Page One: Whiteout (Robin Hamilton Mysteries) [Paperback]

Nancy Barr (Author)

Book Description

Series: Robin Hamilton Mysteries | Publication Date: November 1, 2009

The third book in the Robin Hamilton mystery series set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Growing up on the northern shore of Lake Michigan in the town of Escanaba, Michigan, Robin Hamilton couldn't wait to get away from the isolation and cold, snowy weather to the bright lights of Chicago and a job with the Tribune. After her fiance Mitch, a suburban Chicago cop, is gunned down while on duty, Robin escapes back to the peace and quiet of her Upper Peninsula hometown, but finds that neither distance nor a job with the local paper can erase the memories, nightmares and questions of who killed Mitch.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Barr, Nancy. Page One: Whiteout. Arbutus. Nov. 2009. c.160p. ISBN 978-1-933926-17-9. pap. $17.95. M Following a lead that might identify her fiancé's killer, reporter Robin Hamilton (Page One: Hit and Run; Page One: Vanished) finds something very dangerous in the small Upper Peninsula town of Escanaba, MI. VERDICT Nicely plotted with good characterization, this Midwestern mystery will appeal to Steve Hamilton fans. --Library Journal - November 1, 2009

Page One: Whiteout by Houghton, Michigan author Nancy Barr (Arbutus Press, $19.95) marks the return of Robin Hamilton, an inquisitive newspaper reporter in the Upper Peninsula town of Escanaba. Hamilton is still recovering from the loss of her fiance Mitch, a suburban Chicago police officer who was murdered while on duty. Nick Granati, a Chicago cop and a close friend of Mitch's, has information that a hired killer was involved and needs Hamiliton's assistance to prove it. This requires a trip to Florida, where other Granati family members join in. One exciting action-packed scene could easily have been ripped from the storyboards of an old Miami Vice episode. The action shifts back to Escanaba, where a local teenage drug dealer has severe problems; the body count rises but a nifty, snowy confrontation provides final closure. Aunt Gina, one of the most interesting characters, is worthy of a series by herself. Barr is in fine form; Michigan mystery fans may also enjoy her earlier books: Page One: Hit and Run and Page One: Vanished. Reviewer: Ray Walsh, owner of East Lansing's Curious Book Shop, has reviewed crime novels and noir thrillers regularly since 1987. --Lansing State Journal - November 8, 2009

About the Author

Nancy Barr was an award winning journalist for more than ten years. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. She lives in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Arbutus Press (November 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933926171
• ISBN-13: 978-1933926179
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,559,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A transplant to Michigan's Upper Peninsula at the age of 9, Nancy Barr grew up in the tiny town of Rapid River nestled at the top of Little Bay de Noc. She has degrees from Bay de Noc Community College and Lake Superior State University and is working on a master's degree at Michigan Technological University.

Her favorite memories as a young child are of weekly trips to the neighborhood library with her late mother to spend hours poring over books of all kinds. Her love of reading and writing led her to a career in newspaper journalism where she spent several years covering police, courts, schools and local governments for the Daily Press in Escanaba. She served as news editor at the Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton for three years and now works at Michigan Technological University.

An animal aficionado, she lives on the Keweenaw Peninsula with three demanding, but lovable, cats. When not writing, Nancy enjoys hiking and photographing the natural beauty that abounds in the Upper Peninsula.

Her novels include "Page One: Hit and Run" (July 2006), "Page One: Vanished" (May 2007)and "Page One: Whiteout" (November 2009), all from Arbutus Press.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Non-stop thrilling action, November 15, 2009

By 

S. Lippincott - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Page One: Whiteout (Robin Hamilton Mysteries) (Paperback)

Perhaps it's the unusual location in Escanaba, a small town on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, a seemingly mysterious part of the country few people in the rest of the country know much about, that sets this story apart. Perhaps it's the tender toughness of Robin Hamilton, a young reporter swept up a bloody series of events as she seeks resolution following the still unsolved murder nine months earlier in Crescent, Illinois of her police officer fiancé Mitch Montgomery that caught my interest and sticks in my mind. For sure, the non-stop thrilling action kept my eyes glued to the pages of the latest Robin Hamilton mystery. The delicately swelling buds of romance with Nick Granati, Mitch's close friend who shows up on Robin's doorstep with new information, add extra interest.

The story starts a bit slowly as author Nancy Barr flies through groundwork covered in the previous two stories in this series, but it doesn't take long for the first body to appear. From there on, pages fly by as Robin and her cohort of Nick Granati, her finance's best friend, his cousin Tony, and her friend Charlie Baker, a local policeman, find themselves in one perilous situation after another. Several sinister scenarios unfold, involving forces that could span the globe. It seems unimaginable that such dealings could be going on in quiet little Escanaba. As the story develops, several seeming coincidences in Robin's life the previous few months begin assembling into a larger picture, leading to a stunning conclusion.

A supporting cast of secondary characters, including Robin's dog Belle, flows through the story to lend color and atmosphere. They range from Robin's eccentric professor aunt who is into auras and esp to Nick's mob-connected uncle and various drug users in the Escanaba area. Nancy Barr portrays each character so deftly that, for example, whether she mentioned it or not, I see a dimple in Nick's chin, the gleam of his smile and a twinkle in his eye. I feel Shasta's steely resolve, Tony's tender compassion, and the occasional stabbing intensity of Robin's freshly renewed grief.

She deftly describes the area around Escanaba so well I feel I could get around without a map. But the real thrill is the sense of having ridden along with Robin as she survived an Upper Peninsula whiteout blizzard and came out victorious. She is right up there with Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone or Susan Albert's China Bayles as someone I want to stay in touch with over the years, as the volumes continue to emerge.

If you love a masterfully-crafted mystery with plenty of gripping action, this is one you won't want to miss.

5.0 out of 5 stars BOOK, December 30, 2011

By 

MARLENE - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Page One: Whiteout (Robin Hamilton Mysteries) (Paperback)

I RECENTLY BROUGHT A BOOK ENTITLED "WHITEOUT" BY NANCY BARR.
THIS IS A MURDER MYSTERY BOOK. THE WRITE IS LIKE THE NANCY DREW SERIES.
I WAS VERY PLEASED WITH THE BOOK I RECEIVED.
THANK YOU, MARLENE

5.0 out of 5 stars Scary, but accurate fictionalization of drug trade, April 15, 2010

By 

Soaring Gull (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Page One: Whiteout (Robin Hamilton Mysteries) (Paperback)

I have read all three books in this trilogy and have to say this was by far the best, although "Page One: Vanished" had an awesome conclusion. I was glad to see the main character move beyond the boundaries of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Her ultimate goal from the first page of the first book was to resolve the mystery surrounding her fiance's death so it wouldn't make sense to have her try to solve the case while staying in the U.P. From a law enforcement perspective, this last installment is a very realistic portrayal of how the drug community operates in small towns and big cities alike and how it's all connected, sad to say.

I recommend reading all three books in a row. You will get a rich, full character progression as each person makes choices based on the actions of those around him/her. The conclusion of the trilogy was satisfying in that Robin realizes she can't wallow in her own misery, a lesson for all of us. I hope the author is considering doing a series based on Robin's Aunt Gina because she is so unique and fun.