Book Review: “A Superior Death” by Nevada Barr

Feb 26

Håfa adai! Welcome to my review of A Superior Death, the second book of the Anna Pigeon Mystery series by Nevada Barr.

This book review consists of two parts: a spoiler-free plot summary and my thoughts on the story. In the second part, I give my personal rating and break down the setting and worldbuilding, storytelling, cast of characters, and themes. There may be some lightweight spoilers—such as how characters interact with each other and the world around them—but I will not give away any major plot twists or endings. I want to share my opinions of the book and maybe encourage you to purchase a copy of your own.

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Spoiler-Free Plot Summary

Law Enforcement Ranger Anna Pigeon left west Texas behind after following the tracks of a killer at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park to their shocking conclusion. Now stationed at the Isle Royale National Park in Michigan, Anna is ready for a new environment in and around the beauty of Lake Superior. Among the great attractions at Isle Royale National Park are the many historic shipwrecks and the ghostly wax-like remains of their lost crews resting at the lake’s floor, turning the Great Lake into a cemetery and drawing SCUBA wreck divers from all over the world. During what should have been a routine dive, a pair of park visitors capture footage of a sixth exceptionally well-preserved crew member in a sunken vessel known to the National Park Service to have had a crew of five. Anna doubts that years of previous NPS shipwreck surveys and observations from thousands of visitors incorrectly counted the vessel’s crew size. And Anna’s knowledge of the effects of Lake Superior on the near century-long decomposition of the ships and their crews informs her that this soul was lost much more recently.

My Thoughts on A Superior Death: 4 stars

A Superior Death is the second book in the Anna Pigeon mystery series. Written from Anna’s first-person perspective, this book features a different national park, an entirely different type of ecological environment, and new set of colleagues for Anna Pigeon to work with. As was the case with Track of the Cat, Nevada Barr provides vivid descriptions of the landscape Anna and other characters must navigate. It made me want to visit Isle Royale National Park! There are a few characters that reappear in A Superior Death that were initially introduced in Track of the Cat. To avoid giving away any spoilers for the first book, I will only talk about Anna and one other character.

Anna was not left unaffected by the murder and investigation that took place at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Although she chose to leave that national park in the aftermath of that event, she did not leave behind the lessons she learned from it. She has definitely grown a bit as a character since the first installment in the series. While there were some scenes in Track of the Cat that caused me to say “don’t do that ma’am,” I did not find myself thinking that in A Superior Death. Anna was smarter and employed more sense and situational awareness in this mystery, which adds a level of believability of the effects of the previous mystery on her overall character arc. This gradual growth is further supported by her relationship with her sister.

Anna’s older sister Molly is a psychiatrist in New York City. Just like in Track of the Cat, their interactions take place over a series of phone calls, illuminating more of Anna’s backstory as Anna works to aid the murder investigation. I can appreciate the way Anna and Molly’s relationship is portrayed. Their playful sibling dynamic is one that has believably evolved over the decades, taking new shapes while remaining strong in its foundation. Anna and Molly hold on to their endearing sisterly rituals and practices while respecting each other as authorities in their respective professional fields. As an eldest sister, I interpreted Anna’s pattern of wanting Molly’s perspective as that of a younger sister seeking her older sister’s advice and not as Anna trying to get free services (so to speak) from Molly as a psychiatrist.

In looking for clues to uncover who added a body to the historic shipwreck, Anna is lead down a messy path that I did not anticipate. The plot twists in A Superior Death are shocking and truly surprising. One particular plot twist was so intense that I had to restart the chapter to make sure I understood it properly and then audibly squealed when I realized I did in fact understand it perfectly well the first time around. It is not a plot twist that would warrant a trigger warning, but it will give any reader an intense feeling of disgust.

My rating for Nevada Barr’s A Superior Death is 4 out of 5 stars. I like how Anna Pigeon’s character arc has moved along in this second installment of the series. I feel that Nevada Barr writes positive platonic relationships between women really well. The plot twists were unexpected and heavy. The environment is very much treated as an important component of the mystery. And, again, Nevada Barr portrays social dynamics that are both outdated yet still observed today.

Dångkulo' na' saina ma'åse'! Thank you so much for reading my review of A Superior Death, the second book of the Anna Pigeon mystery series by Nevada Barr.

Rating Cheat Sheet

4.75 - 5.00 stars: Everyone should read this book! (If you’re into that sort of thing.)
4.00 - 4.50 stars: I appreciated many aspects of this book. I recommend it!
3.00 - 3.75 stars: I liked some aspects of this book. I won’t revisit it, but someone else might really like it.
2.00 - 2.75 stars: There were some things I appreciated about this book, but I do not recommend it.
0.25 - 1.75 stars: I do not recommend this book. I did not enjoy or appreciate the experience of it.

Post Date: 30 June 2025