Reviewed by Kristin
Ever since I began reading
Nevada Barr’s mysteries set in U.S. national parks, I’ve been hoping that she
would write one based in Acadia National Park.
It’s been twenty-three years since I’ve been there, but I opened Boar
Island eagerly. Set mainly on the
rocky islands off the coast of Maine, this latest entry in the Anna Pigeon
series kept me turning the pages.
The action begins in Colorado
where Anna’s young friend Elizabeth has become the victim of a vicious cyber
bully. (Elizabeth and her paraplegic mother
Heath were recently seen in an another book: Destroyer Angel.) Deciding that the best way to deal with the
bully is to remove Elizabeth from the situation, Heath and her Aunt Gwen decide
that they will go along to Acadia as Anna is about to take a three week
position as acting chief ranger. The
park itself presents physical challenges, especially for Heath using her
motorized wheelchair that she has dubbed “Robo-butt” or her prototype
mechanical skeleton support nicknamed “Dem Bones”.
Unfortunately, even with
parental limitations on electronic devices, Elizabeth’s cyber stalker still
manages to contact her. Could it be
possible that someone followed them from Colorado to Maine in order to torment
Elizabeth? Determining jurisdiction for
internet based crime is always difficult, and Anna finds that local law
enforcement agencies are reluctant to take charge of an investigation.
Alternating chapters bring in
the story of Denise, an Acadian park ranger who has recently been dumped by
Peter, a senior ranger, in favor of the much younger Lily. Denise tries to hide her jealousy over Peter
and Lily’s baby, Olivia, but she yearns for a child of her own. Denise soon finds a long lost family member
who sets her upon a journey of self-discovery and reinvention.
Although I enjoyed the
picturesque Maine setting of the book, Acadia National Park wasn’t as big of a
presence as other parks in earlier books.
The waves crashing into Thunder Hole are mentioned briefly, but more
descriptions of the sunrise on top of Cadillac Mountain, the pink granite of
Otter cliffs, or even the variety of hiking trails would have painted a more
scenic picture of the park. Since I have
visited Acadia, I am sure that I was filling in some of the gaps with my own
memories. Other readers might not be so
fortunate, and I know the thrill of visiting other parks vicariously through
Barr’s descriptions in other books in the series.
The two storylines eventually
come together as Barr deftly weaves the threads bringing relationships and
hidden actions to light. One particular
character begins to show possible signs of mental instability, and Barr keeps
the reader guessing for a while—does this character have a legitimate complaint
against others or is it all in their mind?
Another character acts in a very irrational manner as well, taking
drastic actions to defend their family against a perceived threat. Parts of the mysteries are known to the
reader, but not revealed to Anna and her cohorts. Other parts are kept a mystery until the very
end. Full of suspense, family and
nature, fans of Anna Pigeon should enjoy this latest trek to the far northeastern
United States.
I tried this awhile back as I have always enjoyed her books. I gave up after fifty pages as it hit me as a cliched mess worthy of a tv movie of the week. I felt like all she was doing was rehashing recent news stories of the time. Throw in the fact it was boring as all heck to me and I was done.
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