Blood Lure by Nevada Barr

by Gwyn



I never used to be able to read mysteries because by the time I got to the end of the book, and the mystery was solved, I had forgotten who was who and how things all tied together.

Then, one summer, I decided to do Cameron's summer reading along with him. I followed the same instructions as he. The book was
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. The assignment was to write in the margin each time a new character appeared. This is a most amazing concept to me. Throughout the book, I kept referring back to my notes. By the end, I knew who everyone was and how it all tied in together.

This brings me to the present and Nevada Barr's series of mysteries. I am able to enjoy these sinplistic books because I keep a running log in the front cover of all the characters.

Barr was an actual NPS ranger. She writes stories about the adventures of ranger Anna Pigeon as she is assigned to various of our national parks. Ms Pigeon travels with a black cloud over her. Everywhere she goes, strange things happen, usually deaths, and she needs to solve the mysteries.

I have enjoyed all of the books I've read in the series. Every one of them includes details about natural features of the park; politics of working in the park; park visitors; conflicts between natural features and accesibility; and reappearing characters in the life of Anna Pigeon.

Blood Lure takes place in Glacier, and its focus is on the lives of grizzly bears.

I recommend this series for anyone who wants an easy read without too much mental challenge, other than keeping the characters straight. I imagine that anyone with much familiarity with actual park workings might find the series annoying, though.