Benny Cooperman

Myrna Yates shows up at Benny Cooperman's office asking him to check up on her husband, the contractor Chester Yates, who she believes is having an affair. It seems like an open-and-shut case, until Cooperman finds out that the straying spouse has committed suicide. Something doesn't add up; Mr. Yates bought a 10-speed bicycle just 2 hours before he killed himself. Could this "suicide" in fact be murder? The Jewish detective's got a whole new case on his hands, one in which the suspicions of a wife turn out to be much darker than anyone could have imagined.   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.

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.

Niagara Falls is crawling with Hollywood types who are making a movie. But Benny Cooperman isn't scouting for talent; he's investigating the case of a woman named Billie Mason who's gone missing from Cooperman's hometown of Grantham, Ontario. Has she merely been bitten by the acting bug, or is a much more sinister force at play?   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.

Benny Cooperman is camped out at the Petawawa fishing lodge watching over a famous televangelist who has gone into hiding while waiting for a court decision. It seems like a simple assignment-that is, until the lifeless body of missing Indian guide Aeneas DuFond is found. Suddenly Cooperman is reeled into yet another deadly mystery, and everyone at the lodge becomes a suspect.   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 include 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.

When a trusted lawyer runs off with the savings of more than 50 clients, totaling around $2 million, Rabbi Meltzer and Saul Tepperman of the B'nai Shalom synagogue in Grantham, Ontario, know Benny Cooperman's just the man to track down the funds. Tepperman has known the detective since Cooperman's bar mitzvah, so the sleuth isn't in a position to turn down the request for help. This summer is bound to be a real scorcher, and the heat will be on Cooperman to solve the case.   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.

To say that Canadian private investigator Benny Cooperman is a novice in the art world would be an understatement. Nevertheless, he's hired by Pambos Kiriakis, the manager of Grantham's poshest hotel, to track down some valuable works that went missing while on loan from a local gallery. But while Cooperman is hobnobbing with the art-collecting glitterati, things take a deadly turn. His client is stabbed, and a peculiar clue is left in a coffee cup at the crime scene. But who would want to kill Kiriakis? And could a painting really drive someone to murder?   Benny 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.

When truck driver Jack Dowden is killed in an accident hauling toxic waste, his widow, Irma, suspects something fishy. Dowden wasn't the type to be careless, and Irma has reason to believe that someone may have wanted him dead. Naturally, Benny Cooperman is the man she calls to take the case. It's up to Cooperman to solve the mystery of Dowden's death-before the situation proves hazardous to the detective's health.   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.

It all starts with a noisy toilet. Benny Cooperman's janitor, Kogan, is preoccupied with the demise of his elderly girlfriend, Lizzy Oldridge, who appears to have starved to death. Cooperman agrees to attend the inquest if Kogan will look into the plumbing.   Lizzy may have died hungry, but she had plenty of money, and somehow the former alderman and mayoral candidate Thurleigh Ramsden, an unsavory character if there ever was one, has gained control of it. Ramsden escapes the inquest with his reputation intact, but Cooperman finds himself hopelessly enmeshed in the posthumous troubles of Kogan's late love. By the end of this twisting, turning tale, the body count will have increased alarmingly-but will Cooperman and Kogan solve the mystery of the defective plumbing?

Benny Cooperman is a detective with flair-a witty, egg-salad-loving, gentlemanly Jewish detective with a pronounced squeamishness when things get violent. In his most baffling case yet, Cooperman is snugly tucked in his bed in quiet Grantham, a Canadian town near Niagara Falls, when three unsavory thugs drag him out and present him like a trophy to notorious crime boss Abram Wise. Someone has made two attempts on the gangster's life, and with no one else to turn to, he wants Cooperman to investigate.   Author Howard Engel has once again assembled a colorful cast that includes Wise's two disgruntled ex-wives, an alluring supermodel, an irate foreign car dealer, and an eccentric retired librarian. In an intricately woven plot that mixes past and present, murder and Middle Eastern food, fashion and auto repair, Cooperman finds himself entangled in more corruption, vengeance, and intrigue than one could ever imagine existing in a sleepy little village.

The first three mysteries in a beloved and acclaimed series. Benny Cooperman is a Canadian Jewish detective with flair, kinder and gentler than the average PI, and squeamish about violence. Collected here are the first three mysteries in the series by Howard Engel. The Suicide Murders: Myrna Yates shows up at Benny's office asking him to check up on her husband, who she believes is having an affair. It seems like an open-and-shut case, until Benny finds out that the straying spouse has committed suicide. Still, something doesn't add up: Chester Yates bought a ten-speed bicycle only two hours before he allegedly killed himself. The detective just may have a murder case on his hands, one in which the suspicions of a wife turn out to be much darker than anyone could have imagined. The Ransom Game: It's February and Ontario is frozen--along with Benny's private investigation business. That is, until Muriel Falkirk knocks on his 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 Benny isn't the only one on his trail. Murder on Location: Niagara Falls is crawling with Hollywood types who are making a movie. But Benny isn't scouting for talent; he's investigating the case of a woman named Billie Mason who's gone missing from Benny's hometown of Grantham, Ontario. Has she merely been bitten by the acting bug, or is a much more sinister force at play?