Boar Island

In bestseller Barr’s fast-paced but sometimes predictable 19th Anna Pigeon novel (after 2014’s Destroyer Angel), the National Park Service ranger accepts a short-term assignment in Maine’s Acadia National Park. She’s joined by her friend Heath Jarrod, Heath’s spry Aunt Gwen Littleton, and 16-year-old Elizabeth, Heath’s adopted daughter and Anna’s goddaughter, who has been targeted by a vicious cyberstalker at home in Boulder, Colo. They soon realize that the stalker has followed Elizabeth to Maine, but because of jurisdictional issues and vague laws, the local police can do little. Meanwhile, Anna becomes involved in a murder investigation that pits her against a pathologically cunning, increasingly unstable adversary. Barr excels at conveying the often harsh realities faced by lobstermen and their families, though her depiction of the antagonist is less compelling and fails to achieve nuance or dimension. Still, readers looking for a lively escape in a rugged, brutal, but magnificent landscape should find plenty to enjoy. [em]150,000 first printing; author tour. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency. (May) [/em]