Murder in Derbyshire “It is my belief, Watson, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.” The words of Sherlock Holmes to Dr. Watson in The Copper Beeches sum up my aims when I decided to set my Cooper […]

Why I Write The first money I ever made was for playing trumpet in a polka band at a Polish picnic on the shores of Candlewood Lake in Connecticut. I was 12 years old and the accordionist and the drummer and the clarinetist and the tuba player were all grown men. At the end of […]

The Mysterious Chill of the Arctic In the popular kids’ story, honey-loving Winnie-the-Pooh bear asks Christopher Robin, “What is the North Pole?” Not quite sure of himself, Christopher Robin replies, “Just a thing you discover.”Maybe the most remarkable thing about the Arctic, topped by the North Pole, is precisely the way it has resisted discovery. […]