Barr, Hamilton return in darker mystery

By JANE NORDBERG, DMG Writer

May 24, 2007

HOUGHTON — Amateur sleuth Robin Hamilton and her creator, award-winning journalist Nancy Barr, are at it again.

“Page One: Vanished,” is the second of Barr’s mystery novels, and highlights Hamilton’s quest to discover the fate of five young girls who have gone missing over a 30-year period. Like “Page One: Hit and Run,” Barr’s debut novel that was set in Escanaba, “Vanished” also features the Upper Peninsula places Barr has admired or called home.

“The U.P. is in many ways one small town,” she says of the novel which takes readers from Copper Harbor to Ishpeming and back.

“Here, we don’t think anything of driving an hour and a half to go shopping or attend a sporting event,” she said. “Distance is not the big deal it is in the larger areas.”

Barr has kept many of the supporting characters from her first novel. Hamilton’s father, Hank, continues in his role as advisor and protector, while Belle continues to ride shotgun and provide Hamilton with the kind of unquestioning devotion only a bassett hound can.

But with the addition of likably different Aunt Gina, Barr has introduced a character that will provide Hamilton with the impetus to deal with the early loss of her mother and the murder of her fiance; two events that she is unwilling to face.

“Robin has not dealt well with her loss,” Barr said. “In fact, she hasn’t dealt with it at all. Aunt Gina helps her learn that it’s okay to open up and break through.”

Barr admits that “Vanished” is considerably dark, taking the reader both into the secrets of the mortuary trade and into the minds of abductors of young girls.

The idea, she said, came from an Ozzy Osbourne song that in her own words, was “about a really sick guy.” That, and a fascination for funeral homes and the duties of funeral directors, led to the amalgamation that is real only in the literary sense.

Hancock funeral director Mark Dennis provided immeasurable help with her research into the hours a funeral director keeps and their impact on the family.

“I owe a lot to Mark,” she said. “It’s a very respectable profession and he was a tremendous help.”

Shrugging off the “sophomore curse,” Barr said the second book was much easier to write than the first.

“I like the story better, and I think I have a more confident writing style,” she said. “Robin is more real to me now.”

Barr is already at work on the third book in the series, called “Page One: White Out.” Set in Alger and Delta counties, the title refers to the U.P.’s legendary winters as well as its drug trade. For that novel, Barr will draw upon her experiences as a reporter with the Daily Press, where she covered drug cases on the law enforcement beat.

“It’s getting much more serious up here,” she said. “In fact, it’s alarming. Part of me hopes that book will be a wake-up call.”

“Page One: Vanished” is available at local bookstores for $16.95. A book launch is scheduled for June 2 at the Einerlei in Chassell, and Barr will give a talk on the writing and publication processes July 5 at 7 p.m. at Grandpa’s Barn in Copper Harbor. Registration is required for the Einerlei event.

In addition to two published novels, an essay Barr wrote on the U.P. that framed the setting for her first novel is being published in the the 100th edition of Mystery Scene Magazine, a publication for diehard mystery fans with a worldwide circulation of 12,000.

The magazine is available at many bookstores and at their Web site at www.mysteryscenemag.com.

Jane Nordberg can be reached at jnordberg@mininggazette.com