Ninth in Barr's Anna Pigeon series. In Glacier National Park, a trip
to move sampling traps for bear DNA is disrupted by an odd bear
attack, and the next morning a woman is found dead and mutilated… by
human tools.
Because Anna is away from her home park, there's more detail than
usual about the non-investigative part of her work (as in the earlier
Firestorm), and at times this feels a little slow. The mystery side
of the plot progresses very slowly at first, leaving the first half of
the book a bit lacking in oomph, but picks up pace towards the end.
A side plot dealing with a poisonous interpersonal relationship is
handled remarkably well, and in particular considers the usual
aftermath of abusive situations. Barr is good at messed-up people.
There's not much series development here; Anna's new relationship is
on hold while she's away, and there's only a brief mention of her
sister Molly.
As always, the descriptive passages are excellent; Barr has of course
visited (and in some cases worked at) all the places she describes,
and does a fine job of putting them on the page. For me at least, this
made up for the slow start. On the other hand, the bad guy(s) never
quite come(s) over as convincing; a bit too much caricature, I think.
The mystery lays itself wide open quite early on and won't deceive the
experienced reader for long, though a few details remain to be filled
in. All the necessary information is here, perhaps a little too
plainly disguised as being relevant to something else. The ending
seems a little facile, with all the good guys getting what they want
at little cost.
Not a star of the series (for me that would probably be Blind
Descent or Superior Death), but a worthy entry. We're not on the
inevitable down-slope of quality yet.
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