Product Description

The third Anna Pigeon mystery is a charm.

Lately, visitors to Mesa Verde have been bringing home more than photos--they're also carrying a strange, deadly disease. And once it strikes, park ranger Anna Pigeon must find the very human source of the evil wind.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67710 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-01
• Released on: 2004-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780425197257
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Barr lands another successful entry in the solid series featuring Anna Pigeon, the down-to-earth National Park Service ranger last seen in A Superior Death (1994). The daily problems at Mesa Verde National Park are mostly straightforward, although Ted Greeley, the contractor installing a water line, tends to irritate folks (especially the park archeologist, incensed about Greeley's indifference to buried Anasazi artifacts), and Patsy Silva, a park secretary, is getting "weird" messages from her ex-husband, who has joined Greeley's crew. The summer takes on darker hues when ranger Stacy Meyers panics so badly during the evacuation of an asthmatic child that he is useless. Soon afterward, Stacy vanishes; his corpse is found tucked away in the park in a scene of death that is "pathologically neat." Anna is assigned to assist Frederick Stanton, the deceptively "vague and bumbling" FBI agent sent in on the case; as they match wits with an unknown adversary, their working relationship takes on warmer tones than at their last meeting. Despite being troubled by memories of her late husband and her increasing fondness for alcohol, Anna (usually) displays that common sense and appreciation for nature that makes her such good company. Literary Guild and Mystery Guild selections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Anna Pigeon, a park ranger at Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park, is a woman on the mend. She's a widow, she's battling alcohol dependence, and she's recently changed jobs. Despite her pain, she reaches tentatively toward Stacey Meyer, a ranger trainee who has also endured his share of middle-aged pain. Shortly after he mishandles a crisis that results in a child's death, Stacey himself is found dead. Suicide? Anna thinks it unlikely. Murder? Possibly, but who and why? When the husband of another park employee is killed in a suspicious car wreck, the case takes on broader implications. Through it all, Anna struggles with her middle-aged angst, her alcoholism, and her loneliness, drawing support from long-distance calls to her sister, who serves the functions of both a Dr. Watson and a voice on the other end of a crisis hot-line. This third entry in the acclaimed series is as much a personal journey of self-discovery as it is a mystery. Anna is a flawed but admirable woman struggling daily to determine her values and her value in a harsh world. An outstanding novel. Wes Lukowsky

Review
A fine tale of murder and greed. -- USA Today

Stirring...vivid...vibrant...intelligent. -- New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews

Beware a breath of fresh air...
Anna Pigeon, is now at home in Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park, but murder also invades the Anasazi ruins. Why do some of the tourists die while viewing the caves? This becomes a significant question when a child dies; the previous deaths were attributed to natural circumstance. The value of medical training for a park ranger is detailed in giving aid to these unfortunate visitors.

Death continues to visit this land where the question of "what happened to the Anasazi" is as ingrained to archaeologists in the real world as it is in the world of Anna Pigeon. It is clear that Nevada Barr has studied the ancient Native American history and searched for answers to this question. Is not a journey into history, but an adventure into murder and money.

Nevada Barr excels in creating believable characters, situations and solutions.

The Best So Far
Nevada Barr really hit her stride in Ill Wind, the third in her wonderful Anna Pigeon series.

In this tale, park ranger Anna is stationed at Colorado's Mesa Verde park, where the famous cliff dwellings draw tourists from all over the world. As in her other two books, Barr makes the reader experience the site. It is her great gift--reading about the kivas and mesas and the haunting spirits of the primitive Anasazi, who originally constructed the mesas, I felt I was there. I could feel the heat of the air, smell the surrounding vegetation, feel the sandstone. And, along with Anna, who is becoming more likeable with every book, I worried about seemingly nefarious activites in the park--of of which ends in the death of a fellow ranger. Anna knows the death is not accidental, but try as she might, she cannot put together the increasingly strange and seemingly unrelated clues.

Along comes "Fred the Fed," whom we met the last book. He and Anna team up to solve the mystery, and the interplay between them is a true delight.

I find this series a true delight as well; the concept of a park ranger as law-enforcement detective is so different, and so perfect, as are the descriptions of the incredible national parks. I am getting a real education, here! This is the perfect book to take to the beachl or the pool or the park--easy, fun, gently suspenseful, and perfect.

THE DESERT IS THE STAR
"Ill Wind" exemplifies what Nevada Barr does so well. She gives us a sense of place making us part of the southwest she loves so much. The descriptive scenes are breathtaking.

I am very fond of Anna Pigeon, her vulnerabilities balance her awesome virtues. Her very physical confrontations with evil make we wince; Anna gives new meaning to the word "resilliance." Her alcoholism is a very real factor in her makeup; the author is deft in her understanding and descriptions.

The plot is somewhat loose and scattered. There are enough characters to be confusing, though Ms. Barr is careful not to make them interchangeable. Because the physical landscape is loose and sprawling, the reader is more forgiving of a plot with the same features.

Ill Wind has some wonderful humorous dialogue, very clever, wry and funny. Frederick Spalding is a delightful personality, about as far from your average FBI agent as you can get.

This is a feel-good, satisfying read.