Boar Island

March 7, 2016
In bestseller Barr’s fast-paced but sometimes predictable 19th Anna Pigeon novel (after 2014’s Destroyer Angel), the National Park Service ranger accepts a short-term assignment in Maine’s Acadia National Park. She’s joined by her friend Heath Jarrod, Heath’s spry Aunt Gwen Littleton, and 16-year-old Elizabeth, Heath’s adopted daughter and Anna’s goddaughter, who has been targeted by a vicious cyberstalker at home in Boulder, Colo. They soon realize that the stalker has followed Elizabeth to Maine, but because of jurisdictional issues and vague laws, the local police can do little. Meanwhile, Anna becomes involved in a murder investigation that pits her against a pathologically cunning, increasingly unstable adversary. Barr excels at conveying the often harsh realities faced by lobstermen and their families, though her depiction of the antagonist is less compelling and fails to achieve nuance or dimension. Still, readers looking for a lively escape in a rugged, brutal, but magnificent landscape should find plenty to enjoy. 150,000 first printing; author tour. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency.

March 15, 2016
Ranger Anna Pigeon, sent from the Rockies to Maine's Acadia National Park for a three-week stint, finds the brief interval more than long enough for another round of murder and assorted skulduggery. It seems like an especially good time to leave Boulder, where 16-year-old Elizabeth, the adopted daughter of Anna's friend Heath Jarrod, has turned withdrawn and suicidal after becoming the victim first of unwanted and wholly inappropriate sexual overtures and then of an unrelenting barrage of cyberstalking and cybershaming. So packing up Heath, Elizabeth, and their dog Wily, Anna heads east just in time to run smack into a bizarre murder plot. Nurse Paulette Duffy, newly reunited with Acadia ranger Denise Castle, the identical twin separated from her for most of their lifetimes, is so convinced that her abusive husband, lobsterman Kurt Duffy, is going to kill her that she decides to strike first, establishing an ironclad alibi while her newfound sister does the dirty work. Denise, whose inability to cover her tracks is magnified by an inherited disease she doesn't know about and a series of comically unlikely coincidences, arouses Anna's suspicions almost instantly and just as quickly decides that "the pigeon" has to go. Lest Elizabeth feel neglected, her tormenter follows her to Acadia and demands a meeting that can't possibly end well. By the time it's all over, Anna will have been kidnapped twice, the second time duct-taped to a babe in arms. After the razor-sharp focus of Destroyer Angel (2014), Barr's latest is a surprisingly hot mess, awash in scattered crimes whose perpetrators' behaviors defy belief. There's not even much about Acadia National Park.

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March 15, 2016
Anna Pigeon is asked to fill in for the chief ranger at Acadia National Park in Maine, but before she can leave, her best friend Heath's daughter, Elizabeth, Anna's goddaughter, attempts suicide. Turns out she's been the victim of cyberbullying taken to the extreme. It slowly comes out that Elizabeth was sexually assaulted by her best friend's father. Anna and Heath, along with Heath's aunt Gwen, decide to get the girl out of town. They take Elizabeth to Maine and stay on Boar Island. As Anna assumes her new role, a lobsterman is murdered in town. While the case is outside of her jurisdiction, Anna still gets caught up in it. Denise, a park ranger, is assigned to drive Anna and is acting hinky. There's a murder attempt on Anna's life, kidnappings, and the cyberbullying evolves into stalking, leading to a hot mess in Acadia and a real page-turner. Barr's fans will be happy with this nineteenth entry in the long-running and consistently popular series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

Starred review from February 15, 2016

In her 19th outing (after Destroyer Angel) ranger Anna Pigeon is in a temporary placement at Maine's Acadia National Park. Also returning after playing significant roles in the previous book are her friends, partially paralyzed Heath Jarrod and Heath's teenage daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth is being viciously cyberstalked, so she, her mother, and her aunt head east to stay with Anna on Boar Island. The isolation that was expected to provide sanctuary instead exudes danger. Elizabeth's stalker moves from cyber- to physical stalking, with Heath unable to protect her. At the same time, Anna's arrival at Acadia coincides with the reunion of unstable twin sisters who hatch a murderous plot that puts Anna at grave risk. VERDICT As in the previous mysteries, a dramatic landscape is a major presence. An aging Anna is becoming less of a superwoman, and making room for other characters. The book's release is well timed for this year's National Park Service centennial celebration. [See Prepub Alert, 11/16/15.]--Sharon Mensing, Emerald Mountain Sch., Steamboat Springs, CO

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2015

Taking over as acting chief ranger at Acadia National Park in Maine, Anna Pigeon brings along paraplegic friend Heath Jarrod and Heath's adopted daughter, Elizabeth, who's been the victim of cyberbullying. Alas, Elizabeth's stalker has followed her east. With a one-day laydown on May 17.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2016

In her 19th outing (after Destroyer Angel) ranger Anna Pigeon is in a temporary placement at Maine's Acadia National Park. Also returning after playing significant roles in the previous book are her friends, partially paralyzed Heath Jarrod and Heath's teenage daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth is being viciously cyberstalked, so she, her mother, and her aunt head east to stay with Anna on Boar Island. The isolation that was expected to provide sanctuary instead exudes danger. Elizabeth's stalker moves from cyber- to physical stalking, with Heath unable to protect her. At the same time, Anna's arrival at Acadia coincides with the reunion of unstable twin sisters who hatch a murderous plot that puts Anna at grave risk. VERDICT As in the previous mysteries, a dramatic landscape is a major presence. An aging Anna is becoming less of a superwoman, and making room for other characters. The book's release is well timed for this year's National Park Service centennial celebration. [See Prepub Alert, 11/16/15.]--Sharon Mensing, Emerald Mountain Sch., Steamboat Springs, CO

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.