Upper Peninsula

In 1927, while the majority of the township of Bath, Michigan, was celebrating a new primary school - one of the most modern in the Midwest - Andrew P. Kehoe had other plans. The local farmer and school board treasurer was educated, respected, and an accommodating neighbor and friend. But behind his ordinary demeanor was a narcissistic sadist seething with rage, resentment, and paranoia. On May 18 he detonated a set of rigged explosives with the sole purpose of destroying the school and everyone in it.

Sometimes the best way to learn about a unique region is to listen to the stories told by those who've actually lived there. You learn things that no guidebook would ever tell you. You meet unforgettable characters who've strayed far off the beaten path. And you see clearly again how the power of memory is so strong that they can still recall incidents decades later. Michigan's Upper Peninsula has always been filled with remarkable sensations and indelible stories.

Nate and Brooke Martin arrive at their summer cottage along the rapidly gentrifying Great Lakes shoreline. On a morning stroll along the beach, Nate finds an unusual gold coin half-buried in the sand. Where did it come from? Teaming up with reclusive ex-Coast Guard officer and Great Lakes master of the deep Abner Hutch, Nate dives for clues to the treasure's origins. But when word leaks that there may be a fortune hidden under the waves, they find themselves hunted by mega-rich residents up the coast who are willing to do anything to advance their extravagant lifestyles.

Back in 1981, publisher Ed Danner took a chance, hiring Nancy Besonen, a rookie reporter from Chicago's South Side, for his weekly newspaper, the L'Anse Sentinel. Her humor column, "Off the Hook," was ostensibly all about fishing, but she quickly cut loose, writing about anything relevant to life, especially in the Michigan's Upper Peninsula, as long as it made her readers smile.

For many of those who've lived there, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan can seem like a magical place because nature there feels so potent and, at times, full of mystery. After having grown up there, Raymond Luczak can certainly attest to its mythical powers. In Chlorophyll, he reimagines Lake Superior and its environs as well as his houseplants as a variety of imaginary and historical characters.

Copper mining is as ubiquitous to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as the automobile industry is to the Lower. Centuries before the first white man set foot in the New World, local natives used rocks to pound copper free from the earth, shaping it into goods traded across the continent. It was not long before European settlers followed up on the natives’ work, and when industry came to Copper Country, mines sprung up, quickly dominating the economy and lives of the Upper Peninsula’s residents.

"You Can Call Me Lucky" first appeared in Indian Country Noir, edited by Liz "Bootsie" Martinez and Sarah Cortez, and published by Akashic Books as part of their Noir series. Bootsie is a good friend of mine, and I had a hard time saying no when she beseeched me for a story. I felt unqualified, having minimal acquaintance with American Indians and their habitat. Then I thought of Indian casinos. And I remembered my nameless girlfriend, who'd thus far brightened Hell's Kitchen and Riverdale with her presence. No reason why she had to stay in the five boroughs of New York. Suppose she turned ...

Envision 10,000 mounted men of one of the best cavalries the world has ever produced strung out along 13 miles, marching around Robert E. Lee's right flank, taunting JEB Stuart to come out and fight. In one of the most thrilling and detailed accounts of one of the most important battles of the American Civil War, James Kidd tells this story and much more of the Michigan Wolverine Cavalry under the command of George Armstrong Custer.

Mystery Underground is a collection of scary short stories for kids, middle grade listeners, and everyone who likes a good scare. The stories combine the monsters and mystery of Goosebumps with the surprise endings of The Twilight Zone. They are the perfect scary stories to listen to in the dark, around a campfire, or under the covers at night with a flashlight.

During the mid-19th century, a quarter of a million travelers - men, women, and children - followed the "road across the plains" to gold rush California. This magnificent chronicle - the second installment of Will Bagley's sweeping Overland West series - captures the danger, excitement, and heartbreak of America's first great rush for riches and its enduring consequences.