Author: Nevada Barr
Published: September 3, 2009 by Berkley
Format: Hardcover, 341 pages
Genre: Suspense
Series: Anna Pigeon #6
First Sentence: Anna hadn’t seen so much dashing about and popping in and out of doors since the French farce went out of fashion.
Blurb: In Blind Descent Park Ranger Anna Pigeon's courage is put to a test when she learns that a woman seriously injured while exploring a cave next door to New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns is a friend who has requested Pigeon's help in getting her out. "A chilling image filled Anna's mind: herself crouched and whimpering, fear pouring like poison through her limbs, shutting down her brain as the cave closed in around her." Pushing aside her fears, Pigeon takes the plunge, leading readers through a truly harrowing series of tight squeezes. Nevada Barr is so good at involving us in Anna's terror that when she finally resurfaces, we share her "unadulterated joy. Even the dirt smelled alive... When she saw her first stars, she croaked out her delight from tired lungs." Above ground, Anna quickly gets involved in two possibly linked murders and becomes a rifleman's target. As we share the progress of her investigation, a sneaky suspicion starts to grow of possible suspects within the small community of spelunkers and National Park Service bureaucrats. Barr couldn't possibly ask Anna to go back underground again, could she? When it happens, of course, it seems inevitable--and just as frightening as the first time. (Goodreads)
My Opinion: I am sure I developed claustrophobia while reading this book. If the idea of going 700 feet underground into the Lechuguilla cave of New Mexico's Carlsbad Cavern Park, wiggling through tight spaces, having stalactites dangling inches from my face, and having to pack in and pack out your waste, tells me caving, even if it is to rescue a fellow park ranger, is not a choice I would willingly make.
Anna Pidgeon seems to get herself into the most precarious positions, and Blind Descent is no exception. If it wasn’t for the fact that Frieda Dierkz asked for Anna specifically, I couldn’t see why she would be needed, but then again, Anna always seems to have the right skills no matter where she is called.
Blurb: In Blind Descent Park Ranger Anna Pigeon's courage is put to a test when she learns that a woman seriously injured while exploring a cave next door to New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns is a friend who has requested Pigeon's help in getting her out. "A chilling image filled Anna's mind: herself crouched and whimpering, fear pouring like poison through her limbs, shutting down her brain as the cave closed in around her." Pushing aside her fears, Pigeon takes the plunge, leading readers through a truly harrowing series of tight squeezes. Nevada Barr is so good at involving us in Anna's terror that when she finally resurfaces, we share her "unadulterated joy. Even the dirt smelled alive... When she saw her first stars, she croaked out her delight from tired lungs." Above ground, Anna quickly gets involved in two possibly linked murders and becomes a rifleman's target. As we share the progress of her investigation, a sneaky suspicion starts to grow of possible suspects within the small community of spelunkers and National Park Service bureaucrats. Barr couldn't possibly ask Anna to go back underground again, could she? When it happens, of course, it seems inevitable--and just as frightening as the first time. (Goodreads)
My Opinion: I am sure I developed claustrophobia while reading this book. If the idea of going 700 feet underground into the Lechuguilla cave of New Mexico's Carlsbad Cavern Park, wiggling through tight spaces, having stalactites dangling inches from my face, and having to pack in and pack out your waste, tells me caving, even if it is to rescue a fellow park ranger, is not a choice I would willingly make.
Anna Pidgeon seems to get herself into the most precarious positions, and Blind Descent is no exception. If it wasn’t for the fact that Frieda Dierkz asked for Anna specifically, I couldn’t see why she would be needed, but then again, Anna always seems to have the right skills no matter where she is called.
No comments:
Post a Comment