Not that she was thrilled with working undercover as a waitress. But Anna has never been able to let a good mystery go and this one, where all were seen in separate places and times in the Park before vanishing, has her intrigued. Then there is the factor that, as long time readers of the series know, Anna is happiest when surrounded by soaring mountains where she can find her blessed solitude. This is a chance to do both. But from her first minutes in the park on the valley floor, known as "the ditch" by employees, she senses evil in man made form has taken root in the historic park. Her suspicions are quickly confirmed in very different ways and she begin to pull the wildly disparate pieces together which will lead to several violent confrontations.
Unlike the last several books, Anna, for the most part, is calm and levelheaded. Gone are the delusions used to limited effect in her most recent novel, "Flashback." She isn't vacillating emotionally as she has done in the last several and while occasionally and understandably homesick, she manages to stay focused on the problems at hand. This novel is grounded firmly in reality and the danger of the moment and despite a nod to the evil that lurks within us all that can be unleashed at the right moment, it does not use artificial storytelling instruments such as flashbacks to ostensibly move the work forward. No letters from dead relatives or dreams in the night either. Instead, author Nevada Barr has gone back to what made her successful in the first place-straightforward intense storytelling like in her first novel "Track of the Cat."
While no new ground is turned in terms of character development, this novel is a refreshing read. Anna seems more poised and competent than in the last several novels, as she should be considering her age. She still bumbles her way into trouble now and then but at the same time, she comes prepared in this one.
Despite some of the negative reviews here, this novel works on all levels and becomes a fast paced intense read that features some of Nevada Barr's best wring in years. This one is well worth the read and hopefully showcases the author back in stride once again.
The first exception was the fact that Anna was undercover. Most of the interest in the book came from this, as we got to see Anna interacting with people without the power of her badge, gun, and rank.
The second exception (SPOILERS) is that much of the basic story is blatently stolen, and I was disappointed to find no reference of acknowledgment of that.
The story of the pot plane that crashed into a lake in Yosemite and was found by a bunch of climbers is a) supposedly true (read John Long's autobiography), b) the basis of another novel called Angels Of Light, c) an influence on yet another novel called The Vortex, and d) one of the prime influences on the terrible movie Cliffhanger. In other words, the entire situation was borrowed, and there is no reference to that in this book. The closest she comes to this is a scene where Camp 4 has discovereed the wreck and she describes it as "the stuff of legends". But I was expecting at least an afterwards that made some mention of the fact that this plot scenario was not original. It seemed dishonest to me.
