Rating: 
Summary: extremely well-written
Review: This is the first of this authors' books I had read. I'm hooked! The writing is so much better than nearly all other mystery writers. Give this author a try.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I really liked previous Anna Pigeon mysteries, but Blind Descent was so tedious I could hardly read it. There is too much technical detail on climbing through caves -- which the author has developed more fully than the characters.
Rating: 
Summary: really good!
Review: not her best, A superior death was by far my favorite, but blind descent was really good. i missed some of the characters barr brought us in her previous novels, but the new additions were good. i am a little claustrophobic and i don't much like crawling around in caves, so maybe that's why this one didn't quite bite me. still, a thoroughly enjoyable book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read, the best by Nevada Barr so far.
Review: "Blind Descent" is an excellent read, the best by far by Nevada Barr. Anna Pigeon's character is an extremely interesting person who has human frailties like everyone else yet has the skills and finds the inner strength to persevere and meet the challenges and succeed. Barr's writing skills and style are superb in this book, especially in describing Anna Pigeon's thoughts as she is dealing with her reactions to being in the cave. Also, some of her insights into human relations hit the mark and her sense of humor is well intact. Enjoyed this book from beginning to end and cannot wait for more in the series. Nevada Barr deserves to be congratulated for her writing skills and creating such an enjoyable read and such an interesting main character. The readers cannot wait to see what happens to Anna Pigeon next.
Rating:
Summary: Another good one from Nevada Barr
Review: I love Nevada Barr and her character, Anna Pigeon! This is not my favorite in the Pigeon series, but it is very good. As usual, Barr equals Tony Hillerman in her description of place and betters him in her creation of character. With every novel, Anna keeps getting more interesting and more real. Note to Barr: please consider Acadia National Park as a setting for a future Anna Pigeon tale! In fact, a real murder that occurred here a few years ago could provide just the inspiration: a man pushed his new bride off the spectacular Otter Cliffs. The investigation revealed a rather shady and tangled past, including a first wife who mysteriously drowned at another wilderness park.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much technospeak, underdeveloped characters
Review: This book did not match Barr's previous efforts, all of which have been outstanding. She runs the risk of "Tom Clancy disease," allowing the technology and jargon of the cavers take over. I couldn't feel the same thrill of the hunt and compassion for Anna Pigeon as in the first four books.The supporting cast was underdeveloped, as well. I didn't, in the end, really care about whodunit, other than for closure.
Rating:
Summary: nevada barr at her best
Review: without a doubt, this is anna pidgeon & nevada barr at their best, traversing through caves in the southwest and bringing the evil to justice through her skills as a park ranger and the ability to bring the bad to justice and to their just rewards. read it, you'll like it. a wonderful treat to discover the down under in New Mexico and learn more about another exquisite feature of the good old u. s. of a. nevada is one of the best. read it. you'll be glad you did.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST Anna Pigeon novel yet!
Review: The very idea of being so far underground is so suspenseful that Barr would not have had to have a crime in this book, but since she did it is probably one of the best on the edge of your chair novels written. Anna Pigeon is the female Dirk Pitt (Clive Cussler's character) only a shade more realistic. Anna has the kind of personality and life style that one would like to have for one's own, if I were able to hike tall mountains in a single bound, dive deep seas, live through flash fires under a blanket, run through caves in total darkness, etc. Read this book and be prepared to shut one eye during the scary parts and sit on the edge of your chair through the rest.
Rating:
Summary: Series is very good.
Review: It helps to read the series in order to appreciate the main character. Anna is a good lead woman as she overcomes her own fears to solve the crimes. Interesting and varied setting in all of these books. I would defintely recommend the entire series.
Rating:
Summary: The best book yet in a great series.
Review: _Blind Descent_ shows Nevada Barr's protagonist, park ranger Anna Pigeon, continuing to struggle and grow as a character. She's battled with alcoholism in the past and has always had a tendency to come off as a bit cold and unfriendly. In the new book, Anna shows signs of coming out of her shell and warming up a bit. When a friend of hers is injured in a caving accident in New Mexico's Lechuguilla Cavern, a little-explored network of caverns adjacent to Carlsbad, Anna, already on the scene as an information officer, is persuaded to don caving gear and make her way to the scene. Once there, she is confronted with a semi-delirious friend who suggests that the accident may not have been so accidental, prompting Anna to begin her own informal investigation, which very quickly becomes more serious, following a cave-in and rock slide that injures the rescuers and kills Anna's friend. The real strength of this novel lies in Barr's vivid descriptions of claustrophobic spaces and underground wonders. Anna is no caver, though she does grow to have a certain appreciation for the subterranean. The writing does a great job of capturing her fear and uncertainty as she first enters the cavern, on her way to comfort her friend. Barr also does a memorable job of describing her growing comfort with the cave during a return visit later in the novel. Beyond this, the novel effectively shows Anna Pigeon growing and maturing as a character. Anna has always been very complex, some might even say unlikeable. In this book, she comes more into her own, as she overcomes her own fears to enter the cave for the first time, and later, as she pursues her investigation at the risk of her own safety. It's a great pleasure to sit down with each book in this series, just to see what Barr will come up with next for her character, although the novelty of her national park settings may be wearing off somewhat. Toward the end, Anna even seems to be reconsidering her dedication to her park ranger's job. The only frustration is having to wait for the next book to see what will happen! Very strongly recommended--if you have the chance, this is definitely a series to be read in order.
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