Burn: An Anna Pigeon Novel

When I first read the reviews fo Burn I was not sure if I should buy it, but since I love Nevada Barr's other books I took a chance. I am so very glad I did. Burn has to be the most powerful Anna Pigeon book yet! Yes it deals with a very ugly subject, but it also deals with the depths of love and the struggle for justice. If you just want to read about the beauty of our national parks than this book is not for you. If you want a compelling story with rich complex characters you will find it here. Anna continues to grow and learn to deal with her own demons and in the character Jordon Nevada Barr has created a strong person while showing how superficial impressions can so often be wrong. Nevada Barr has always, in her books, looked at the evil that exists in, at times, even the best of us. In Burn she has exposed ultimate evil and the strength of love and compassion to over come that evil. Yes, there is much that is ugly in Burn, but also so much that is beautiful. I read almost the entire book in one sitting. Once I got into the story, which happened right away, I had to keep on reading the story was so intense, my need to find out what would happen next over riding everything else.

I am a fan of Nevada Barr from her first book that I read, many, many years ago. I believe it was "Track of the Cat." It enthralled me to read stories set in National Parks. A lot of the parks that Anna has been stationed in, or whatever the NPS calls where they place their Rangers, have been National Parks that my husband and I have visited over the years, first with our children along, then in latter years, just the two of us, so that has added an extra dollop to the Anna Pigeon stories I have read. I enjoyed revisiting the parks that I was familiar with (though they never seemed the same to me in the stories, because so much of the action was off the beaten paths, I suppose, and we stuck to "the beaten paths" pretty much) but whether it was one of the parks that I had previously visited or one that I hoped to visit in the future, it was always a very good story that unfolded and Anna Pigeon was at the heart of it. There was one of her books once, it was about caves, I think the title was "Blind Descent" that was hard for me to get through, not because it wasn't a good story, it was, but because Nevada made it so realistic, I felt like Anna did, her emotions, her claustrophobia, got to me, became mine. All that darkness and being so far underground and the tiny spaces and trying to squeeze through bottle necks, I just couldn't take it, so I guess Nevada's writing ability described Anna's fears too well, and they became too real for me. Other than that one book, I have loved each and every one of her books that I have read. But I believe that I have to say that this last one {"BURN"} is the very best of the lot! I have visited New Orleans more than once and must say that I am not fond of the city and don't usually enjoy reading books that are set there, the French Quarter is so old and creepy looking to me and I never liked walking through it when we were in N.O. The Anne Rice Books sort of creeped me out a bit too much. But this one is the exception. It is exactly the right place for this story to take place and unfold. It is the perfect setting for this particular story! I could not put it down, I was up until daylight this morning trying to finish it! The suspense is terrific, I don't know when I have read a book that demanded that I read it until I simply couldn't read any longer, and I read all the time but no other book that I can remember holding my attention like this one has. I have read the reviews from the few readers that say that the subject matter is objectionable to them and that they wouldn't finish the book because of it. I am also a mother, a grandmother and great grandmother(I have seven great grandchildren!) and the subject matter is objectionalbe to me also. But not in the way that you are thinking. The fact that these atrocities, these crimes against children, the perversions of mankind exist, that is what is objectionable to ME! I am glad that Nevada Barr wrote of this horrbible act of sick perverted pedophiles, bec

I do not think this book deserved all the bad comments it received from other reviewers. Yes, the subject matter is distasteful, to say the least, but Anna Pigeon "went to the mattresses" in her usual way, willing to risk everything to help the most vulnerable among us. I believe that abusers of children are able to get away with so much evil, because too many people want to turn away and ignore something that is so horrible. No one can deny it causes the strongest of us to lose sleep to nightmare images that once conjured, are almost impossible to delete from our consciousness and consciences. I think Nevada Barr was very brave to tackle this issue.

As a former bookstore employee, I have been an avid reader and recommender of Nevada Barr books to friends and family. I have enjoyed all the books but have found the last 3 to be much more compelling than the earlier books. With that said, this does not make the last three books easy reads. The violence level in all of them is quite high, and the most recent involves the abhorrent topic of child abuse/slavery. These are no longer the somewhat cosyish early mysteries which had a little suspense, an engaging mystery and a view of a national park. These three books are wrapped in the inner turmoil of the main character, Anna Pigeon, and the disturbing events of modern day America. I have found the last three books to be outstanding reads. both in terms of the subject matter and the prose. Ms. Barr has progressed from writing very good mysteries to writing wonderful thrillers with complex story lines and fantastic descriptive prose. Other reviewers have described the story line of the book so I will skip that. I just wanted to register my strong approval for this latest Nevada Barr book since so many of the reviews are negative based on the violence and subject matter.

This is actually the first book by Nevada Barr I have ever read and all I can say is I can't believe I didn't learn about this great mystery series sooner! Nevada Barr's writing is simply beautiful. Every metaphor, every poetic image is thought-out and exquisite. To give just one example, the Mississippi River is described as "unquestionably female, the great mother, a blowsy, fecund, fertile juggernaut." When Barr brings these considerable narrative gifts to a story set in post-Katrina New Orleans, the result is magic. I can't say how well this novel compares to other books in the Anna Pigeon series, but compared to many other mystery series, especially ones set in New Orleans, this book is definitely worthy of attention. Anna Pigeon, the protagonist of the series, has a very complex, multi-layered personality that I can't wait to explore in the other books beloging to these great series. From the beginning of the book, you are plunged into two different story lines. One is that of Anna Pigeon, a national park ranger, who comes to New Orleans to rest and visit her talented friend Geneva. Soon, Anna Pigeon is confronted with some typical realities of New Orleans: magic shops, voodoo, the gangs of homeless people. The other story is that of Clare, an actress who lost her family in a bizzare and gripping incident. Both stories will have you riveted to the book pages, until they converge and start developing into a common mystery thread that you will be desperate to unravel. This is a great book, and if the entire series is half as good, then Nevada Barr is an author definitely worth reading and following.