Blood Lure

Blood Lure puts Anna Pigeon at Glacier National Park during a grizzly-bear research project that turns into a murder investigation when one of the researchers is killed in what initially appears to be a bear attack. The setting is one of Nevada Barr's best uses of a particular American landscape; the Northern Rockies are rendered with the careful precision a serious hiker brings to writing about them.

The case requires Anna to balance the scientific research community's assumptions, the National Park Service's political calculations, and the specific tactical question of what a bear attack actually looks like in evidence. Barr handles all three with the kind of insider attention the series rewards.

Four stars. One of the stronger entries in the long Pigeon sequence. Recommended for readers who want their procedurals set in actual American landscapes.