reviews
Nov 09, 2011
Sandra aka Sleo
rated it: 
I hadn't listened to a Nevada Barr mystery in a long time, but remember them as being pretty good. This one was on sale on Audible.com, so I bit, and it's narrated by Barbara Rosenblatt, who is very good.
It takes place on Tortuga Island, off Key West, where there's apparently an old Civil War Fort and the National Park Service maintains it. Anna is subbing for a supervisor who's gone off the deep end, and has been sent some old letters written by an ancestor whose husband was stati More...
It takes place on Tortuga Island, off Key West, where there's apparently an old Civil War Fort and the National Park Service maintains it. Anna is subbing for a supervisor who's gone off the deep end, and has been sent some old letters written by an ancestor whose husband was stati More...
Apr 02, 2011
Elizabeth
rated it: 
This was my first Nevada Barr book in the Anna Pigeon series, though I understand the order is not critical to their enjoyment. This genre wouldn't normally get four stars from me, but any time I can be both entertained and edified, I want to give credit.
All of the books in this series take place on a different National Park property, so the reader becomes very familiar with the geography, geology, topography, and history of the park as the plot evolves. This book is set in Dry Tort More...
All of the books in this series take place on a different National Park property, so the reader becomes very familiar with the geography, geology, topography, and history of the park as the plot evolves. This book is set in Dry Tort More...
Oct 30, 2010
Mark
rated it:
“Flashback” is sturdy work. At least, the main plot is classic Nevada Barr as Anna Pigeon unravels the secrets behind a series of odd events and boat explosions on the Dry Tortugas. Barr takes full advantage of the setting, as she always does. The settings are characters in her books and she’s a master at weaving the backdrop (or in Barr’s case, foredrop?) into the storyline. There’s something so effortless and natural about Barr’s storytelling style and there’s no change here. The writing
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Oct 13, 2010
Joni
rated it: 
3.71 · rating details · 923 ratings · 74 reviews
Running from a proposal of marriage from Sheriff Paul Davidson, Anna Pigeon takes a post as a temporary supervisory ranger on remote Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park, a small grouping of tiny islands in a natural harbor seventy miles off Key West. This island paradise has secrets it would keep; not just in the present, but in shadows from its gritty past, when it s ...more Running from a proposal of marriage from Sheriff Paul More...
Running from a proposal of marriage from Sheriff Paul Davidson, Anna Pigeon takes a post as a temporary supervisory ranger on remote Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park, a small grouping of tiny islands in a natural harbor seventy miles off Key West. This island paradise has secrets it would keep; not just in the present, but in shadows from its gritty past, when it s ...more Running from a proposal of marriage from Sheriff Paul More...
Jul 23, 2010
Jerry
rated it:
Two Stories from Dry Tortugas - murder and mayhem mark both!
Barr's 11th Anna Pigeon story, like all her books except her last ("Hunting Season"), which took place in the same locale as "Deep South" {in the Natchez Trace}, has a most unusual setting: the Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys. Little more than a placeholder for Fort Jefferson, a Union Prison from Civil War days, this small strip of land becomes temporary duty for Pigeon while the former More...
Barr's 11th Anna Pigeon story, like all her books except her last ("Hunting Season"), which took place in the same locale as "Deep South" {in the Natchez Trace}, has a most unusual setting: the Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys. Little more than a placeholder for Fort Jefferson, a Union Prison from Civil War days, this small strip of land becomes temporary duty for Pigeon while the former More...
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Nov 30, 2009
Anne Hawn
rated it:
Anna Pigeon has been sent to Ft. Jefferson on the Dry Tortugas to temporarily replace supervisory ranger on remote Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park. She is also running from a proposal of marriage from the Sheriff/Minister back on in Mississippi and this will give her some badly needed breathing space. The fort is a bleak and lonely post about 70 miles from Key West. The group of islands are just barely above sea level and are almost deserted. There is, however, Ft. Jefferson, a Civi
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Apr 09, 2011
Sandy
rated it: 
I think I want to give this a higher rating but not.
It is a good book braiding two stories together...one in the present, one in the time just after the Civil War but both taking place in the same location and both involving murder.
"Anna Pigeon takes a post as a temporary supervisory ranger on remote Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park, a small grouping of tiny islands in a natural harbor seventy miles off Key West...
...Here, on this last lick of More...
It is a good book braiding two stories together...one in the present, one in the time just after the Civil War but both taking place in the same location and both involving murder.
"Anna Pigeon takes a post as a temporary supervisory ranger on remote Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park, a small grouping of tiny islands in a natural harbor seventy miles off Key West...
...Here, on this last lick of More...
