Barr, Nevada : Deep South

Deep South

EUR 3,04


After her urban adventures on New York s Ellis Island in Liberty Falling, park ranger Anna Pigeon has finally heeded the ticking of her bureaucratic clock and signed on for a promotion in the boonies: district ranger on the Natchez Trace Parkway. Anna s mental images of Mississippi come from black-and-white stock photos from the civil rights movement of the 1960s, so it s not surprising that she finds it beautiful but strange, its residents caught in a teased-hair, fried-food time warp. But she s got more than an unhealthy diet to worry about--as the first female district ranger on the Trace, she immediately encounters more than a few good ol boys and local miscreants who resent her authority, especially after a 17-year-old beauty is murdered on a booze-soaked prom night near the Trace, her head covered with a KKK-style sheet. There are plenty of reasons her friends and family might have wanted Danielle Posey dead, ranging from her $40,000 insurance policy to jealousy to flat-out insanity. Anna wonders whether the sheet s a red herring, but she can t dismiss it entirely. Though the local culture s no longer built around segregation, racism still exists at a deep level that Anna finds unsettling. Both Danielle Posey and the prime suspect--her boyfriend--are white, but Danielle had secrets her friends won t reveal. Still, no one else appears to be in danger, until a prankster--or could it be a murderer?--sets an alligator loose in Anna s garage (nearly killing her faithful black Lab, Taco) and a local preacher commits suicide. With the help of the handsome local sheriff, Paul Davidson, Anna pulls together clues from local history, Civil War reenactors, and the Mississippi mud and kudzu. Anna Pigeon s one tough bird--she survives not only a little alligator wrestling but also a brutal attack that leads her to the truth of what happened to Danielle Posey and why. What s most fascinating is how much of her famous emotional shield she lets slip in the process. --Barrie Trinkle

Fair protrayal of the South - Deep South is the second of Barr s books that I have read. I picked it up expecting another superficial portrayal of the South--little factual information, cookie cutter stereotyped characters. I was pleasantly surprised. Barr shows an indepth knowledge of the location and environment she has chosen as the setting for her latest novel. I was amused by the culture shock Anna suffered--which one would expect from someone arriving in southern Mississippi from Mesa Verde! Barr s local characters all sound like people I may have met in my daily life in Mississippi. Men skeptical of working women, girls preoccupied with sex and beauty pageants, young men for whom a football scholarship is a ticket to a better life--these are real people. My one complaint about Barr s characters is the lack of development other than the heroine. I have read two of her novels and noticed the same in Liberty Falling. Also, the lack of any significant female character other than Pigeon makes the story seem somewhat artifical.Overall, an entertaining story in a setting that I found interesting.

Back to Nature - This is one of Barr s best (but then they re all good). I m delighted to see Anna back in the wilderness parks which are her specialty. New characters, a very complicated mystery, and a lot of background: if you re already a fan of Anna Pigeon, you ll love this, and if you haven t met her before, this is a good place to start. Barr captures the ambience of Mississippi perfectly, and I hope Anna stays at the Trace for a few more books. I, for one, look forward to seeing more of Rangers Stillwell, Dinkins and Thigpen, Sheriff Davidson, and of course Taco and Piedmont.

This is vintage Nevada Barr - In this book, Nevada Barr makes up for the lack of atmosphere in her previous book, Liberty Falling. Using nature as a backdrop is what Barr does best. She evokes a real sense of the swampy atmosphere of the Natchez Trace and uses a lot of humor to describe Anna Pigeon s reactions to this new locale. Anna has taken on an administrative position in the park service for the first time and a lot of the book is dedicated to her discomfort over her new role. She also has a lot of interesting interactions with her new co-workers who strive to upset this lady carpetbagger who has descended on them. I applaud this return to the outdoor venue and I enjoyed every page. To me, this is one of the best books of this series.

This is vintage Nevada Barr - In this book, Nevada Barr makes up for the lack of atmosphere in her previous book, Liberty Falling. Using nature as a backdrop is what Barr does best. She evokes a real sense of the swampy atmosphere of the Natchez Trace and uses a lot of humor to describe Anna Pigeon s reactions to this new locale. Anna has taken on an administrative position in the park service for the first time and a lot of the book is dedicated to her discomfort over her new role. She also has a lot of interesting interactions with her new co-workers who strive to upset this lady carpetbagger who has descended on them. I applaud this return to the outdoor venue and I enjoyed every page. To me, this is one of the best books of this series.

Another stereotypical book about the South - Nevada Barr has successfully added yet another chapter to the ever increasing canon of prejudice towards the South. The descriptions of the landscape are the only worthwhile part of this bigoted travesty, apparently, her perspective of Natchez never adjusted from the watchtower she occupied as a park ranger there. I did not read her last book -- set in New York -- but did it have any descriptions of plunger justice, or is that now considered socially acceptable. I suggest Ms Barr stay with what she understands and write a book on botany.




Deep South