Rating: 
Summary: A major disappointment from a writer who can do better.
Review: Nevada Barr's earlier books were fun to read. However, I gave up on "Blind Descent" half-way through. I thought this one would be better but, if anything, it is worse. The writing is turgid and leads nowhere. For example: "The timelessness of a summer evening was the only tase of immortality most humans ever got, and as Anna cherished the soft golden forever, she wished she could capture it, carry it across the harbor to Molly's windowless world." After suffering through dozens of such phrases, I just gave up. She should get back to the kind of writing she demonstrated in "Track of the Cat", "A Superior Death", et al. What could have been a good read turned out (as did "Blind Descent") to be a great big bore. I recommend she re-read Strunk's "Elements of Style."
Rating: 
Summary: Another knock out from Nevada Barr!
Review: The worst part of a Nevada Barr book is the ending....knowing you'll have to wait another year or so to read one of her wonderful books!!
Rating: 
Summary: What a letdown!
Review: Like many other Nevada Barr fans, I'm eager to read each new book. This one was a serious disappointment. The writing is stilted, packed with florid adjectives and mixed metaphors. What happened to the lean, mean prose Barr used to write?? In the novel, Anna is reading a Wilkie Collins novel, which made me wonder if Barr has immersed herself in that genre to the point where she is emulating it. Whatever the case, it doesn't work. I've read Collins' books several times and never feel I was wading through dense prose and tortured clauses -- which is how I've felt slogging through this book. (Which makes me wonder why professional reviewers don't mention these things and spare readers the cost of the hardback...)
Rating: 
Summary: I was disappointed by too much scenery & not enough mystery.
Review: I am a great Barr fan. She's one of the few mystery writers I buy in hardcover, but this one was a disapointment. While her discriptions of Ellis Island were interesting, I wanted more mystery and less island. Barr's still a good read, but I hope future books will reflect her earlier works.
Rating: 
Summary: Another winner
Review: My friends and I eagerly await each new Anna Pigeon book. Liberty Falling is an excellent new book in the series. I missed the wide open spaces, the scenery and Piedmont, but I also enjoy the feel of New York. I recommend this and all Ms Barr's books to those who enjoy a good mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Nevada Barr should be declared a national treasure!
Review: ...Barr evokes the perfect ghostly mood when describing the rotting buildings on Ellis Island which once housed emigrants and are now being reclaimed by nature. Like the parks and monuments which she writes of, Nevada Barr should be declared a national treasure. (from the "Bloomsbury Review," 1999)
Rating:
Summary: Ellis Island simply cannot compete with Mesa Verde et al.
Review: This novel was disappointing after Nevada Barr's long streak of previous winners. Her masterful creation of scene and atmosphere at various National Parks has led me to expect more of the same: beautiful natural settings whether lush with forest, desolate desert or underground mineral wonders. The Statue of Liberty and decaying abandoned buildings simply can't create the same appeal: man-made wonders hold no wonder.Nevertheless, plotting, pace and characters are very good, overall combining to produce a good novel. After greedily consuming one home run after another by Barr, it's a letdown to read what, by comparison, is "just" a double. I was surprised when Barr takes a side-slap at those who are chronically ill by having Anna Pigeon's psychiatrist sister Molly parrot English professor Elaine Showalter's claim that chronic illnesses such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Gulf War Illness are simply cultural phenomena, and by setting up the chronically ill as self-interested and uninformed critics. Having myself struggled for 6 years with chronic illness, it came across as insensitive, to say the least.
Rating:
Summary: A great work in a great series
Review: National Park Service Ranger Anna Pigeon would never feel lonely even if she were the only person in Yosemite national Park. On the other hand, place her in a teeming metropolis like Manhattan and she feels both claustrophobic and lonely. However, when her sister is in a Big Apple intensive care unit, fighting for her life, Anna visits her, residing at a friend's home on Liberty Island. Anna explores the ruins of Ellis Island, the locale where millions of immigrants entered this country. However, strange happenings occur on both isles. A teen tumbles from the statue with a witness screaming that a security person pushed the victim. In turn, the accused seemingly commits suicide. Anna has doubts and begins to snoop. For her troubles, someone breaks the crumbling stairwell from under her feet, an incident that could have led to Anna's death. At a subway station, an unknown assailant tries to push her in front of an oncoming train. The attacks on her person continue, but nothing deters Anna from trying to ferret out the truth. Looking at New York City, and Liberty and Ellis Islands from the perspective of a person who enjoys the vast outdoors is an interesting treat. LIBERTY FALLING succeeds because of the attitude of Anna, who is not just tourist, towards the large metropolis. Nevada Barr has the uncanny ability of hiding her clues in plain sight, leaving the reader to struggle with determining who is the perpetrator. The historical research on the two smaller islands adds depth that leaves the audience feeling like they made a recent visit to the Gateways National Park that includes Liberty and Ellis Island. Any Anna Pigeon novel is a treat, but LIBERTY FALLING is a special delight in a top series. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Don't read this one first!
Review: I mistakenly read Falling Liberty before any of the other Ana Pigeon series. This one is poor example of Barr's skill and story telling finesse. She tosses out several over-ripe cliches that made me cringe in agony. Luckily, my wife persisted I read Track of the Cat and now I'm almost through the series.
This one is regrettable.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste Your Time
Review: After reading Deep South and Flashback, I was looking forward to going back and reading some of the earlier Anna Pigeon books. Liberty Falling has to be the worst of the Pigeon series. I found myself skimming over pages and skipping over the last third of the book to get to the end and hope the ending would make it worth the read. It wasn't.
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