Aug 09, 2011
Kara
rated it:
Our favorite national park ranger, Anna Pigeon, is temporarily filling in for the boss at Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys, after the park’s head ranger lost his girlfriend, along with his grip on sanity. It is very hot, and not horribly exciting in the park until Anna receives a box of old letters from her sister, who had unearthed them because they were written by their great, great aunt Raffia when her husband was an army captain at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. Anna spe
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Feb 17, 2011
Kay
rated it:
I'm giving this four stars because of its in-depth portrayal of America's least visited national park, the Dry Tortugas, located about 2 hours by boat from Key West. The park is located in the ruins of Fort Jefferson, the third largest fort ever built in the US, and is also the breeding ground for some rare shore birds, including the Frigate Bird and the Sooty Tern. Because the islands have no source of fresh drinking water, their use is necessarily limited.
The story is really two n More...
The story is really two n More...
Nov 30, 2009
Barner
rated it:
I enjoyed this one by Barr also. The two stories, alternating chapter by chapter are compelling and full of historical reality. That Anna, the main character of the Nevada Barr series, is one super woman who leaves the male comic book/film heroes of the past decades in the dust. She does not seem to be afraid of anything! I did feel sorry for Mack, a man who wants to do good, yet will stoop to the wrong means to accomplish his purpose. Barr must spend much time on research to give her
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Mar 12, 2009
April
rated it:
Flashback is a juxtaposition of two different time periods taking place in the same place, Ft. Jefferson in the Florida Keys. In it, two mysteries seem somehow related, one taking place in about and one in the present. I was a little annoyed that one chapter was about one time period and then left you hanging, and the next chapter was about the other time period. Sometimes I had to skip a chapter and come back because it didn't flow well enough. Nevada Barr is a great writer and knows how to kee
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Aug 25, 2009
Kathy
rated it:
I have been reading the Nevada Barr National Park series since our trip to the Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon. They are great books, I have enjoyed some more than others but read them all in order except for the first which was Ill Wind. Some are more "Green" than others. Flashback is probably one of the best. I have enjoyed enjoyed the weaving of the history with the current story. After reading all of them so far you do wonder when she is going to figure our how to keep herself out
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Oct 18, 2010
Toni
rated it:
Another Anna Pidgeon mystery that did the trick for a long drive. She's a very likeable character - middle aged abd slightly jaded. This park ranger really makes the rounds of the national park system.
In this one she's stationed at Fort Jefferson, a former prison in the Dry Torguas off the Florida Keys. It's a parallel story about human smuggling and Samuel Mudd, who was imprisoned at the fort for his participation in the Lincoln assassination.
Another great locale and i More...
In this one she's stationed at Fort Jefferson, a former prison in the Dry Torguas off the Florida Keys. It's a parallel story about human smuggling and Samuel Mudd, who was imprisoned at the fort for his participation in the Lincoln assassination.
Another great locale and i More...
Jan 08, 2011
chris
rated it:
When it comes to a vibrant sense of place, Barr has few equals, as deliciously demonstrated in her 11th Anna Pigeon novel (after 2002's Hunting Season), set in little-known Dry Tortugas National Park, 70 miles off Key West in the Gulf of Mexico. Anna takes up her new post on Garden Key, home to Fort Jefferson, a notorious Union prison during the Civil War, after fleeing a marriage proposal from just-divorced Sheriff Paul Davidson. As she goes about her duties, Anna quickly becomes ensnared in on
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Dec 07, 2009
Deirdre
rated it:
If you love Anna Pigeon (and you don't even know why), read this one. It differs from Nevada Barr's general format because two stories are intertwined. Anna reads letters of her aunt's written just after Lincoln's assassination.
If you've read any of my other reviews, you know I'm hooked on Nevada Barr's series. (Only one to go. Now, what will I do? Catch up with my two reading groups?) Anyway, this is an engaging book but not at the top of the list. The interweaving of stories More...
If you've read any of my other reviews, you know I'm hooked on Nevada Barr's series. (Only one to go. Now, what will I do? Catch up with my two reading groups?) Anyway, this is an engaging book but not at the top of the list. The interweaving of stories More...
Aug 19, 2009
Sara
rated it:
Matt & I listened to this on CD during one of our MANY road trips this summer and really liked it. He picked it up thinking it was something else, but it turned into a good story. The fact that it was based at a place we knew was very cool. We definitely want to visit the Dry Tortugas someday.
The story also made me want to find out more about the Lincoln assassination and the conspiracy around it. I never realized what a big deal the conspiracy part was.
The story also made me want to find out more about the Lincoln assassination and the conspiracy around it. I never realized what a big deal the conspiracy part was.
Apr 04, 2011
Stephen
rated it:
Story set in the Dry Tortugas in the current days and also in olden times. Not too bad, print fairly small and story had some interesting twists and turns. Kind of what I would call "Brain Dead Reading". Best part of the book was the description of the Tortugas National Park and the historical rendering of same. We have visited the Park and I found it interesting to read about the area form someone else's perspective.
