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HIGH COUNTRY by Nevada Barr Putnam, February 2004 323 pages $24.95 ISBN: 0399151443 Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Ranger Anna Pigeon has gone undercover as a waitress in the old classic Ahwahnee Hotel at Yellowstone National Park. Four young workers at the park have gone missing and the local head ranger has asked for help.

Bunking in with three other members o the Ahwahnee staff, roommates of one of the disappeared workers, Anna finds that living with two 20-somethings at her age is difficult. Anna wants to solve the case quickly so she can return to her posting at the Natchez Trace National Park and her fiancé.

Anna has to investigate without giving herself away. It's not easy. She has given up her Ranger identity in order to be just another middle-aged waitress. When one of her roommates, Cricket, goes into respiratory arrest at the restaurant, Anna accompanies her to the hospital to try to find out who is supplying the drugs and if the missing employees were involved. The other roommate, Nicky, never shows at the hospital. Anna returns to their room to find it uncharacteristically neat and Nicky in a state of absolute fear.

Barr is at her best when describing the national parks, especially the western parks. The descriptions of Anna's early winter trek to one of the lakes and her discoveries there, are chilling, Then, when she is stalked by the bad guys in the cold and snow, things get even worse.

This is number 12 in the series set in many of the US National Parks. It is obvious that Barr prefers the western parks, as the books set in the eastern and southern ones are not as engrossing as the ones set in the west, with the possible exception of one of my favorites, LIBERTY FALLING, set on Liberty Island.

In general, this is a series that evokes the natural beauty of the United States set against a counterpoint of human evil and human failings. One must respect the geology and fauna but must be wary of the interlopers.

Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, September 2004

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)

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