Robin W.A. Cook; Wrote Mysteries as Derek Raymond

Robin William Arthur Cook, 63, British mystery writer who used the pen name Derek Raymond to avoid confusion with best-selling American author Robin Cook. Born in London, Cook dropped out of Eton at the age of 17. He candidly admitted that he had worked as a pornographer, illegal gambling organizer and money launderer, and termed the experience “a very useful thing for a writer.” He began his writing career in 1962 with “The Crust on Its Uppers,” and wrote 15 gory novels set in London’s criminal underworld. His best work was considered to be the 1990 novel “I Was Dora Suarez,” about a serial killer. Other books included “The Legacy of the Stiff Upper Lip,” “How the Dead Live,” and “He Died With His Eyes Open.” On Saturday in London of cancer.