Borderline Hardback - 2009

by Nevada Barr

New York Times-bestselling author Nevada Barrdelivers another extraordinary Anna Pigeon novel setin the wide open vistas of southwestern Texas. The killings on Isle Royale have left Anna drained andhaunted, her memories of her time with the wolf studygroup forever marred by the carnage on the island.Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, she is on administrativeleave, per her superintendent's urging. Anna wondersif the leave might not be permanent, either by her own choice orthat of the National Park Service. The one bright spot in Anna'slife is Paul, her husband of less than a year. Hoping the warmthand the adventure of a raft trip in Big Bend National Park will lifther spirits, Paul takes Anna to southwest Texas, where the sunis hot and the Rio Grande is running high. The sheer beauty ofthe Chihuahuan Desert and the power of the river work theirmagic-until the raft is lost in the rapids and a young collegestudent falls overboard, resulting in an even more grisly discovery.Caught in a strainer between two boulders and moredead than alive, is a pregnant woman, hair and arms tangled inthe downed branches. Instead of the soul-soothing experiencethey'd longed for, Anna and Paul find themselves sucked into alabyrinth of intrigue that leads from the Mexican desert to thesteps of the Governor's Mansion in Austin, Texas.