Rating: 
Summary: Nevada continues to please.
Review: I tend to always buy the latest hardbacks of Nevada Barr , as I enjoy them so. This one did not fail to please. She presents the setting (this time Glacier Nat'l Park) so compellingly ( she does excellent research regarding each park) , that you really get a sense you are there ( a vicarious vacation, so to speak). Anna is always a delight to follow as she ponders the evolving mysteries that inevitably arise at each park she is stationed at . I suspend wondering too hard, why there is always an unseemly murder at each park she is stationed at...Other fictional park rangers must tremble when they hear of her arrival at their park (i.e. impending murder)! One must not scrutinize this "golden thread"/"common denominator" detail too vigorously. Simply disregard that snaggly fact! The Barr mysteries are just too fun to read. Thumbs up! I enjoyed it very much, and I was sad to put it down...however it may not be advisable to read it just yet, if you are planning on going to Glacier Nat'l Park anytime soon.
Rating:
Summary: I'll definitely be looking for Ms. Barr's back list!
Review: I've discovered Nevada Barr. No, it's not a candy bar made in Nevada. She's a mystery author and creator of the series character, Anna Pigeon-Park Ranger.In BLOOD LURE Anna takes us on a tour of Waterton/Glacier National Peace Park, which straddles the border between Montana and Canada. Anna is sent with Joan Rand and a teenage boy on an assignment to study grizzly bears. One night their camp is attacked by a strange-acting bear that didn't appear to be interested in food, but more interested in scaring them off as if it were more human than animal. The teenage boy ends up missing, and a camper is found dead--her neck snapped and the flesh of her face cut away, suggesting she was murdered. Anna's beloved mountains have become something sinister as she hikes onward looking for clues and hunting the beast stalking the trails. No man could snap a neck like that without crushing the skull, and no animal can cut away flesh. What on earth is Anna hunting? BLOOD LURE is a complex, in depth story that keeps you working to solve the mystery. You'll be terrified of the bear, mystified by the park, and always looking over your shoulder for the killer to strike again. One thing you won't see coming is the explosive and surprising ending. Though the story had a few laugh out loud moments, it's steeped in drama. You'll get intimate with the nature of beasts--both animal and man. You'll feel like you're right there in the mountains with Anna. I'll definitely be looking for Ms. Barr's back list.
Rating: 
Summary: Read this book--a truly superb mystery!
Review: In "Blood Lure," Nevada Barr has written one of the best mysteries I've read in a long time. I was absolutely stumped from beginning to end, but when I read the solution, everything made sense and fit together nicely. Best of all, when I look back over the story, I see that Barr provided the reader with all the necessary clues along the way. I just didn't have the brain power to figure it out myself. Park Ranger Anna Pigeon is a fascinating character, and the "hook" of this series--each book takes place at a different national park--is absolutely unique (that's saying something when I can name not one, but TWO mystery series featuring cleaning lady sleuths, of all things). Pigeon is a loner, a woman who has to remind herself to fake softness and sympathy when required. She is completely at home hiking and camping in the great outdoors. This book finds her faith in nature shaken, however, when she is attacked by a grizzly bear while working with researchers to gather bear DNA information in Waterton/ Glacier National Peace Park. When one of her companions goes missing after the attack, and then a camper is found murdered off a nearby trail, Anna finds her darkest suspicions aroused. Although I would recommend this series, and this book in particular, to anyone, it is a particular treat for anyone who enjoys camping or hiking. Barr's detailed description of life within the National Park system is engrossing. These people have chosen lives that are completely at odds from everyday existence as most of us experience it. And if you don't enjoy camping or hiking, you can still enter and enjoy this foreign world without having to experience the inconvenience of mosquitos directly, not to mention the terror of a grizzly attack.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful story, but . . .
Review: Let me begin by saying that I love Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon books, especially when the park the story concerns is in the West, parks with which I am familiar. For instance, the description of the firestorm in the book of that name was so wonderfully written and so compelling that one's heart pounded with fear when reading it. Few times have I read action narrative that pulled me so totally into the scene. I've read that book and especially that scene over and over again and it just gets better. The location for "Blood Lure" being Glacier National Park and concerned with the beautiful Grizzly bear, I really wanted to love this book. And most of it I did. The story was intriguing and the plotting was masterful, the ending was a little abrupt but almost completely satisfying. Anna Pigeon is a wonderfully three-dimensional character and Barr never makes a misstep with her - Anna never acts out of character even as (or especially as) that character develops over the time frame of all nine novels. What I did NOT enjoy were the many errors throughout the book. Words were missing, punctuation was missing, punctuation was incorrect (the kind that makes it difficult to figure out what was meant), etc. It's like watching a film and being so engrossed in the story that you are "there" - and then you see the microphone hanging over the scene above the actors' heads. BANG! You're back in the theater again. On page 5 of "Blood Lure" Anna is introduced to Rory Van Slyke, a teenager with Earthwatchers volunteering to help with the Grizzly DNA project that has brought Anna to Glacier. Anna responds to the introduction by saying, "How you do?" There are four or five more instances like that throughout the book. Barr's words deserve better than this. These kind of sloppy editing errors snap one out of the story and ruin the flow of description and of dialogue. I'm sure that there will be folks out there who will read through this review and correct my grammar and spelling... I believe that editors should stop relying on spell-check and do a better job of actual editing. One last item: Having been to both Glacier and Waterton Parks (or Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park), the map in the front of the book and the geographical references within the book confused me. Consequently, I went to the Glacier Park website and downloaded the Park map. I guess maybe some of Waterton Park is in British Columbia (two campsites?), but the vast majority including the part shown on the map in the front of "Blood Lure" and the part around Flattop Mountain described in the book are directly south of Alberta, Canada, not British Columbia. Sigh . . . color me a grouchy old woman, but I was very disappointed that a Penguin-Putnam book was this carelessly edited. However, if these kinds of errors don't bother you, by all means go ahead and read the book. The story is great if you can ignore the distractions.
