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This episode is far from being "cozy" Park ranger Anna Pigeon has taken an assignment in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, unfortunately many states away from her new husband Paul back in Mississippi. This is Anna Pigeon's darkest encounter yet, with the danger buried not in Mother Nature, but in the embodiment of some truly sinister human beings. Her near partner-against-crime is an unlikely woman in a wheelchair. Heath Jarrod is a former rock climber who is now paralyzed after falling from a cliff. The two are both such strong women that they don't immediately hit it off. But both are making every effort to right the numerous wrongs in the situations they find themselves in. The issues here are disturbing but far too real: kidnapping, child abuse, religious cults, serial killings. Serious stuff. Anna realizes who the perpetrator is with one third of the book to go. She spends the rest of that time in an attempt not to catch the person, but making every effort to get away and get safe. And it's a long struggle in the remote wilds of Rocky Mountain National Park. I was captivated by the turn of events and the characters and read the last half of the book with both curiosity and dread. I like to be mystified, but I don't like to be scared. I don't watch horror movies and I don't usually read dark and sinister stuff. That being said, I think HARD TRUTH may be the last Anna Pigeon book for me. I've read each book in the series and have enjoyed them overall, especially as they are set in such wonderful surroundings. But the darkness and the violence is getting too much for naive, little me. I wish Ms. Barr and Anna well, and maybe our paths will cross again someday. HARD TRUTH is an intriguing, suspenseful, well-crafted story that could all too easily be true. Be afraid, be very afraid!