Hunting Season (Anna Pigeon)

Rating:
Summary: Good book in a great series!
Review: Anna is trying to sort out her feeling for the local sheriff but Murder seems to keep getting in the way of her doing this.

First there is the body that is found in the Old Plantation/National Park Site bedroom. This is not a run of the mill tourist it is a well known man of a local family, and trussed up to look like he did more than just die.

Then there is the deer stand that Anna and her Deputy are trying to catch in use. Well Anna catches more than she barging for with this one.

After a few harrowing disasters and learning a lot about the history of the area I just couldn't stop listening and was disappointed that it ended.

Rating:
Summary: another wonderful Nevada Barr book
Review: As usual this is another great book by Nevada Barr

Anna gets herself into trouble at least twice but comes out of it brused and bleeding as usual.

great story & things are starting to look up for her.

Nevada Barr in one of the best writers out there. Edge of the seat story lines.

I have every book she has ever written.

Rating:
Summary: Why do I keep reading this series?
Review: I do not find the lead character likeable. Ranger Pigeon has little sense of humor and typical left wing prejudices. One reviewer accurately charaterized this as her "NPR soapbox". Nevertheless I keep reading this series-I suppose due to Barr's story telling ability and my childhood love of our National Parks.

Rating:
Summary: Trace Evidence
Review: I have mixed feelings about Nevada Barr's Hunting Season. On the one hand, I wanted to see Ranger Anna Pigeon end up somewhere new rather than the Natchez Trace Parkway. I like to revisit National Parks that I have personally visited or learn about a park I've never been to through each new Anna Pigeon novel. The fact that Hunting Season might be considered Deep South Part Two made it seem a less enticing read at first. On the other hand, it was nice to see the more detailed character development that a return visit to a location allowed AND it is realistic to have Anna stay in one place for longer than she normally seems to. Ultimately, the novel was very exciting and it kept me up to the wee hours of the morning several nights in a row. Local politics, poached deers, unmarked graves, shifting loyalties, folk art, and lots and lots of driving up and down the Natchez Trace Parkway all play a roll in this dark, damp mystery. This isn't the best Anna Pigeon novel nor is it a perfect 5 stars, but it was far enough past 4 stars to give it the full 5.

Rating:
Summary: One of, if not the best of Barr's series!
Review: I really enjoy Barr's mystery series. Not only is Anna Pigeon a bit more 'identifiable-with' for us normal folk, but the information she gives so lovingly about the Parks and the history surrounding them makes the reader as if she/he is not wasting their time. Somehow we always learn something new, we didn't know before, and I like that in an author.

Once again, this book takes places in the Deep South. The ability of Barr to use words to draw and color the areas in which the mysteries take place is one of the great things about her writing. She doesn't have to go into long explanations or use big words to get across the local flavor, the prejudices (of everyone!), even the time of year is so well drawn you can almost smell the time after the leaves have fallen and just before the winter sleep. Since this is a favorite time of year for me, that description alone was worth the read.

Anna gets herself into a situation, one that is confusing for her where she has a strange murder that seems 'set-up- but also then immediately runs into some 'good-ole'-boys' who chase her in order to keep their hunting rights on Federal property (or so she thinks at first). Eventually, the story ties everything in...and I have been waiting for her nasty under-ranger (with a hilarious name) Thigpen to show his true colors. I knew from the moment she first described him a few books ago, that he was so prejudiced against women in what he considered a 'man's job' that one way or another, he would try to 'get' Anna for taking the position he coveted (and not the position he earned...too lazy for that).

Once again, a very enjoyable read. The history of the slaves and stories about the freemen is something I very much want to know more about, especially as geneaology is an important topic to me. I cannot imagine trying to do geneaological research in an environment where families were torn apart, graveyards are not marked in recognizeable forms, historical documents would have to be searched through carefully to find slight bits of information, and many times slaves took the last names of their owners (tho heaven only knows why). This is the new and interesting information that really excites me when I read Barr's books. Maybe that same information will excite some people into doing more historical and geneaological research down in the Deep South, so families can be 'reunited'.

Karen Sadler

Rating:
Summary: not up to par
Review: Of all the Anna Pigion books I have read, this is the worst. The charecters are shallow and stiff, the dialog stillted and meaningless, and the park is not well described and in no way seems like a place one would like to visit. This mystery seems to be a big "so what". Not nearly up to Ms Barr's best efforts.

Rating:
Summary: The worst in the Anna Pidgeon series
Review: This book was EXCELLENT, much better than the last and very suspenseful. I haven't read a book in a long time that I couldn't put down until the end, but I couldn't rest until I got found out "who did it." The ending, while a surprise, was still believable and fit into the story well. Really, you need to buy this, it was great.

Rating:
Summary: Best Anna Pigeon novel
Review: This is the latest installment in the Anna Pigeon, Park Ranger series. This book is like going back to an old friend and getting once again reacquainted. This is one of Nevada Barr's best novels and I recommend it to anyone discovering Ms. Pigeon for the first time.

In Ms. Barr's latest novel, Anna returns to her job as the District Ranger for the Natchez Trace, a gorgeous scenic route that goes from Memphis, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi. She encounters the same managerial problems she had with her staff in DEEP SOUTH and encounters another dead person. The body belongs to Doyce Barnette, brother of Raymond Barnette. Raymond is the town mortician as well as the leading candidate for new sheriff. Raymond is more concerned of his political aspirations instead of his brother. He is very secretive and does his best to impede the investigation. Anna has her hands full dealing with poachers, her married boyfriend, as well as someone trying to kill her.

I strongly recommend you read DEEP SOUTH before reading her latest work. There are some spoilers in HUNTING SEASON that might spoil the other Natchez Trace Anna Pigeon mystery. They are both good.

Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER GOOD ANNA PIGEON MYSTERY
Review: What I enjoy most about Anna Pigeon mysteries is Nevada Barr's ability to make the setting one of the book's main characters. Barr breaths life into the various locations of the National Park System that Anna, a District Ranger, has worked at throughout this series. The reader is given a back door glimpse into these often-exotic locations across the United States. In HUNTING SEASON we are granted a behind the scenes tour of Mississippi's Trace Natchez National Park. Anna investigates the death of a local man discovered in an historic settlement building. To add to the mystery the death appears to be the result of an alleged sex crime. Throughout her investigation Anna confronts family secrets kept hidden for many generations and a large dose of sexism and racism to keep her from discovering the real killer. But Anna's infamous perseverance eventually solves this mystery and the Trace Natchez is restored to safety. In her Anna Pigeon character Nevada Barr creates a mystery series that is a delight to read and HUNTING SEASON is no exception.