National Park Ranger Anna Pigeon returns to the Natchez Trace in HUNTING SEASON, the 10th mystery by Nevada Barr to feature one of the United States' many magnificent National Parks. HUNTING SEASON heralds the return to the location where Anna's installation as District Ranger in DEEP SOUTH created several interesting characters and some loose ends that cried out to be tied up. After six months supervising two deeply entrenched deputies whose insubordination nearly cost her her life in DEEP SOUTH, Anna feels she is finally winning them over in HUNTING SEASON. It isn't easy --- these good ol' boys not only resent reporting to a female boss, but at least one of them thought the job was his until petite, feisty Anna arrived on the scene. Exerting authority over two experienced law enforcement rangers has proved an exciting and sometimes eventful challenge for Anna.

Anna is confronted with a dilemma when Doyce Barnette's enormous, scantily clad body is found in a bedroom of a historical mansion on National Park property. Doyce's only enemy would seem to be Southern cooking, but it is apparent that he has been murdered, his body dragged, disrobed and left to be found in a fashion guaranteed to cause a scandal. HUNTING SEASON's plot takes more twists and turns than a foggy swamp trail, as Anna hunts down the murderer, deer poachers, and vandals bent on desecrating graves in an ancient plantation burial ground, all during a hotly contested sheriff's race.

Author Nevada Barr is a National Parks Ranger in real life, which lends a rich sense of authenticity to her novels. During a recent, brief interview, she said that she strives to maintain as much accuracy as possible in her books, which are always researched on location. She said that many of her fans are themselves park rangers and are sticklers for details. When asked if the career politics are as accurate as the descriptions in her books, she responded that they are, indeed.

We also asked her if she planned a third book at the Natchez Trace, since the budding, if complicated, romance with Anna's Sheriff/Episcopal priest boyfriend, Paul Davidson, blossoms in HUNTING SEASON. She hasn't decided that yet but she doesn't dismiss the possibility. Although the loose ends created in DEEP SOUTH are neatly bound and tied in HUNTING SEASON, more are left dangling, so readers may find themselves once again roaming the misty bogs of the Natchez Trace. Not yet, though, as her next book takes place in The Dry Tortugas National Park off the southwest coast of Florida. Barr said that one of the great delights in writing this series is getting to travel to and tour the National Parks, which serve as a canvas for her engaging mysteries.

   --- Reviewed by Roz Shea


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