Tucked in a nook of Lake Michigan called Little Bay de Noc, the town of Escanaba, Mich., beckons to walleye anglers, hunters and campers in the summer. Little do they know it is also home to a murderer or two.

That's the basis Nancy Barr's debut mystery novel, Page One: Hit and Run, now available through Arbutus Press, a Michigan-based publishing house. An award-winning newspaper reporter and editor, Barr puts her journalistic knowledge to use with the creation of a unique protagonist, Robin Hamilton. Like many small-town natives, Robin left the quiet, idyllic existence of Escanaba for an investigative reporting job in Chicago. But when her police officer fiancé is assassinated on a deserted road in the dead of night, Robin needs the warmth and comfort of familiar, boring old Escanaba.

After just a few months back home in her old reporting job at the Daily Press, a prominent accountant is run over while walking in the park one morning and left to die. When the son of an old family friend is implicated, Robin is asked to help clear his name. Still mourning the loss of her fiancé, Robin must put her grief aside and follow a trail of deception that goes back more than 30 years.

Steve Hamilton, author of the Alex McKnight mystery series set in Paradise, Mich., praised Page One: Hit and Run by saying "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!"

Author of the Death on Demand and O'Henry mysteries, Carolyn Hart said, "Page One: Hit and Run by Nancy Barr grips the reader as the fast-paced narrative unfolds. The debut mystery launches appealing new sleuth Robin Hamilton, who uses her reporter's skills and small-town savvy to unmask a wily murderer."

Page One: Hit and Run is the first in the Robin Hamilton series, which Barr said will follow Robin's journey through the grieving process and how hard it is to go home again. Each novel in the series will feature locales in the rugged Upper Peninsula.