Flashback

Flashback puts Anna Pigeon at Dry Tortugas National Park, the cluster of small Gulf-of-Mexico islands seventy miles west of Key West that houses Fort Jefferson, a Civil War-era fortress that has become the park's primary attraction. The fortress is the setting. The case involves both a present-day disappearance and a 19th-century family history that Anna uncovers in the historical archives.

Nevada Barr handles the dual-timeline structure with the same care she brings to her present-day cases. The Civil War material is researched and written with the kind of attention that the form does not require. The Gulf weather (Anna's arrival, the storms, the heat) is one of the book's pleasures.

The case resolves with the appropriate weight. Anna's personal life continues to evolve in series-realistic ways. Four stars. A strong mid-period Pigeon entry.