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Deep South |
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 Deep South byNevada Barr Putnam Publishing Group 340 pages, 2000 ISBN 0399145869 Reviewed by Diane Gotfryd Read our review of Blind Descent by Nevada Barr What a treat it is to read a really good book - and DEEP SOUTH is one of them. The author is a park ranger and so is her character, Anna Pigeon. I’ve followed Anna in seven previous books. I’ve been in caves, deserts, lakes, forests and swamps. I really feel I’ve been there because the author has the knack of putting you inside the book. In DEEP SOUTH, I am living with Anna as she takes a promotion and a new job as a district ranger at the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi. Anna is not the only person experiencing a big change. Her staff is not happy with the fact that she is the first woman ranger to ever work the Natchez. She got the job, she says with irony, because "she was known to have an edge." She certainly does, though Anna’s style of law enforcement is guts tempered with logic. She is hot inside but cool on the outside. We know she is exactly the right person to tackle chauvinism, racism and southern pride. Anna hasn’t even unpacked much more than her cat and dog before she is on the job, stumbling through an old graveyard with a drunken teenager over her shoulder. Restoring the scared girl to her family, Anna learns from the local sheriff that another teenage girl is missing. She heads back into the unfamiliar park and finds the girl’s body. Disturbingly, her body is draped in a white sheet and a noose is tied around her neck. Working the case with Anna, the reader meets many people - all three dimensional and interesting. We spend time with teenagers, principals, Civil War buffs, student athletes and park employees. On the way, Anna has to deal with insubordination and cruel reminders that she is not welcome. Along with physical danger, she struggles with personal sorrow and disappointment. It seems a tremendous bonus that with so much already good about DEEP SOUTH, the pivotal clue and the resolution of the mystery is such a surprise. The reader will actually feel a thrill at the clever turn in this plot. Buy a copy for yourself and one for a friend. |
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