Anna Pigeon is a National Park Ranger travelling to national parks around the United States and solving mysteries. The wonderful concept has resonated with readers, who love visiting the parks through the books.

Nevada Barr, who worked as a park ranger for eight years, brings such authenticity when describing the parks that she has inspired many fans to visit the parks in person. Nevada’s extra knowledge also provides readers with a fun “behind the scenes” look at how park operations work that is expertly woven into the plots of the books.

The strong-willed, likeable Pigeon gets into a lot of trouble on her adventures, and Nevada admits that some of the Anna Pigeon books are “more thriller than mystery” because she finds action fun to write, although some readers note that the later books in the series are edgier and darker in tone than the earlier books.

The Anna Pigeon books don’t have to be read in order to enjoy them, but readers recommend doing so to follow the character’s development. The Rope (Book 17) is chronologically a prequel to the series, but readers will likely enjoy it more after reading some of the books beforehand and learning more about Pigeon.