Apr 22, 2011
Perlinda
rated it:
This was a great whodunit that included a historical aspect to it. Having been asked to cover for a supervisory ranger on leave in the Florida Keys, Anna finds herself involved in a situation that doesn't exactly make sense at first. There are hallucinations involved as well as letters from a great great aunt that were left to her sister, Molly. As always Nevada Barr keeps you guessing until the very end.
Jan 19, 2012
Marianne
rated it:
I enjoy the series and the premise -- NPS ranger travels to parks around the country, solves mysteries, etc -- overall. This particular book was a bit slow for my liking. I felt like the plot twists were a bit convoluted and that you wouldn't really follow what was progressing if it wasn't being laid out for you. I'll continue reading the Anna Pigeon books, but hopefully they'll be a bit better than this one. That all being said, it's an easy and relatively fun read.
Nov 14, 2011
Mindy
rated it:
What a trip this book was--Through letters written just before the end of the Civil War, Anna explores the history of her current ranger duty assignment; the Dry Tortugua National Park. Anna is filling in for the Park Ranger who suddenly went crazy. Ghosts, paranoia, boat explosions and murder attempts on Anna person have her investigating what craziness has come to the little island close to Cuba.
Mar 23, 2011
Carol
rated it:
There are two stories going on simultaneously in this book. I was having troubles keeping track, so I'd read several chapters in on of the stories, then several chapters in the other story. This was not my favorite book, but I liked/not loved it. I appreciate Barr's ability to work Anna in so many different circumstances, and her ability to stay "cool" and get the job done, despite the many dangers she finds herself in.
Sep 07, 2009
Patty
rated it:
Anna is a park ranger in the Dry Tortugas. I loved the setting and the way the story is interspersed with a historical novel set in the same location, just after the Civil War. The plot is a little hard to believe. My relationship with mysteries is conflicted, because the inevitable violence is hard to ignore. If you really care about the characters, you hate to see them get hurt.
Aug 08, 2010
Emily
rated it:
This is a generic review of all the Nevada Barr books.
The Anna Pigeon mysteries all take place in different National Parks. Anna is a law enforcement park ranger and she finds herself involved in murders that she needs to solve. She's a strong female character that chooses her life of solitude over family life. I love the details the authors gives about the parks.
The Anna Pigeon mysteries all take place in different National Parks. Anna is a law enforcement park ranger and she finds herself involved in murders that she needs to solve. She's a strong female character that chooses her life of solitude over family life. I love the details the authors gives about the parks.
Aug 27, 2010
QuesterMark
rated it:
Wow. Between the underwater scenes and the alternate chapter flashbacks to a time in history with a whole separate plot line AND another plot device (spoiler, so I'm not detailing it), this book is challenge to read. It very much lends itself to reading entire chapters. Pretty good, though, with lots of complications.
Recommended!
Recommended!
Jun 29, 2009
Cassonia
rated it:
I listened to the abridged version of this book on audio cd. I enjoyed the mystery and the characters who live and work at the national park. The character of Anna Pigeon can do things that make me shake my head and wonder if she's really that stupid but then I catch myself and remember it's just a book. A good quick listen.
Nov 06, 2011
Liz
rated it:
My immersion in Nevada Barr's mysteries regarding the U.S. National Parks continues. This one takes us to the South Florida Keys' island Garden Key and the historical Fort Jefferson in the Gulf of Mexico. It's a duel storyline of post civil war and the early 2000's and how the two are connected.
Dec 15, 2009
Elizabeth
rated it:
Fun quick read. I am hoping to go the Florida Keys sometime and this book actually didn't make it sounds that great (except the snorkeling). I really don't like reading series in the middle so not knowing the AP history was kinda annoying but I enjoyed the historical flashbacks and both mysteries.
Dec 18, 2008
Terri
rated it:
I didn't think the cover blog did anything for the book. Or at least it took me down a different path. But I enjoyed the twists and turns. Had to buy into some of the "adventures" but it is fiction after all. If you want to escape to the Keys for some adventure, this could be your book.
Sep 11, 2009
Lynn
rated it:
I've enjoyed Barr's stories about Anna Pigeon in the past, especially when one is about a park I've visited. This one was different in having a parallel story set in the past.
I was reminded of it when I saw a friend's pictures from Dry Tortugas where she had visited the park and the fort.
I was reminded of it when I saw a friend's pictures from Dry Tortugas where she had visited the park and the fort.
Nov 05, 2010
Cindy
rated it:
This book drove me crazy. It alternated chapters between the past and present. I read every other chapter, then went back and read the ones I'd skipped. It was too confusing to skip back and forth constantly. It was like reading 2 books (that were parallel) but too choppy for me.
