Reviews

Hard Truth by Nevada Barr

lablazlay5's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

qu33nofbookz's review against another edition

3.0

This book was both good and bad for me because while I liked the mystery it used a lot of disturbing things and the main character's IQ drops by half towards the end of the story. Also this series is in a rut now and Anna should know who the bad guy is immediately from her past few cases.

Spoiler

A fellow park ranger employee is now always the bad guy. And half the time he is either a psychopath or a misogynist.

Plus I dislike the second rut of the series, misogynist men! Seriously how can it be that everywhere Anna goes she encounters/has to work with at least one misogynist man? In a job where there aren't that many people around to begin with? In the modern 21st century? This book diverges from the rest of the series however in that it's broken into two POV of two heroines, Anna and Heath, a wheelchair-bound paraplegic. Last there is less of the parks being described as they were in past books where they were almost characters in themselves.

Anna newly married has left her husband to take up a new position at Rocky Mountain National Park. Upon arriving two young girls are found wondering about traumatized. They and a third girl have been missing from their local commune for a little over a month. Here is where the radical religious cult extremists come in. This I can believe because it happens in real life, and sadly more often then it should. The girls belong to an extreme Morman (with hints of Christianity to suit the leader) sect that is yes headed by a pedophile. As the girls go back home (there is nothing the rangers can do) the renewed search is on for the last girl. Suspicion falls and then is taken away from a young pastor of the cult then falls on the cult leader and on to a ranger and round and round it goes. When the perpetrator is relieved it's for reasons that are unbelievable. The perpetrator's personality is half believable so it works out a bit in the end. The trama and events the girls go through is believable and you do feel for them being victims of their parents and upbringing making them easy targets for the perpetrator later in the story. This book does have a lot of disturbing events and descriptions so it isn't for the faint of heart. Mixed in with this is a side story of an environmental nature that does make a good red herring and I could see as being used in further books. Overall this was a good dark mystery with some twists you don't see coming but some frustration that leaves you shaking your head.

christianedreams's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

3.75

dark. too dark? well written but creepier than the others.

lizzyacker's review against another edition

2.0

the main reason i read it is because it is set in a NATIONAL PARK. all this lady's books are. everyone i meet at work thinks that i should be like this woman and write murder mysteries about the national parks. people i work with: this is not ever going to happen. only read this book if you have hours to waste and don't mind watching kittens playing with yarn for a couple days until you are like, oh these kittens are really cute, and then suddenly seeing them get eaten by a great white shark. because the ending is sort of like that.

retiredlibrarylady's review against another edition

4.0

I really like Anna Pigeon, although I haven't read them all or read them in order. This one was particularly gripping, if not entirely believable.... upon reflection! This one is set in Rocky Mountain National Park, which I have visited. I have not been in the remote camping areas that are pivotal to this story, and probably don't want to go there. Looking forward to another in the series ... after I clear some of the unread books already piled up in my bedroom!

sandin954's review against another edition

3.0

Not really my favorite type of plot but I always enjoy the different park settings, this time the Rocky Mountain National Park. Listened to the audio version which was well read by Barbara Rosenblat.

ofearna's review against another edition

5.0

I really liked Heath and hope to heck there are more tales with her.

pitosalas's review against another edition

It was a typical Nevada Barr plot but for some reason I didn't get into it. Maybe I didn't give it enough attention but by the end I lost track of who was who. Pulled the plug.

pjgal22's review against another edition

4.0

I love Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon mysteries. This one was very well written and hard to put down, but it was also very disturbing.

jessipants's review against another edition

5.0

My first Nevada Barr book and I only want more!

Poetic wording and a twistingly intense plot, this book was wonderful!