Rating: 
Summary: Ridiculous book
Review: My first Nevada Barr read and I was highly disappointed. Perhaps her earlier books are better, but I doubt I will ever find out. The only reason I read this one is because I worked in Glacier National Park for a summer and was very familiar with the area as well as bears. Now, as for Anna Pigeon, I found her reaction to bears lacked credibility. Here is a seasoned ranger who simply doesn't respond properly during a bear encounter. PUH-lease! Don't waste time on this one. I also agree with another reviewer--I LIVED there and the map made virtually no sense to me.
Rating:
Summary: Lured Me In
Review: Nevada Barr writes mysteries that draw you in but don't bog you down. The clues are simple to follow. The characters are lovable (or unlovable) and easy to invest in. "Blood Lure" gives us a mystery to solve, the great outdoors to enjoy, and just enough info on bears to keep it interesting. I would consider it a easy read but one that is sure to relax and stimulate your mind all at once. Anna Pigeon is a great character and I hope to put all of Barr's books under my reading belt before too much longer.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best Anna Pigeon mysteries
Review: Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon mysteries, set in American national parks, are refreshing because of their descriptions of natural wonders and their restrained use of violence and gore. Like Patricia Cornwell in her Kay Scarpetta series, Barr gives the reader unusually detailed insights into female fear. In this book, ranger Pigeon is working in Montana's Glacier National Park. Her involvement in a research project leads her into danger, beginning with a bear's attack on her tent. A teenage boy disappears; his stepmother's mutilated body is found the next day. False leads accumulate. Most readers will not anticipate the ending, except to imagine that it involves a bear. My only complaint is that the three of the four most fully described male characters are whiners, while the fourth is manipulative. Does feminism require that all males be despicable?
Rating:
Summary: Anna P. + Nevada B.--a winning combination
Review: Nevada Barr's set of novels, using Anna Pigeon--a National Park Ranger--as the main character, provides us with the unique perspective of those who serve in the National Park Service. What makes this series even better, as other reviewers indicated, is that these books are often located in different sites. As a result, we get a flavor of the different issues faced by the rangers in various locations. Even better, Ms. Barr includes fabulous geographic detail regarding each area that is not to be missed. Highly recommended for both nature and travel afficionados--oh for you mystery folks, you'll love these books too!
Rating:
Summary: Anna Meets a Bear
Review: On loan to Glacier National Park to take part in a fascinating DNA project, Anna finds herself embroiled once again in a mysterious murder. And this time the murderer may or may not be the same ferocious bear that has torn up the camp and almost eaten Anna and crew. Joan, the French-Canadian woman who heads up the Bear DNA project, is passionate about her ursine charges, but even she is terrified by the display of violence on the part of the bear. And Rory, Joan and Anna's teenaged apprentice, is nearly catatonic with fear after the attack. It is Rory's stepmother, camping nearby in the park, who is found murdered, her face mauled. Did the bear do it? It would not be characteristic behavior if he did. Or was the murderer all too human? Did Rory, whose strange disappearance after the attack provokes a parkwide search, kill his stepmom in a fit of rage? What about Rory's meek and mild dad? Did Joan herself do it, and if so, why? Anna sets out to solve the mystery, but the story is slow and often ponderous, even though it contains all the elements that usually grab readers of this series. The Bear DNA project is very interesting, but gets old after a while. The murder victim is uninteresting, and probably deserved what she got. Joan is a wonderful new character, and I hope to see more of her in subsequent books, but Anna is strangely one-dimensional in this book. Piedmont and Taco, her cat and dog, have been left behind in her home park, and her new lover, the sheriff, is only referred to in passing. This is disappointing, since the relationship was starting to heat up big time in "Deep South." Anna herself is more than a bit cantankeous in this outing, almost a parody of herself. The unabridged reading saves the novel from a two-star rating, however, due to the talent and exuberance of reader Barbara Rosenblat, who "does" Anna to a tee. As a regular reader of this series, I wouldn't skip this book. But I think a newcomer should definitely bypass this for now and seek out another in the series, most of which is simply wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Murder in Patadise!
Review: One of the great crime novels of this century, Blood Lure, is a blend of subtlety and suspense. Barr's heroine, Anna Pigeon is back studying deadly grizzly bears in the dangerous surroundings of Glacier Park. The violent death of a woman in a remote area of the park raises Anna's suspicions that the killer was not a grizzly but a deadlier species, a human. Anna's relentless pursuit of the killer will grip the reader.Barr has carefully crafted the story to keep you turning the pages until the daring end.
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