Track of the Cat

Nevada Barr

Anna Pigeon is a ranger for the U.S. National Parks. She is stationed in the Guadalupe Mountain National Park in western Texas. She is a widow escaping her past. She loves the life in the wilderness, loves her job, and loves the animals and habitat she is protecting.

While following the trails of mountain lions she finds instead one of her fellow rangers. Sheila Drury was dead, the victim of a large cat attack. Anna calls in her find and puts on her seldom used "hat", the one of federal officer. Something is wrong with Drury's death. She needs to figure out what before she finds herself, the cougars, or other rangers in danger.

This is a mystery set against one of the beautiful desolate backdrops this world has. The landscape is desert and dry mountains. The heat in mid-summer is devestating. Yet Barr shows the reader the wonder of the land. Barr also gives the reader a mystery that leads one right in. I am not sure if this is one the reader is supposed to figure themselves beforehand or not. Although the clues are there, many of them rely on the specialized knowledge a trained park ranger would have. I had my guesses, of course. I didn't have the right conclusion, though. This is a book I can highly recommend; I plan to read the rest of the series in time as well. (That will please my sister - she has been recommending them to me for the last two or three years.)

Track of the Cat Guadaloupe Mountains National Park, TX
A Superior Death Isle Royale National Park, MI
Ill Wind Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Firestorm Lassen Volcanic Park, CA
Endangered Species Cumberland Island, GA
Blind Descent Carlsbad Caverns, NM
Liberty Falling Gateways Park, NY
Deep South Natchez Trace National Park, MS
Blood Lure Glacier National Park, MT
Hunting Season Natchez Trace National Park, MS
Flashback Dry Tortugas National Park, FL
High Country Yosemite National Park, CA
Hard Truth Rocky Mountain National Park, CO
Winter Study Isle Royale National Park, MI
Borderline Big Bend National Park, TX
Burn New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, LA
The Rope Glen Canyon National Recreational Area , AZ & UT

The Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron