Karluk Bones: A Kodiak, Alaska Wilderness Mystery Novel

by Robin Barefield

When two men, recently discharged from the air force, set out for a hunting trip on Kodiak Island in Alaska, they expect the adventure of a lifetime. Instead, they find themselves embroiled in a never-ending nightmare. More than forty years later, biologist Jane Marcus and her friends discover human remains near Karluk Lake in the middle of the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. Jane soon learns a bullet was responsible for shattering the skull they found. What happened? Was the gunshot wound the result of a suicide, or was it homicide? Who was this individual who died in the middle of the wilderness, and when did he die? Jane can't stop asking questions, and she turns to Alaska State Trooper Sergeant Dan Patterson for answers. Sergeant Patterson doesn't have time for Jane and her questions because he is investigating the recent murder of a floatplane pilot on the island. Was the pilot shot by one of his passengers, by another pilot, by campers in the area where his body was found, or did his wife hire someone to kill him? The number of suspects in the case overwhelms Patterson, but a notebook in the pocket of the dead pilot provides clues to the last weeks of the pilot's life. With no time to spare for old bones, Patterson gives Jane permission to research the remains she found near Karluk Lake. Jane's investigation into the bones seems harmless to Patterson, but she awakens a decades-old crime which some believed they'd buried long ago. Will Patterson find who murdered the pilot before the killer leaves the island, and will Jane's curiosity put her life in danger? What evil lurks at Karluk Lake?

318 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2019

About the author

Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published three novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing.

Robin invites you to join her at her website: http://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, you can sign up for her free, monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin is also a charter member of Author Masterminds: https://authormasterminds.com/robinba....

If you would like to watch a short webinar about how Robin became a published author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries, follow this link: http://bit.ly/2pcCOo6
At the end of the webinar, you will be able to download a free copy of one of Robin’s novels.

Reviews

[Denise Plank · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for our Library Book Club and, honestly, at first I thought it was going to be difficult to get through. I found a chronological gaffe in the first few pages, and the narrative was--at first--mediocre, so I figured I'd just get through it for the sake of the meeting coming up.

However, the story line/narrative did pick up and I did get to a place where I wanted to know how it ended, so that's good! But there were other editorial issues throughout the book--missing words, naming the character as Jake when it should have been Patterson in a certain paragraph--but nothing so bad that I couldn't finish the book. (I've been a proofreader, so these things catch my attention.) There were other stereotypical phrases used that I felt could have been written differently (like, the trooper was given a task to do, "puffed out his chest" and said he would get it done. Really? I think I did an eyeroll over that one.), but altogether it wasn't a bad read. I did like the short chapters, for some reason I haven't identified yet.

For those who ask: no language issues and no gratuitous sex.

Would I read it again? I don't know...maybe? It wasn't that bad of a read, once I got through the first part. Would I recommend it? Probably.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost gave this a 4 but I think it was just my mood to read a crime novel. I did like it, which is a 3...and I liked that it was accurate to Alaska. It was entertaining. I liked that it was 4 stories pieced together. I'm tempted to read the one before it. It might have helped that I hurt my back and was able to read it over a short time span.

[Phyllis Searles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relatable. Alaskan… straight details. Friendly, believable.
Float plane pilots are larger than life in many ways and for good reason. Forgotten passengers? Excellent plot line.

[Rebecca Wetzler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The hallmark of a tantalizing whodunit is keeping the reader guessing who the culprit is until the very end. ‘Karluk Bones’ by Robin Barefield, who writes about Murder in Alaska Wilderness and is a charter member of Author Masterminds, is a stellar example. Living literally in the Alaska wilderness at a wildlife camp herself, this author skillfully weaves the mystery through places and references Alaskans will find familiar. I appreciated her using Wien Airlines in her story, long defunct, run off by the big guys decades ago, but a nice nostalgic reminder of an actual business back in the day. Even my hometown was mentioned in the storyline. Readers may be surprised by the frequent use of floatplanes; however, it is the only transportation to get to much of the remote wilderness. This wilderness is the stage for an old and new mystery inexplicably related – read it, perhaps you will figure it out faster than I did.