Welcome! ... to the official online resource for news and information about Page Erwin, author of the Sam Barrows series of Maine mystery novels. Scroll down the navigation bar to your left for information about Downeast Maine, the residents of mythical Venice, Maine, a list of Page Erwin's 80 favorite Mystery authors, and much, much more.

Page Erwin's newest mystery novel, "Bones of Contention", is scheduled for publication August 2008.

Page Erwin's first mystery novel, "Bloodsport at Hiram Bog", published by Hilliard and Harris, is a literary mystery novel, character driven and rich in description of Maine rural life. The residents of Venice, Maine, a waning town of 800 souls in the downeast hill country, struggle to find their place in the twenty-first century.

REVIEWS:

"Bones of Contention" :

"BONES OF CONTENTION showcases the real Maine of Carolyn Chute, not the glossy L.L. Bean version. In Page Erwin's highly capable hands you smell the salt air, taste the bean supper and feel the morning fog's chill. This Downeast page-turner is one terrific traditional mystery" - Julia Spencer-Fleming, Edgar finalist and author of I SHALL NOT WANT

Bloodsport at Hiram Bog":

"This mystery eludes the reader until the final pages while tracing out characters and their interrelationships that convincingly reveal a Maine community (with its) many characters, a townful, to coin a word, which invites a second reading. How Maine is this book? There is an authenticity in it which will ruffle more than a few feathers. A creative writing should enhance change, either through revelation to an unknowing readership or through penetrating characterization. (This) book has both." — Sam Gelber, Artist and Reader

"An authentic portrait of rural Maine. Page Erwin has produced an authentic portrait of rural Maine, one that avoids stereotypes. The inhabitants of Thoreau County are not characters, but individuals from the Sheriff to the murderer. Especially fine also are the descriptions of the natural world surrounding this varied group. A good book to curl up with on a cold, wintry night." — MysteryLover (Sanpere Island, ME)

“Aficionados of 'the real Maine' will love this book. It takes place in the mythical town of Venice, and like the Beans of Egypt Maine, the gritty realities of poverty are evident. The characters are finely drawn, from Earl, the Cheez-Its-eating ice fisherman who finds the body, (and yes, this novel does take place in Maine's finest season) to the book's hero Sam, the attractive slightly befuddled, cop-hero. It is a story with a rough edge and many surprises. A close-up look at a small Maine town, with old-timers and new-comers and tensions and undercurrents. But, best of all, it is set in our beloved Maine, where "huge hay bales with dollops of half-melted snow on top of them dotted many of the fields, edged by dark borders of spruce and pine." — Left Bank Books, Searsport, Maine.

"The authors bring a Maine January to life with their vivid descriptions of the snowy landcape, capricious weather, and authentic dialogue by the many colorful suspects Barrows and Zucchetti interview. ... What finally breaks the case in a January thaw that reveals, then refreezes evidence, is, as in life, as much happenstance as dogged sleuthing. "Walk down this road awhile."
— Albert Noyer, author of the Getorius and Arcadia Mystery series: "The Saint's Day Deaths", "The Cybelene Conspiracy", and "The Secundus Papyrus".

"Page Erwin has captured the beauty and desolation of a Down East winter and the insularity and independence of its denizens, and wrapped them in a plausible but ingenious puzzle. I hope to see more of Sheriff Sam Barrows and his motley crew of deputies."
— Clyde Linsley, author of "Die Like a Hero", "Saving Louisa", and "Death of a Mill Girl". (Berkley Press).

“Poetic passages describe the wintry weather and varied landscapes uniquely enhancing this Maine mystery. The images and colors, sounds and even smells enrich and involve all the reader’s senses. Stimulating!” — Blanche L. Gelber