Park ranger Anna Pigeon, the fortyish heroine of Barr's popular series, is back, tracking grizzlies through the unforgiving landscape of Glacier National Park as part of a scientific investigation that's outlined with more detail than anyone who's not totally fascinated by these awesome animals will care about. In fact, the description of what actually goes into the lures set to attract the bears so they can be tagged and counted is guaranteed to rumble the strongest stomach--but that's just the back story in this newest Pigeon adventure. When the mutilated body of the stepmother of one of the bear trackers turns up in a remote corner of the park, and it becomes clear that she met death at the hands of a human rather than the claws of a grizzly, Anna goes on the hunt for the killer.

Barr's strength is in depicting the natural surroundings in which her heroine finds inspiration, solace, and comfort, and she limns the gorgeous landscape of Glacier with consummate skill. But her plotting leaves much to be desired, and when she finally reveals the killer's identity, motivation, and especially his accomplice, the discriminating reader may be tempted to throw this book at the nearest teddy bear. The trick ending is too much to stomach, unless you're a grizzly who'll eat (almost) anything. Up to that point, however, there's much to appeal to Barr's fans: another beautifully drawn portrait of a piece of America's vanishing wilderness and a few hours in the company of an appealingly cranky heroine whose appreciation of it knows no bounds. --Jane Adams


From Publishers Weekly
The latest entry in this excellent series featuring National Park Service ranger Anna Pigeon is one of Barr's best. Anna has been assigned to work temporarily in Montana's Glacier National Park, where she seems more at home than in her recent forays to East Coast parks, and learns how to do DNA studies on wildlife by working with a biologist, Joan, on a study of grizzly bears. Anna, Joan and a young, inexperienced volunteer, Rory, are sent out into the park's wilderness areas to set lures for the grizzlies. They use a powerful and nasty-smelling concoction, mixed with cow's blood, that the grizzlies find irresistible. Once the bears rub up against the trees or barbed wire that have been coated with the lure, samples of their DNA can be collected from the hair and skin left behind. In their remote campsite one night, Anna and Joan amazingly survive a grizzly bear attack on their tents unscathed, only to find that Rory has gone missing. As park rangers and rescue teams hike the mountainous park looking for the missing teenager, they find instead the dead body of a woman whose face has been horribly mutilated. Rory is an obvious suspect, as is the bear who attacked the camp. Barr focuses on the wilderness park and its endangered population of grizzlies rather than on Anna's personal life and problems, and this makes for a tightly plotted, satisfying read. The author's masterful descriptions of the natural world immeasurably enhance an exciting, suspenseful story that is sure to flirt with bestseller lists. Mystery Guild main selection and Literary Guild alternate selection. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Having guided readers on behind-the-scenes tours of New York City's Ellis and Liberty Islands (Liberty Falling) and Mississippi's Natchez Trace Parkway (Deep South), Barr returns to the West in her ninth mystery. On a training assignment to study grizzly bears in the Waterton-Glacier National Peace Park, near the Montana-Canada border, park ranger Anna Pigeon hikes into the mountains with researcher Joan Rand and an Earthwatch volunteer, Rory Van Slyke. But Anna's joy at returning to the wilderness quickly turns to terror when their camp is ravaged in the middle of the night by a grizzly. Rory disappears, and in the morning the faceless corpse of a female camper is discovered. Was the woman the victim of the same bear, or was there a more sinister human element involved? While Barr's love of nature and the outdoors shines through, her plot is rather formulaic and dull, lacking the intensity and excitement of her better novels (Blind Descent, A Superior Death). Still, her fans will want to read. [Mystery Guild main selection and Literary Guild alternate selection; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/00.]DWilda Williams, "Library Journal.-DWilda Williams, "Library Journal" Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Daneet Steffens, Entertainment Weekly, February 12, 2001
...Barr's red herrings and sly twists culminate in one huge payoff. Grade A-


From AudioFile
What's more dangerous--human or grizzly bear? Park ranger Anna Pidgeon thinks she knows until she joins a team researching bears in Glacier National Park. Reader Joyce Bean's matter-of-fact narrative style is well suited to Pidgeon, who faces falling boulders, attacking grizzlies, and edgy suspects with cool-headed logic and dry wit. Unfortunately, long passages of exposition make for a monotonous start. More abridging might have helped. The drama does hold up, the pace quickens, and a satisfying resolution compensates for initial sluggishness. Side endings and introductions provide continuity and orientation. E.S. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Park ranger Anna Pigeon leaves Mississippi's Natchez Trace National Park to visit Glacier National Park and learn how the analysis of grizzly-bear DNA can help her manage wildlife. What happens in Glacier's rugged backcountry, however, is less academic and much more personal. After being attacked by a grizzly, Anna must confront another side of the natural world she so loves. Soon there is also murder on her plate and the possibility that one of her colleagues could be the killer. This ninth Anna Pigeon novel is not as strong as the last few entries. There are still the carefully honed details of ranger and park life, but Barr takes too long to set up the action; her supporting characters aren't as well developed as we've come to expect; and, most surprising of all, the landscape is not as vividly described as usual. Series fans will forgive Barr's misstep, however, and will eagerly await a return to form. Deep South [BKL Ja 1 & 15 2000] and Liberty Falling [D 15 99] show Barr at her best. John Rowen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
"All is not well in grizzly country...Barr's red herrings and sly twists culminate in one huge payoff." (Entertainment Weekly)

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Nevada Barr's Blood Lure once again features Anna Pigeon, the likeable, slightly misanthropic heroine of nine increasingly popular mysteries, all set against the lovingly evoked backdrop of America's National Parks. This time out, Anna -- a law enforcement officer and peripatetic Ranger -- finds herself detached from her regular duties in Mississippi's Natchez Trace Park and assigned to a research project in Northern Montana. The project, which involves collecting DNA samples from the indigenous bear population of Glacier National Park, seems, at first, like an idyllic interlude. But the idyll comes to an abrupt end when murder, mayhem, and human malfeasance rear their ugly heads.

