The Ransom Game

It's February and Ontario is frozen-along with Benny Cooperman's private investigation business. That is, until Muriel Falkirk knocks on Cooperman's door. Her boyfriend, Johnny Rosa, is missing. A decade earlier, Rosa had been involved in the kidnapping of an heiress. He was sent to prison and the ransom money was never recovered. Now Rosa's out on parole, but he's nowhere to be found-and it turns out Cooperman isn't the only one on his trail.   Cooperman's a detective with flair. Kinder and gentler than your average PI-and ironically squeamish about violence-he's the creation of author Howard Engel, a master of the crime genre whose enthusiastic fans have included Ruth Rendell, Donald E. Westlake, Julian Symons, and Tony Hillerman. Engel's readership spans 13 countries, including Japan, England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, the United States, and his native Canada.