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This series by Nevada Barr is not one I regularly read but should because I always enjoy it. I came across this particular audiobook , 'Borderline' and I noticed that it was narrated by Barbara Rosenblat, who is one of my favorite performers so I couldn't resist listening.

I have skipped around in this series. 'Borderline' is #15 and after I started listening I realized that it would have been better to have listened to #14 first. 'Borderline' picks up where the story ended in 'Winter Study' (#14). Anna Pigeon, a park ranger with the National Park Service has recently been put on administrative leave because of an incident which occurred at Isle Royale National Park near Lake Superior, where she was working with a group of scientists who were conducting a study of the wolves living in the park. Anna had ended up killing a man in the course of her duties as park ranger and is now suffering from diagnosed PTSD.

Anna's husband Paul, to whom she has been married to for less than a year, convinces her to take a trip with him to Big Bend National Park for a rafting trip. The two are hoping that a few days on the Rio Grande will be a balm of sorts to soothe and lift her spirits. Of COURSE, that isn't EXACTLY what happens�..

Their first day on the river passes uneventfully; but on the second day the group�. which consists of Anna, Paul, their rafting guide Carmen and a group of 4 college students on vacation� discover an emaciated cow who had become stranded on the cliffs surrounding the river. After a harrowing rescue, the group situates the frightened cow (whom they name Easter) into the raft and continue to make their way downstream. They quickly realize, however, that during the time they were rescuing Easter, the river had begun to rise and was continuing to rise at an alarming rate. Despite being given instructions on how to maneuver the raft in high, quick flowing water, the students panic and the raft becomes hung up on boulders and begins filling with river water. Of course, Easter then begins to panic and one of the cow's horns poke a hole in the raft. The group, wearing life jackets, make their way to safety�. only to discover a woman's body! The woman looks to be hispanic, near death and VERY pregnant; and Anna finds herself in the position of delivering the baby through caesarian section. And as if all of these mishaps aren't enough for the group to endure�. when Carmen climbs the cliff to attempt to get a signal for her satellite phone to obtain rescue for the group, she is shot by a gunman who is perched on the boulders above her.

Anna and Paul (who happens to be a sheriff of a small town in Mississippi) find themselves in charge of a new baby and a group of terrified college students� with no supplies and a gunman on the cliffs. Is the gunman a psychotic whose idea of fun is shooting at river rafters on vacation? Or is something more sinister going on? As in many of the mysteries I have read lately, politics plays an important role in Anna Pigeon's action-packed Texas adventure�. the national, state and local politics surrounding border security and illegal immigration of course. Throw in a politician who is becoming emotionally unhinged for a very personal reason and you have the makings of an interesting and adventurous story.

I really enjoyed this Anna Pigeon mystery. I enjoy this series because each book takes place in one of the beautiful national parks under the purview of the National Parks Service. Anna is a middle-aged woman who is by no means soft and sweet. She is most comfortable when she is alone in the wilderness; she is intelligent and sharp tongued and maintains her cool in a crisis. I recommend this book; but I also recommend reading the books in the series in order. Although I had no problem following the story, I was a bit in the dark regarding the emotional issues Anna was dealing with from the previous story.