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Hard Truth is the 13th Nevada Barr mystery and one of the strongest in the back half of the long Anna Pigeon series. Anna is on assignment at Rocky Mountain National Park when three teenage girls walk out of the wilderness after weeks missing from a religious camp. The girls survived. The girls are not telling anyone what happened.
Barr writes the high-altitude mountain environment with the precision a serious hiker brings to the subject. The procedural is solid. What makes the book work is the way Barr handles the girls themselves. Their silence is not a puzzle device. It is the human reality of how children process being preyed upon by people who have power over them.
The case resolves with weight. Anna's own life continues to be complicated in ways the series has been quietly developing. Four stars. Recommended for fans of the series and for readers who want their mysteries set in actual American landscapes.
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