there wasn't more. What happens with the new love? At least he's better than previous love-interest Frederick. Will we see this new love again or are we going to be following Anna off on adventure after adventure in other parks? The yet-to-be published Hunting Season will be the one to watch.
Rating: 
Summary: Unlikely
Review: I've recently finished listening to the Recorded Books (unabridged) version of this work with narration by Barbara Rosenblat. She does a fine job transfering the dialect from the printed page to the human ear, not an easy task. I am not one very much attracted to works of fiction, largely because I find it difficult to imagine an individual really going through the experiences reported. This is what I felt in the story by Navada Barr. While she paints some interesting pictures of life in Mississippi, it seemed to me to be a bit unrealistic that Anna would get into so much trouble is such a short time frame. To have to deal with a murder, troublesome teens, a possible love affair and old civil war fans in the first week on the job seemed a bit much for me. As skilled as she may have been at her former post in Colorado, it is hard to imagine that the National Park Service would toss her into this new position without some kind of orientation to those things expected of her.
I am sure Barr has great ability in using descriptive language but perhaps should use that talent in travel books, not mystery novels.
Rating:
Summary: Unlikely
Review: I've recently finished listening to the Recorded Books (unabridged) version of this work with narration by Barbara Rosenblat. She does a fine job transfering the dialect from the printed page to the human ear, not an easy task. I am not one very much attracted to works of fiction, largely because I find it difficult to imagine an individual really going through the experiences reported. This is what I felt in the story by Navada Barr. While she paints some interesting pictures of life in Mississippi, it seemed to me to be a bit unrealistic that Anna would get into so much trouble is such a short time frame. To have to deal with a murder, troublesome teens, a possible love affair and old civil war fans in the first week on the job seemed a bit much for me. As skilled as she may have been at her former post in Colorado, it is hard to imagine that the National Park Service would toss her into this new position without some kind of orientation to those things expected of her.
I am sure Barr has great ability in using descriptive language but perhaps should use that talent in travel books, not mystery novels.
Rating:
Summary: This is vintage Nevada Barr
Review: In this book, Nevada Barr makes up for the lack of atmosphere in her previous book, Liberty Falling. Using nature as a backdrop is what Barr does best. She evokes a real sense of the swampy atmosphere of the Natchez Trace and uses a lot of humor to describe Anna Pigeon's reactions to this new locale. Anna has taken on an administrative position in the park service for the first time and a lot of the book is dedicated to her discomfort over her new role. She also has a lot of interesting interactions with her new co-workers who strive to upset this lady carpetbagger who has descended on them. I applaud this return to the outdoor venue and I enjoyed every page. To me, this is one of the best books of this series.
Rating:
Summary: 3 1/2 Stars from a first time Barr Reader
Review: It would appear that there is a general consensus from Nevada Barr fans that they like this book and feel it is consistent with her other novels. This being the first Nevada Barr book I have read, I can only provide prospective of an avid mystery fan. Nevada Barr clearly does a good job of putting you in the setting. You can visualize the Natchez Trace Park and the surrounding area. It is apparent that she spent the time working there and she translates her experience well. That being said, the amount of detail about the area becomes exhaustive. I found myself skimming thru pages (not paragraphs) that went into the description of the area. This made the book move slow. As far as the mystery itself, it almost plays an incidental part in the novel. The solution itself is pretty weak and only plays a key part in the last 30 pages or so. The book revolves mainly around the life and surroundings of park ranger, Anna Pigeon. This approach to the book made it very easy to put down, and I would hardly call it a page turner. The sign of a good mystery is a book that keeps you guessing and has you eager to get the next page to find out what will happen next or what clue will surface. This lacked that. If you want a book that puts you in the middle of Mississippi, with a mystery on the side then this is for you. However, if you are looking for a solid mystery book then I would suggest you move on.
Rating:
Summary: An Absolute Joy To Read
Review: Nevada Barr does not disappoint in this, her latest Anna Pigeon adventure. She doesn't just tell you about the deep south, she takes you there. Her descriptions bring not only the landscape to life, but the characters as well. This is one of those books you wish would never end.
Rating: 
Summary: Another stereotypical book about the South
Review: Nevada Barr has successfully added yet another chapter to the ever increasing canon of prejudice towards the South. The descriptions of the landscape are the only worthwhile part of this bigoted travesty; apparently, her perspective of Natchez never adjusted from the watchtower she occupied as a park ranger there. I did not read her last book -- set in New York -- but did it have any descriptions of "plunger justice," or is that now considered socially acceptable. I suggest Ms Barr stay with what she understands and write a book on botany.
Rating:
Summary: MURDER IN MISSISSIPPI!
Review: Nevada Barr mysteries are always enjoyable and this book is no exception. Anna takes a promotion and goes to the Natchez Trace in Mississippi. When she gets there she encounters work discrimination, harassment, alligators, predjudice, murder and love. Anna Pigeon is a great character and Nevada Barr brings her to life. This book is a great one to sit down and relax with.
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