β Scribed by Engle, Howard
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Three hoods abduct private investigator Benny Cooperman in the middle of the night and take him to see Abe Wise, Canada's most infamous unconvicted crook. Someone wants Wise dead, so Wise, using what has worked for him in the past, forces Benny to discover a name. Chief on the suspect list are Wise's two ex-wives (one alcoholic and one snobby) and two children (both spoiled), but Benny also interrogates Wise's old friend, his second-in-command, and a police contact. Pretty straightforward plotting, then, as well as direct prose, and a slight-but-steady whiff of Canadian atmosphere. A pleasant read for fans of the series.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Fans of the Canadian Jewish detective Benny Cooperman know that Benny's laid-back style is a great antidote to the posturing of the hard-nosed PIs so common in detective fiction. But just because Benny is a bit more gentlemanly than most doesn't mean he's a pushover. Gangster boss Abram Wise is well aware of that when he coerces Benny into finding out who is trying to kill him. Of course, big-time crime guys have lots of enemies, but Wise is convinced he's being targeted by someone he knows, and after taking a look at Wise's dysfunctional family, Benny seems to agree. The only thing that intrudes is a niggling suspicion about a murdered policeman and a sensational crime that took place long ago. Readers will zoom in on the villain a bit sooner than Benny does, but that won't kill their enjoyment in the story, which has enough complications to keep the pages turning plus an ending that brings everything together quite nicely. Stephanie Zvirin
π SIMILAR VOLUMES
"The Cooperman novels are heavy on full-bodied characters, sharp dialogue and rich humor. Benny just plain charms the socks off anyone he meets." (*Booklist*) Benny Cooperman is a detective with flair-a witty, egg salad-loving, gentlemanly Jewish detective with a pronounced squeamishness when thing
It was supposed to be only one night. When Delta walked into my hospital room dressed in the Jericho Brotherhood cut, he was the last person I wanted to see. But I needed himβand his brothersβif I was going to get away from the criminals whoβd beaten me and dropped me like a bag of trash on the hosp
Sheβs not Miss Marple. Her friends are no Charlieβs Angels. Nevertheless, 75-year-old Gladdy Gold and her gang of eccentric Fort Lauderdale retirees are out, about, and hunting down a killerβone who is silently stalking them.Selma Beller was the first to goβbut Gladdy and her neighbors never suspect
SUMMARY: Shes not Miss Marple. Her friends are no Charlies Angels. Nevertheless, 75-year-old Gladdy Gold and her gang of eccentric Fort Lauderdale retirees are out, about, and hunting down a killerone who is silently stalking them.Selma Beller was the first to gobut Gladdy and her neighbors never