Ill Wind

Book Description

In Ill Wind, Barr's powerful new novel, Park Ranger Anna Pigeon confronts death among the ruins. Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park is noted for its well-preserved cliff dwellings, the sole legacy of the Anasazi civilization, which vanished without any other trace in the twelfth century. Separated from friends and family and haunted by personal demons, Anna finds solace in these quiet ruins, their pinon-scented turrets and towers backlit by the fading blue of distant mountain ranges. But the rugged beauty of the park and the mystery of the Anasazi are cruelly overshadowed by danger and death. An unusually high number of medical rescues and the unexpected death of an asthmatic child are followed by the sudden demise of a fellow ranger who is found neatly curled up in one of the ancient kivas, his hat and shoes at his side. Anna had thought she'd found a friend in this man, had seen him as a kindred spirit, but his death transforms him into an enigma. Puzzled and more deeply wounded than she'd ever dare admit, Anna immerses herself in the ensuing investigation. As she sifts through shifting loyalties and struggles to honor the past, she must face forces both seen and unseen which threaten her career - and her very life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly Barr lands another successful entry in the solid series featuring Anna Pigeon, the down-to-earth National Park Service ranger last seen in A Superior Death (1994). The daily problems at Mesa Verde National Park are mostly straightforward, although Ted Greeley, the contractor installing a water line, tends to irritate folks (especially the park archeologist, incensed about Greeley's indifference to buried Anasazi artifacts), and Patsy Silva, a park secretary, is getting "weird" messages from her ex-husband, who has joined Greeley's crew. The summer takes on darker hues when ranger Stacy Meyers panics so badly during the evacuation of an asthmatic child that he is useless. Soon afterward, Stacy vanishes; his corpse is found tucked away in the park in a scene of death that is "pathologically neat." Anna is assigned to assist Frederick Stanton, the deceptively "vague and bumbling" FBI agent sent in on the case; as they match wits with an unknown adversary, their working relationship takes on warmer tones than at their last meeting. Despite being troubled by memories of her late husband and her increasing fondness for alcohol, Anna (usually) displays that common sense and appreciation for nature that makes her such good company. Literary Guild and Mystery Guild selections. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist Anna Pigeon, a park ranger at Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park, is a woman on the mend. She's a widow, she's battling alcohol dependence, and she's recently changed jobs. Despite her pain, she reaches tentatively toward Stacey Meyer, a ranger trainee who has also endured his share of middle-aged pain. Shortly after he mishandles a crisis that results in a child's death, Stacey himself is found dead. Suicide? Anna thinks it unlikely. Murder? Possibly, but who and why? When the husband of another park employee is killed in a suspicious car wreck, the case takes on broader implications. Through it all, Anna struggles with her middle-aged angst, her alcoholism, and her loneliness, drawing support from long-distance calls to her sister, who serves the functions of both a Dr. Watson and a voice on the other end of a crisis hot-line. This third entry in the acclaimed series is as much a personal journey of self-discovery as it is a mystery. Anna is a flawed but admirable woman struggling daily to determine her values and her value in a harsh world. An outstanding novel. Wes Lukowsky --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.