Page One: Hit and Run

Robin Hamilton #1

by Nancy Barr

Sassy, gutsy, reporter, Robin Hamilton investigates a murder in a small town where things are not always as they seem. No one can be trusted. As Robin covers the scoop of a hit and run for the local newspaper, a killer watches her every move. Tension builds as Robin discovers the killer's motives and becomes a target herself. Nancy Barr hits the ground running in this strong debut with enough twists and surprises to satisfy any reader. Her heroine, Robin Hamilton - a small-town reporter with a big heart - makes this a series to watch out for! Steve Hamilton, Edgar Award Winning author of A Stolen Season.

Genres: Mystery

216 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2006

About the author

A resident Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Nancy Barr grew up in the tiny town of Rapid River nestled at the top of Little Bay de Noc.
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 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, Arbutus Press) and "Page One: Vanished" (May 2007, Arbutus Press). She is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America."

Reviews

[Laura DeGrave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robin moved back to her hometown of Escanaba, taking her old reporting job at the local paper.
She partially witnessed a hit and run from her apartment window.
A friend of the family's son is indicted for murder.
How could she help when the boy wouldn't speak to his own mother?
Was he truly at fault, or had someone else been behind the wheel?
What lengths would Robin go to to unravel the twisted roads, pointing at the true culprit behind the scenes?
Action packed after the setup from daily character duldrum.
Some typos are easily looked over for the quality in storytelling content.

[Sandy D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery was set in Escanaba (in Michigan's UP), but aside from the lumber mill and a few scenes on the lakeshore, there wasn't much local color. The main character is a reporter, and the details on how she did her job were kind of interesting, but the whole book moved too slowly for me.

If I had to characterize this book, I'd say it was uneven. I might check out another by Barr (not to be confused with bestselling mystery writer Nevada Barr), she did do a fair job of making me interested in the main character's life. It was rather poorly edited, though, it was a little distracting to run across the word 'deSire' always with the S capitalized (maybe five-six times in the book).

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought these and several others by the author in the series primarily because she is a Michigan author and the location is the Upper Peninsula. Like another reviewer mentioned, this book does not feature the location much which I found disappointing. I love the Woods Cop mysteries and Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon's books because the locations are like a character.
This is the first book and I haven't read the others yet. This seems like a solid first effort for this genre. Not super great or riveting but quite readable.

[Susanbayscharter.net · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good mystery set in places I've been. This one starts with a body (of course) in the park in Escanaba, MI. Good yarn.Nancy Barr

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you enjoy regional mysteries this series is the perfect choice

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mystery. Looking forward to more.