WHY DID ANNA PIGEON BECOME A FOREST RANGER? - "THE ROPE" BY NEVADA BARR

“The Rope” is Nevada Barr’s 17^th Anna Pigeon mystery.  The author takes the reader back to 1995 when the protagonist began her career with the National Park Service.  Anna’s actor husband has died in a car accident, so she leaves her job as a New York stage manager and becomes a seasonal park ranger at Glen Canyon National Recreational Area on the shores of Lake Powell in Arizona. 

On her day off from her new job Anna goes on a hike and disappears.  Her co-workers think that the antisocial novice ranger has packed her bags and gone back to New York.  In reality Anna has been attacked and thrown into a jar, a dry natural well.  Even with a dislocated shoulder, Anna finds her way out of the jar and returns to the Glen Canyon Recreation Area.

However, her unknown assailant is still on the loose.  With the help of her roommate, Jenny Gorman, Anna tries to discover who attempted to kill her before her attacker succeeds at this task.  By the end of the novel both Anna and the reader find out who has been after the new park ranger and why.  Anna Pigeon also realizes that she has found a new profession in law enforcement for the National Park Service. 

Nevada Barr has much in common with her most famous character.  Barr’s husband was a New York stage actor, but thankfully he was never run down and killed by a taxi driver.  Barr herself had a 20 year career in the theater, tv, films, commercials and voice work before becoming a seasonal park ranger.  Barr’s knowledge of the National Park Service and her wonderfully detailed descriptions of the beauties of the American wilderness make her Anna Pigeon thrillers both realistic and absorbing.  Nevada Barr knows how to write a well plotted, suspenseful mystery and “The Rope” is no exception. 

Anna Pigeon is a fascinating protagonist and long-time readers of the series will love learning more about how she became a park ranger.  New readers will discover an exciting thriller rich with fascinating people and incredible scenery.  I hope Nevada Barr writes 17 more Anna Pigeon novels.