Copley O'Neal writes literary mystery novels in the tradition of P.D. James, Ruth Rendell, and Tana French, fiction that highlights character and the slow gathering of truth. A Death on Halconido follows Luiseño Detective Will Aguayo as he works a case on the San Diego mountain above his valley home, hunting for leads into the death of talented ornithologist Dr. Brandt Holme. But, as Aguayo soon finds out, the mountain community of Halconido has no intention of giving up its secrets that easily.
Another novel, The Garden Fair, is in progress.
Before she turned to writing fiction, Copley O'Neal taught writing to students at almost every grade level—elementary through university—and translated short stories and novellas from Russian into English. She holds degrees in Russian, Slavic Language and Literature, and Educational Leadership. Her doctoral dissertation was on Leo Tolstoy as a social reformer, though she'd rather be reading Chekhov.
She lives near the Pacific and writes before sunset.
