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lablazlay5's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
timna_wyckoff's review against another edition
4.0
Coming in April! (Hey, Mom, did you know about this one?)
dcliz's review
3.0
I have been a big fan of Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series, but have missed her last few books. Borderline has all of the suspenseful plot that make the novels so delicious, but there were a few sour notes for me. The first was some gratuitous fat-shaming of an unpleasant character ("One of the girls...despite being considerably overweight, wore...low-cut spandex shorts and [a] high cut spandex top.... A pale fold of fat rounded over the tight band, and Anna hoped the girl had had sense enough to slather her soft white underbelly with sunscreen before exposing it to the element."). And this description struck me as borderline racist (different words would have been just as effective): "Paul's pants were riding at an inner-city half-mast without his belt." I don't remember Anna being particularly cruel or casually racist, so these off notes distracted from the story. And, although this novel was written long before Trump's derogatory characterization of Mexicans, I found a description of Mexican kids shooting and killing rafters on the Rio Grande discordant and inflammatory.
I was also distracted by one of the main characters launching her campaign for Texas governor...against "the incumbent, a jowly overweight liberal." Given the references to real-life events and politicians (9/11, Bill Clinton & Monica Lewinsky, John Edwards, and Barack Obama's singular speech that launched him into the national spotlight), having a liberal governor of Texas took me out of my suspension of disbelief.
I'm hoping this novel was just a one-time miscue from a favorite author, and not that I had just been unaware of problematic language in previous novels. Still, I tore through it and look forward to catching up on the series.
I was also distracted by one of the main characters launching her campaign for Texas governor...against "the incumbent, a jowly overweight liberal." Given the references to real-life events and politicians (9/11, Bill Clinton & Monica Lewinsky, John Edwards, and Barack Obama's singular speech that launched him into the national spotlight), having a liberal governor of Texas took me out of my suspension of disbelief.
I'm hoping this novel was just a one-time miscue from a favorite author, and not that I had just been unaware of problematic language in previous novels. Still, I tore through it and look forward to catching up on the series.
krism's review
5.0
Nevada Barr writes a series of books featuring a park ranger, Anna Pigeon, and each story is set in a National Park. I visited Big Bend last weekend and this was the perfect book to listen to on the way home. The story was suspenseful and being able to picture the river, desert, and towns as I listened added to the thrill.
sandin954's review against another edition
3.0
On leave from the park service, Anna and her husband take what is suppose to be a nice relaxing trip down the Rio Grande in a raft. Listened to the audio version which was narrated by Barbara Rosenblat who does a great job with this series.
bkdrgn303's review
2.0
Meh. This one was just okay. Barely. Anna Pigeon is irrational and scattered in this book. Barr introduces characters and then just lets them drop off the page or kills them altogether. Paul, Anna's husband, professes a great and profound love for Anna and is never around when she needs him. What's up with the whole Helena line? Pfft. I think Barr jumped the shark with the last book in this series and just kept swimming with this one.
pjgal22's review
I'm thrilled to have won this 'giveaway' book as Nevada Barr is one of my favorite mystery writers. It hasn't been that long since I finished her last book, Winter Study, so I'm looking forward to getting right into this one, with the previous novel still pretty fresh in my mind.
git_r_read's review
4.0
I do love this series, though I always feel for Anna when she comes up against murder in each locale and National Park. This time she's on vacation with her husband on a rafting trip down the Rio Grande. And comes upon a pregnant woman close to death. And it looks like foul play. Then someone on the ridge above starts shooting at the rafters.
It's nonstop from the very first page. I like how Anna is human. She keeps going, but the reader can tell she is hurting and exhausted and human. She finds herself taking care of an infant. The reader is with Anna as she goes back and forth on how lovely and how trying it can be to be in this position.
And how dogged she is in each task she undertakes.
Not my first Anna adventure and I know it won't be the last. Especially if Barbara Rosenblatt continues as the narrator. She is the perfect voice for Anna Pigeon.
It's nonstop from the very first page. I like how Anna is human. She keeps going, but the reader can tell she is hurting and exhausted and human. She finds herself taking care of an infant. The reader is with Anna as she goes back and forth on how lovely and how trying it can be to be in this position.
And how dogged she is in each task she undertakes.
Not my first Anna adventure and I know it won't be the last. Especially if Barbara Rosenblatt continues as the narrator. She is the perfect voice for Anna Pigeon.
hmonkeyreads's review
2.0
I have read all of the Anna Pogeon books and I'm really just tired of her I think. This one seems incredibly sub-par and hokey and she's just completely annoying as a character. It's obvious from the beginning who the bad guy is and the whole thing is pretty much a snooze. No more Anna Pigeon books for me.