Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) -
Destroyer Angel, the newest addition to Nevada Barrs Anna Pigeon series, is set in the Minnesota woods. Anna is on a camping / canoeing trip with 2 friends and their teenage daughters, a trip that is interrupted by armed thugs who kidnap the 4 women while Anna is off by herself. Her task is to do what she can to rescue them without getting captured or killed in the process.
I found this book to be a radical departure from the earlier works in this series.
For one thing, this is not a whodunit we know darn well whos doing it from the outset but more like a whydunit, trying to figure out the motivation of a group of kidnappers in the Minnesota woods. Suspense fans may love this change, murder mystery fans may dislike it, while fans who like both types of novels may not give it a second thought. (And note that I said woods; were on Forest Service land in this one, not in or near a National Park.)
Secondly, the books pacing is close to real-time, perhaps reaching out to fans of Dan Browns books and the television series 24. These are not bad things, as Barr carries them off quite nicely in my opinion. However they are things that some fans of the series may not like simply because they deviate from the general formula.
The quality was still there in fact, I think I enjoyed Destroyer Angel more than Burn and The Rope, which were the last 2 books in this series. (And yes, I DID like those two books.) THAT is what was most important to me.
RATING: A qualified 5 stars. Nevada, A Superior Death and Firestorm are still my favorite 2 books in the series. However, it is not fair to not allow for gradients of a 5 star rating. This book was extremely well written, caught and kept my attention, had likeable characters, and will remain with me after Ive moved on to my next book. Those are my qualifications for 5 star, and you met them. (Perhaps we can consider the other 2 books to be a 5+ as a compromise.)
I found this book to be a radical departure from the earlier works in this series.
For one thing, this is not a whodunit we know darn well whos doing it from the outset but more like a whydunit, trying to figure out the motivation of a group of kidnappers in the Minnesota woods. Suspense fans may love this change, murder mystery fans may dislike it, while fans who like both types of novels may not give it a second thought. (And note that I said woods; were on Forest Service land in this one, not in or near a National Park.)
Secondly, the books pacing is close to real-time, perhaps reaching out to fans of Dan Browns books and the television series 24. These are not bad things, as Barr carries them off quite nicely in my opinion. However they are things that some fans of the series may not like simply because they deviate from the general formula.
The quality was still there in fact, I think I enjoyed Destroyer Angel more than Burn and The Rope, which were the last 2 books in this series. (And yes, I DID like those two books.) THAT is what was most important to me.
RATING: A qualified 5 stars. Nevada, A Superior Death and Firestorm are still my favorite 2 books in the series. However, it is not fair to not allow for gradients of a 5 star rating. This book was extremely well written, caught and kept my attention, had likeable characters, and will remain with me after Ive moved on to my next book. Those are my qualifications for 5 star, and you met them. (Perhaps we can consider the other 2 books to be a 5+ as a compromise.)
