Mystery and Murder in Karluk Bones by Robin Barefield

Robin Barefield might be new to you–she is to me!–but this book will find a place on my shelf!

Karluk Bones blurb:

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?

Karluk Bones link on Amazon

Excerpt:
I turned and ran into a thick mass of alders and willows. The rifle blast nearly deafened me, but somehow, the bullet missed me. I pushed through a willow thicket and found a narrow game trail on the other side. I could move much faster on the game trail, but so could the man, and I was also a much easier target out in the open.

I ran a short distance down the trail and heard the loud report of the rifle again. A bullet struck a tree in front of me, and I darted back into the thick brush and pushed through the undergrowth. This area showed no damage from the fire in May, and I struggled through the jungle-like growth. I lost my sense of direction while fighting through willows and alders, and I didn’t know if I was heading toward the lakeshore or away from it. I did not want to emerge on the open shore where the guy could easily spot and shoot me.

I tried not to make noise but found it impossible to hurry through the willows without breaking branches. When I exited into a small clearing, I expected my assailant to be waiting, but I saw no sign of him. I found another game trail leading back toward my camp, and I ran down it, tripping once over a fallen branch. I recovered my balance and began to feel I’d temporarily lost my pursuer when a powerful force slammed into my left shoulder and sent me toppling. I lay on the ground dazed, unsure what had happened. I didn’t remember hearing a blast, but there must have been one. I’d been shot.

Interview:
NA: How did you come up with the idea for your book?
RB: I write a true-crime newsletter about murder and mystery in Alaska, and I based Karluk Bones on two of the stories I’ve covered in my newsletter as well as on a horrific experience a friend endured, and on a psychopathic trapper who threatened my husband’s family. The plot for Karluk Bones percolated in my brain for a long time as I thought of a way to combine these tales. Of course, I tweaked the stories to fit my plot, but they prove truth is often stranger than fiction.

NA: What sort of research did you do to write this book?
RB: The most challenging research I did for this book was learning what a forensic anthropologist can decipher from old bones. I thought it would take only an hour or two to research all the questions my protagonist needed to ask the forensic anthropologist, but the answers to those questions turned out to be tougher than I expected. Most of the material I found was either too simplistic or too complicated. By the time I finished my research, I’d learned a great deal about bones, and my protagonist was able to get the answers she needed.

NA: A fun fact about writing your book
RB: As I mentioned, I mostly based this book on a terrible incident that happened to a friend of mine. When the book was released, he immediately ordered the Kindle version, and he was thrilled when I recently sent him a signed copy of the print version. I felt excited and a little relieved to receive his approval and know he was excited to be a part of the book.

NA: Do you have a full-time job?
RB: Yes, my husband and I own a lodge on Kodiak Island in Alaska, and the lodge is open from May until late November. In the summer, I work as a fishing and wildlife-viewing guide. We operate seven days a week with few breaks, so writing can be a challenge. I always carry a notebook and write whenever I have a few minutes. Since I write wilderness mysteries, I love writing when I’m surrounded by nature.

NA: What started you on the path to writing?
RB: I started writing when my mother had cancer, and I sat by her bed during her final weeks. I was very depressed and decided I should write down my thoughts. Before I knew it, though, I’d written several pages about a woman who escaped her dying mother’s hospital room for a few minutes to drive in the country. A car sped down the road past her, missed a turn, and catapulted into a wheat field. The woman found the driver near death, and he whispered a last nonsensical message to her.

Within no time, I’d discovered a way momentarily to escape my grief, and I’ve never stopped writing since then.

NA: What is the biggest surprise you had after becoming a writer?
RB: Writing is hard, lonely work, but the biggest surprise I’ve had is how much I love it. I’m much happier when I’m writing, and if I’ve had a bad day, I close myself in my room and write. Now, I believe I need to write to remain sane.

NA: Do you outline books ahead of time, or are you more of a by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer?
RB: I fall somewhere in the middle. I always develop an outline, but it’s not a tight outline. I know where I’m headed in the story, but I allow myself some wiggle room. Thoughts and ideas come to me while I’m writing, and often, these ideas make my story better. I don’t want an outline to hem me in so much that I can’t incorporate new ideas and storylines.

NA: What has been one of your most rewarding experiences as an author?
RB: I live in the middle of the wilderness in Alaska, so I don’t meet many authors here. My publisher, though, put together a group of authors to help each other promote our books (https://authormasterminds.com), and we meet once a week online. I love the camaraderie I feel with these other authors. I also enjoy meeting and getting to know authors such as Dee and Jan. We live in separate areas of the world, but we understand the joys and frustrations of being an author. I would never have enjoyed the pleasure of meeting Dee and Jan if I didn’t write books!

NA: When you’re not writing, what do you do?
RB: When I’m not writing or podcasting or working at our lodge, I love making dichroic glass jewelry and weaving antler baskets. I sell both my jewelry and my baskets and use the proceeds to pay for editing and publicity for my books.

NA: Why did you choose the shirt you have on?
RB: It’s comfortable and warm. It’s snowing and windy here tonight, so warm is essential!

NA: First thought when the alarm goes off in the morning.
RB: No!! Then, I plan my writing projects for the day.

NA: Strangest place you’ve brushed your teeth.
RB: I camp a lot, so I’ve brushed my teeth in many strange places, but I guess the most challenging place was near Karluk Lake, where we had a camp in the middle of a large concentration of huge brown bears. I brushed my teeth outside my tent in the woods, so I either waited until it was light, or I brushed my teeth very quickly in the dark.

NA: What are you working on now?
RB: I am now working on my next novel as well as a non-fiction book about the wildlife of Kodiak Island. I write a monthly newsletter about real murder and mystery in Alaska, and I have a podcast: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier, available at https://murder-in-the-last-frontier.blubrry.net

NA: Why do you set your stories in the Alaska wilderness?
RB: I believe the adage: write what you know. I’ve lived in the Alaska wilderness for 35 years, so I am very comfortable writing novels set in the wilderness. I wouldn’t be good at writing a story set in Los Angeles or New York City.

Meet Robin Barefield:

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 four novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, and Karluk Bones. 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, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier.

Robin is a charter member of Author Masterminds.

Watch a short webinar about how Robin became a published author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries.

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