Endangered Species

This addition to the Anna Pigeon series really reminded me of [b:A Superior Death 86492 A Superior Death (Anna Pigeon, #2) Nevada Barr https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388356015s/86492.jpg 1435861], which I thought was disappointing. Beautiful setting with less than inspiring mystery plot and too many characters to keep straight.As with all of Barr's novels that I've read, the setting is the most important character. I always open up a browser and do some research on the parks she chooses to set her stories in. I want to be the nomadic Anna Pigeon and work all over the country in all these different terrains, and that's what I like most about these mysteries.But the mysteries seem to fall short of satisfying for me, except for the very first one [b:Track of the Cat 76706 Track of the Cat (Anna Pigeon, #1) Nevada Barr https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1326365792s/76706.jpg 954916]. They become too convoluted with too many red herrings, too many characters, and too many predicaments for our heroine Anna to escape. I think the red herrings are the biggest problem for me. The author could do with leaving them more simple – not every red herring needs to be explained with so much back story.Most mystery stories require some kind of suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader, and the largest thing we have to accept is that murder follows our amateur sleuths (who have a day job other than detecting) as they work in their bakeries, take jobs at national parks, or just live in a really small town. I have accepted that when Anna Pigeon is working at a national park, someone's going to die, and I'm fine with that. Where the disbelief continues into not only a murder happening, but also stalking, drugs, embezzlement, harassment, and so many other crimes is what I have a problem with. There's not a single character working at Cumberland National Park that's innocent, which takes some of the fun out of the mystery aspect of this novel. Zero likable characters (except for the old ladies and their little fawn).This book makes Cumberland Park seem exquisite and beautiful, sultry, and teeming with amazing wild life, while the people are just evil, obnoxious, and mean. I give 3 stars here, 4 for the setting and 2 for the story, and I still feel too generous. Maybe Barr's overall theme is that the company of Mother Nature is better than the company of people.