Ranger McIntyre: Small Delightful Murders by James C. Work

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

 

Rocky Mountain National Park Ranger Tim McIntyre usually enjoys his job, especially when he can slip off for a little fly fishing.  The park has only been open for eight years, and there are still problems to be ironed out, such as who has jurisdiction over investigations at a local resort known as Small Delights.  It’s privately owned, but that doesn’t stop the owners from calling on the park rangers for a wide variety of help.  This time, they’re reporting accidents which they insist are not accidents, but deliberate attempts to sabotage their business.  Trouble is, these booby traps—if that is what they are—are so inept that it’s hard to take them seriously. 

But someone IS taking them seriously:  Polly, the niece of the lodge’s owner, is conducting a thorough, Sherlock Holmes-style investigation.  She’s also rather taken with the handsome ranger, much to his discomfort.  And he has to admit, she may have a point.  It does seem that someone wants to encourage the owners to sell out.  Is it the owner of a competing lodge?  Or does it have more to do with the Tommy-gun totin’ city men who are rumored to want to open a speakeasy here in the mountains?   Tim may have to call on his FBI girlfriend Vi—she of the fast cars and a machine gun of her own—for some aid, but he won’t mind that at all.

This is the second in the Ranger McIntrye series, set in 1923.  I enjoyed it as much as I did the first one, though action fans may find it a slog.  I get a kick out of Tim’s slow, methodical approach as well as the dry humor.  The setting is a plus for me as well.  It’s a throw-back to that mythic gentler time when everything was simple.  Tim is honorable, honest, and doesn’t jump to conclusions.  I also enjoyed learning a little about the early history of the park. Need I add that I quite enjoyed Ken Burns’ PBS documentary on the history of the national parks?

If I had to nitpick, I would say was a little disappointed that Polly didn’t really get her due.  She’s not physically attractive, being chubby and rather plain, but she is smart and I didn’t think it would have hurt a bit for her to have been appreciated a little more. 

Otherwise, this was a fine outing (no forest pun intended) for those who like their heroes to be more Andy Griffith than Jack Reacher.

Boar Island by Nevada Barr

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.

The Rope by Nevada Barr

Reviewed by Kristin

Anna Pigeon is a national park ranger who Nevada Barr has been writing about since 1993, beginning with Track of the Cat.  After adventures in a variety of locations, including the Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns, Ellis Island, the Nachez Trace Parkway, Yosemite and more, Barr takes Anna back in time to her very first job within the national park system.  After the sudden death of her young husband, a broken-hearted Anna takes a seasonal job at the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area in Page, Arizona.  New York City’s sidewalks were the closest to wilderness Anna had experienced to that point.  So, when Anna goes missing ten days after her arrival, her co-workers think she has just gotten spooked and run back to the big city.

But Anna didn’t run back to New York.  On her day off, she takes a hike, ill-prepared as she is.  After borrowing a hat from a co-worker, Anna sets off with less than a liter of water, a map, and a plant identification pamphlet.  Wearing black jeans, a black t-shirt and thin black tennis shoes, Anna is soon overheated and wondering how in the world what looks like a mile walk up a canyon could be so much more difficult than tramping all over Manhattan.  Sunburned, out of water and without any food, Anna is soon lured into a trap.

Anna wakes and finds herself down a hole, naked and defenseless.  As she tries to recall how she got there, she realizes that someone is working against her.  Someone is providing food and water to keep her alive but helpless in isolated captivity.  Anna eventually does escape (we had to know that up front, since we know there have been many other adventures written, didn’t we?) and then goes on a quest to figure out who did this to her, as well as to figure out how to be successful in her new life as a national park service seasonal worker.

This latest book in the Anna Pigeon series was very enjoyable as it provided a look back into how she began working in the national park system.  Seeing a younger Anna closer to the pain that drove her away from big city life showed me more of what formed her character.

I always enjoy reading about the variety of landscapes as Anna moves from one national park setting to another.  The constantly changing background keeps the series feeling fresh, as Anna meets new people in new locations.  Barr is a compelling author who moves the story along seemingly effortlessly.  Her next book in the series, Destroyer Angel, is set in the northern Minnesota woods, and due out in April 2014.