Trina Brooks draws on family stories-not AI-to power her Northern Mystery Series
Novelist Trina Brooks is doubling down on craft. Her newest instalment, A Killing in Copper Cliff, is built from family history, lived memory and place-not generated shortcuts.
She's clear about it: "Using AI to write a novel is no different than buying someone else's book and putting your name on it." Her promise to readers is simple: a fully original story, written by hand, line by line.
Inside A Killing in Copper Cliff
The book returns to 1953, long before annexation, set between Copper Cliff and Greater Sudbury. OPP Insp. Victor Lapointe is back, drawn into a murder with an unexpected victim and a witness who can't remember what happened.
At Sudbury General Hospital, psychologist Eleanor Dupuis is the first female doctor on staff. She's caught between a patient who doesn't want to remember and a detective who needs the truth before the case slips away.
What writers can learn from Brooks' stance
- Source from your people: interview family, capture dialect, gather anecdotes. Real memory gives you details algorithms can't fake.
- Make place do work: treat setting as a character. Map streets, smells, jobs and weather patterns your cast can't ignore.
- Pick a hard constraint: year, town, profession, one core mystery. Constraints sharpen choices and keep scenes focused.
- Let roles collide: a detective who needs answers and a psychologist guarding a patient's mind-clean tension without gimmicks.
Brooks' process, in her words
She refuses to "hand over her originality, her voice and her craftsmanship." The draft is the work; the work is the point.
That means every page is earned. Readers feel it, and they return for it.
Practical prompts for your next draft
- List five true family stories that still get told. Pick one detail (a tool, a kitchen, a superstition) and build a scene around it.
- Walk your setting. Note sounds, signage, old buildings, and what's gone. Write one paragraph per sense before you script dialogue.
- Design a memory gap: what's the one missing fact your plot depends on, and who loses if it stays hidden?
- Write a values clash: put two good people on opposite sides of a necessary decision. Keep both honest.
The series DNA
The Northern Mystery Series traces back to Brooks' summers in Creighton Mine, Lively, Mattawa and Sudbury. The first book, The Barren Hills of Creighton, introduced Insp. Victor Lapointe; the new novel pushes him into deeper waters.
Readers can expect local landmarks-some still standing, some not-and a case that trades spectacle for truth. The suspense comes from secrets, not special effects.
Why this matters
Tools can speed admin, but voice comes from lived input: memory, place and conflict. Brooks shows a simple path-choose a world you know, champion your characters and put pressure on what they care about.
If you're a writer, that's your edge. Consistency beats shortcuts.
Quick context
- Era: 1953 Northern Ontario.
- Lead: OPP Insp. Victor Lapointe (Ontario Provincial Police).
- Counterweight: Dr. Eleanor Dupuis, first female doctor at Sudbury General Hospital.
- Core question: With a witness who can't remember, who was the real target?
Brooks lives in London with her husband and two cats, and her readers are already asking for more. The throughline is clear: traditional storytelling, fully authored, one sentence at a time.
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