by Nevada Barr
Part of Anna Pigeon, book 11
First published 2004
Anna Pigeon escapes to Dry Tortugas National Park to avoid Sheriff Paul Davidson's marriage proposal. She takes a temporary ranger position on Garden Key, seventy miles from Key West. The crumbling fortress once held Lincoln assassination conspirators during the Civil War. Anna works mostly alone except for tourists and shrimpers who pass through. Her sister Molly sends letters written by their great-great-aunt, who lived at the fort with her soldier husband decades earlier. Anna loses herself in these historical accounts. Then a boat explodes nearby and body parts wash ashore. Anna discovers that crimes from the past connect to present dangers. Someone wove a web of deception before she arrived. The plot threatens both her mental stability and her life. Miles of ocean separate her from help. Phone service fails regularly and radio contact breaks up. Only one other law enforcement ranger assists her. Anna must solve the mystery or face a storm as dangerous as the hurricanes that regularly batter these islands.
Genres: historical-fiction, adventure, mystery, crime
Vibes: atmospheric, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, isolated-setting
Setting: Dry Tortugas National Park, Garden Key, Key West
Period: Civil War, Decades Earlier
383 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Berkley