The novel begins on a peaceful note as Anna, accompanied by veteran bear researcher Joan Rand and teenage Earthwatch volunteer Rory Van Slyke, tracks her quarry through the rugged beauty of the Montana landscape. In the middle of their second night out, a large, apparently savage grizzly bear attacks the researchers' campsite. When the dust settles, Joan and Anna find themselves shaken but unscathed. Rory, however, has disappeared, having fled into the surrounding forest in a blind, headlong panic. When dawn comes, Park Service personnel conduct a full-scale search, in the course of which they locate not just Rory but the corpse of a mutilated woman. The woman's neck has been broken, and large sections of her face have been carefully carved away.

The dead woman is eventually identified as Carolyn Van Slyke, Rory's abusive -- and highly promiscuous -- stepmother. Rory, of course, becomes an immediate suspect, as does his father, the pathetic, browbeaten Lester Van Slyke. Two other candidates rapidly materialize: a teenage hiker who calls himself Geoffrey Micholson, and William McCaskil, a professional con man with a host of aliases and an extensive criminal record. Faced with a crime that offers too many suspects and too little concrete evidence, Anna abandons her DNA research project and throws herself into a protracted -- and dangerous -- homicide investigation.

The narrative evolves into a devious, ingeniously plotted mystery whose numerous clues are casually and cleverly scattered throughout the text. Blood Lure, however, is a great deal more than just a well-constructed thriller. It is also a powerful evocation of the natural world, and its recreation of the complex ecology of Glacier National Park is precise, detailed, and absolutely convincing. Equally convincing is Barr's ongoing portrait of Anna Pigeon, a smart, self-sufficient woman who is much more at home in the world of wild animals than in the predatory society of men. She is a credible, sympathetic heroine with heart, brains, and hidden depths. It's a pleasure encountering her once again.

--Bill Sheehan

Bill Sheehan reviews horror, suspense, and science fiction for Cemetery Dance, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and other publications. His book-length critical study of the fiction of Peter Straub, At the Foot of the Story Tree, has been published by Subterranean Press (www.subterraneanpress.com).

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"In Blood Lure, Anna Pigeon returns to the West, where she is sent on a training assignment to study grizzly bears in Waterton/Glacier National Peace Park, straddling the border between Montana and Canada. But back in her beloved mountains, where the air is pure and cool, Anna fails to experience the spiritual renewal she expected. Instead, nature seems to have become twisted, carrying a malevolence almost human in its focus." "Along with a bear researcher, Joan Rand, and a volatile and unpredictable teenage boy, Anna hikes the back country, seeking signs of the bears. On their second night out, the tables are turned: one of the bears comes looking for them. Daybreak finds the boy missing and a camper dead, her neck snapped, the flesh of her face cut away. Feeling betrayed by nature and humanity, Anna must find the beast stalking the trails - and enter deep into a gripping wilderness life-or-death mystery."--BOOK JACKET.

SYNOPSIS

Park Ranger Anna Pigeon has joined a bear research team in Glacier Park, the vast preserve that spreads from Montana into Canada. They hope to gather enough information to form a picture of its Grizzly bear population. Instead, one terrifying night, a bear finds them. By morning, their camp is in ruins, and the youngest member of the team is missing. A few hours later, the body of a camper is discovered: the neck broken and face mutilated.

As Anna sets out to find what, or who, is responsible for the carnage, her search will stretch all her resources￯﾿ﾽphysical, mental, and moral￯﾿ﾽto new limits. Audie Award-winning narrator Barbara Rosenblat￯﾿ﾽs voice is perfect for Anna, capturing all her courage and vulnerability in this complete and unabridged recording.

About the Author Nevada Barr is the award-winning author of eight previous Anna Pigeon mysteries, including the New York Times best-seller Deep South. She lives in Mississippi, where she was most recently a ranger on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Narrator Barbara Rosenblat is an accomplished actor and singer, and one of Recorded Books￯﾿ﾽ most popular and sought-after narrators. Born in London, but raised since infancy in America, Rosenblat continually amazes listeners and reviewers alike with her deft handling of an incredible variety of dialects and regional accents.

FROM THE CRITICS

Daneet Steffens

...Barr's red herrings and sly twists culminate in one huge payoff. Grade A-

Laurie Davie - Romantic Times

Like her heroine, Barr is a ranger who￯﾿ﾽs worked in national parks all over the country. Her gorgeous descriptions of the natural world enhance this taut, suspenseful tale, and the unexpected ending will surprise and enchant you.

All is not well in grizzly country...Barr's red herrings and sly twists culminate in one huge payoff.

Entertainment Weekly

All is not well in grizzly country...Barr's red herrings and sly twists culminate in one huge payoff.

Publishers Weekly