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 The Anna Pigeon Mystery Series by Nevada Barr
Character's Personality: Anna is a brisk, no-nonsense, capable, independent middle-aged woman. That said, she's a bit flinty, and unusually physically strong and capable even for this type.
Character's Occupation: Park ranger for the National Park Service
Character's Culture / Ethnicity: unspecified white person
Character - Other Notable Traits:
Location and Time Period: Contemporary west-Texas
Mystery Subgenre: Cozy
Objectionable Material: Profanity
Series Description: (brought to you by kat impatientreader.com) I've only read the first book but I'm impressed. This series conveys the breath-taking beauty of the American southwestern desert in vivid, succinct prose. Lots of desert lore and park ranger minutia ground us in fascinating insider detail and gives the story rich texture that is unusual in the stripped-down narratives of most mysteries. Even so, the pace never drags, and stays fast-moving.
Anna is a character marked by sadness: in the first book, she's a former New Yorker who fled to the wilderness to grieve over her husband's senseless death. She has a sister Molly, a New York City psychiatrist, whom she calls to discuss ideas. When hiking around (and sometimes trying to survive) in the desert, she's marvelously strong, competent, and knowledgeable.
Series List: Purple date = I've read it. Title links go to Amazon.com product pages.
- Track of the Cat
 (1993) Agatha Award. Anthony Award. Anna finds a woman park ranger dead, apparently killed by a mountain lion. But a closer look reveals suspicious details – someone murdered the ranger and tried to make it look like an accident. Soon Anna may be the latest among her coworkers to fall victim to an "accidental" death. Many suspects! This is a tightly-plotted mystery, and Anna's survival-at-the-cliff's-edge scene is a total nail-biter. Highly recommended.
- A Superior Death
 (1994)
- Ill Wind
 (1995)
- Firestorm
 (1996)
- Endangered Species
 (1997)
- Endangered Species (1998)
- Liberty Falling
 (1999)
- Deep South
 (2000)
- Blood Lure
 (2001)
- Hunting Season
 (2002)
- Flashback
 (2003)
- High Country
 (2004)
- Hard Truth
 (2005)
- Winter Study
 (2008)
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