Good mystery about fire fighters in Calif. forests and a murder appearing to take place during a firestorm.

I feel like it's important to read a series in order, especially a long-running one like this because these characters and their worlds build over the years, and it's apparent here where a fellow park ranger from Mesa Verde also makes her way out to Lassen Volcanic NP to fight fires, and Fredrick the Fed shows up sniffing around when murder (it's always murder) rears its ugly head. Firestorm felt different than previous Anna Pigeon adventures though, because the location very much made it like a locked house/island murder mystery: the titular firestorm strands ten people on a slope and one of them killed the eleventh. Due to the fire, no one came in or out so who among the survivors is the killer, and can Anna identify them before she tips them off?

It's always interesting to come to a then-contemporary book years after the fact- this is firmly mid-'90s, and that's most apparent with Stanton's viewpoints as he gathers information on his end. Queer representation surprises me for some reason, even though LGBTQ have always existed- it's a plus that it's another part of their version of our world. The conclusion came very quickly to me- I found myself looking at how many pages were left and wondering how much was going to avalanche at the end. Firestorm does suffer the similar problems I've had with other Anna Pigeon books where it's hard to keep the cast of characters separate- there's some standouts but otherwise suspects start to blur together...

On to [b:Endangered Species|76704|Endangered Species (Anna Pigeon, #5)|Nevada Barr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1326365977l/76704._SY75_.jpg|1484792], I guess... ( )

The Anna Pigeon series keeps getting better and better. Firestorm is a suspenseful and terrifying story of the Jackknife fire in the Caribou Wilderness and Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California. I know what horrific damage fires can cause and how fast they can move because I live in California. Although this book is fiction, we have hundreds of real fires every year. In this fourth book, the author takes us inside the hell that belongs to those on the front lines. When Anna—still stationed at Mesa Verde National Park—volunteers to join the San Juan Plateau Fire Crew as medical support, her group is sent out to rescue a fallen fighter. But, before they can get him and themselves to safety, a rare firestorm causes them to shelter in place. Nevada Barr's narrative is so intense I felt like I was with them—burning under a flimsy aluminum fire shelter, suffocating with dirt and dust in my nose and mouth, and praying for it to end. Just when the worst is over, they discover one of the firefighters was stabbed to death during the panic. Now, Anna finds herself trying to solve a murder and keep the peace while stuck on a mountain without food or water. Frederick Stanton, her sometimes FBI partner, tries to help from base camp. I love that Fred and Anna might become romantically involved in future books. ( )

Anna Pigeon has been sent to the Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California, to serve as security officer and medic for a team fighting a wildfire they believe may have been accidentally or intentionally started by a man camping in the forest. The camper turns up burned to death, and is identified as the brother of Jennifer Short, one of Pigeon's colleagues. But why would Josh Short, an environmental activist and experienced outdoorsman, set his beloved landscape aflame; neither mishap nor arson seem to explain that to Anna. Just as the team is getting the fire under control and planning to demob off the mountain, an unexpected change in the weather creates a firestorm, putting everyone at risk, destroying their camp with all supplies and equipment, and preventing rescue for days. Most of the team manages to take shelter and avoid incineration, but there are casualties...including one man who is found with a knife in his heart. Stranded on a charred-over mountainside with no food or water, limited communication with the outside world, and an exhausted, traumatized group of mixed personalities, one of whom must be a murderer... hmmm.... Anna is highly trained, experienced and resourceful, but this is a mighty challenge, and I might have done a couple things differently. But then, I'm not a badass park ranger. A fast adventure with a somewhat unexpected ending. ( )

I discovered Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series this year. The first I read, [b:Flashback|76705|Flashback (Anna Pigeon, #11)|Nevada Barr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389107441l/76705._SY75_.jpg|1963038] was the best, with a great location and a nifty dual plot. The next was just OK, but this one, an early entry, was super.

Working in Lassen Volcanic National Park as an EMT during a wildfire, Anna Pigeon is attached to a small crew that is cut off from the outside when the blaze shifts and a snowstorm sets in. One of their number is murdered, and Anna is forced to put on her security officer cap to keep a lid on the situation, and try to figure out what happened.

Barr makes the most of the location: the hydrothermal features, the rugged terrain, and the wildfires. I was struck by the difference in attitudes toward the fires then and now. There was no years-long drought in the mid-1990s, and the fire was perceived as a normal event that could, within a few days, be contained. Given climate change and the persistent drought, California wildfires today take on such a different character.

I will definitely be reading more in this series, and I now know how to select the ones that are likely to appeal to me most - those in natural settings, where Anna Pigeon can use her skills and sense to outwit the bad guys. ( )