Borderline

The title of this Nevada Barr installment in the Anna Pigeon series speaks both to the book's location in Big Bend National Park on the border of Texas and Mexico, and to the state of mind of Anna Pigeon.  After she killed someone--in self-defense--in Isle Royale, he sense of man's inhumanity to man has taken on haunting dimensions and she feels she is perched on the edge of a bottomless void in her soul. Even the love of husband Paula doesn't seem to be enough right now. She is on administrative leave from the Park Service and, because being in nature is what usually grounds Anna, she and Paul have decided to go rafting down the Rio Grande to facilitate her recovery. But a flash flood, the harrowing rescue of a nearly drowned pregnant woman, and the political ambitions of a big city Texas mayor on the verge of losing her husband all combine in this fast moving story to challenge Anna in ways that will either push her over or bring her back from the brink of that abyss. As always, you get a wonderful sense of place; it's like getting to virtually visit the national parks by reading this series of books.  And of course Anna is a strong resourceful woman, maybe most of all when she's having a tough time. You can read Maureen Corrigan's more detailed plot summary and evaluations of Anna's character here.