Track of the Cat

I've decided if I don't go ahead & get back into this I'll never do it and I do enjoy the blogging, so I've pulled out the books I've read since my last book note. Track of the Cat is the first in Nevada Barr's mystery series featuring Anna Pigeon, a park ranger in Guadalupe Mountains National Park in West Texas. This 1993 book won both the Agatha and Anthony awards for best first novel. An interesting read, it keeps moving, holds the reader's attention and does a good job developing the characters and vividly describing the setting.

from the back of the book:

The fascinating hero of Nevada Barr's award-winning series, park ranger Anna Pigeon has brought an unyielding love of nature and sense of fair play to the mystery genre. Track of the Cat is the acclaimed novel that first introduced readers to Anna, as a woman looking for peace in the wilderness-and finding murder instead...

Patrolling the remote West Texas backcountry, Anna's first job as a national park ranger is marred by violence she thought she had left behind: the brutal death of a fellow ranger. When the cause of death is chalked up to a mountain lion attack, Anna's rage knows no bounds. It's up to her to save the protected cats from the politics and prejudices of the locals-and prove the kill was the work of a species far less rare...

There are musical references scattered throughout. The first is on page 24 and mentions a tape, a boombox and Guy Clark's "Rita Ballou". On the next page there's mention of a new cassette tape with "I wanna be seduced" by The Chenille Sisters. They aren't frequent, but I found it a nice touch.

Here's the Guy Clark song: