The Benny Cooperman Mysteries Series

When a rabbi needs help tracking down a thief, it’s time to call on “one of the most enjoyable private eyes in crime fiction” (The Toronto Star).   Saul Tepperman of Ontario’s B’nai Shalom synagogue has known Benny Cooperman since his bar mitzvah. Now that Benny’s grown into a crack private detective, he’s called to investigate by Tepperman and the rabbi—after a once-trusted lawyer runs off with the savings of more than fifty clients, totaling around two million dollars . . .   Filled with “wit and sardonic humor,” this lively novel is part of the acclaimed long-running series by the Arthur Ellis Award–winning author (The Toronto Star).   “A puzzling case . . . A City Called July is a nice piece of detective work and a well-written book.” —The New York Times   “Mr. Engel is a born writer, a natural stylist. This is a writer who can bring a character to life in a few lines.” —Ruth Rendell   “Benny Cooperman is . . . a lot of fun to hang out with.” —Donald E. Westlake   A City Called July is the fifth book in the Benny Cooperman Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

“Canada’s first and foremost private eye” hunts for a missing woman amid a movie production in this mystery by an Arthur Ellis Award winner (Maclean’s).   Niagara Falls is overrun with Hollywood types who are shooting a film. But Benny Cooperman isn’t scouting for talent—he’s scouring the area for a woman named Billie Mason, who’s gone missing from his hometown of Grantham, Ontario. Has she merely been bitten by the acting bug, or is a much more sinister force at play?   “In Benny Cooperman, the author has leavened the hard-boiled school of detective fiction with comedy and compassion. With this book, Canada’s first and foremost private eye is well on his way to becoming a cherished national institution.” —Maclean’s   “The Cooperman novels are heavy on full-bodied characters, sharp dialogue, and rich humor.” —Booklist   “Benny Cooperman is . . . a lot of fun to hang out with.” —Donald E. Westlake   Murder on Location is the third book in the Benny Cooperman Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

A detective guards a televangelist in hiding—and tries to solve a murder—in this novel by the Arthur Ellis Award–winning author.   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 a missing Indian guide is found. Suddenly the Canadian private detective is reeled into yet another deadly mystery, and everyone at the lodge becomes a suspect . . .   “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 lot of fun to hang out with.” —Donald E. Westlake   Murder Sees the Light is the fourth book in the Benny Cooperman Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

This tale of skullduggery in the art world is “another winner” from the Arthur Ellis Award–winning author (Publishers Weekly).   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, Ontario’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?   “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 lot of fun to hang out with.” —Donald E. Westlake   A Victim Must be Found is the sixth book in the Benny Cooperman Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

Has the kidnapper been kidnapped? A mystery in the detective series known for “full-bodied characters, sharp dialogue, and rich humor” (Booklist).   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—and now that he’s out on parole, he’s nowhere to be found. As it turns out, Cooperman isn’t the only one on his trail . . .   From the Arthur Ellis Award-winning author of The Suicide Murders, this is a witty, compelling mystery “steadily enlivened by Engel’s unassuming style and the textured personality (a kind of Donald Lamm/Lew Archer amalgam with Jewish overtones) of likable Benny” (Kirkus Reviews).   “Mr. Engel is a born writer, a natural stylist. This is a writer who can bring a character to life in a few lines.” —Ruth Rendell   The Ransom Game is the second book in the Benny Cooperman Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

A PI is hired by a gangster marked for murder: “Benny Cooperman is . . . a lot of fun to hang out with” (Donald E. Westlake).   Benny Cooperman is a very effective detective—though he does get a little squeamish when things turn violent. He 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.   In this novel from the Arthur Ellis Award-winning author, the colorful cast includes Wise’s two disgruntled ex-wives, an alluring supermodel, an irate foreign car dealer, and an eccentric retired librarian—as Cooperman finds himself entangled in more corruption, vengeance, and intrigue than one could ever imagine existing in a sleepy little village . . .   “The Cooperman novels are heavy on full-bodied characters, sharp dialogue, and rich humor.” —Booklist   “Mr. Engel is a born writer, a natural stylist. This is a writer who can bring a character to life in a few lines.” —Ruth Rendell   Getting Away with Murder is the ninth book in the Benny Cooperman Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

Ontario PI Benny Cooperman is on the case of a suspicious suicide in this “convincingly complex” mystery “with an ironic sense of humor” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). 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. The Suicide Murders is the first book in the Benny Cooperman Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A Canadian detective looks into a wealthy lady’s mysterious demise in “an entertaining read” (Library Journal).   Thanks to a noisy toilet, Benny Cooperman is pulled into a new case—when he learns that his janitor’s elderly girlfriend has died of hunger—despite having plenty of money. The question is why she couldn’t get access to it, and Benny will find himself investigating a lot of unsavory characters to find out, in a novel by an Arthur Ellis Award winner “who can bring a character to life in a few lines” (Ruth Rendell).   “Benny Cooperman, the low-key Grantham, Ontario, private eye who has as little success shushing his Jewish mother as getting Kogan, the janitor of his building, to fix the leaky hall toilet, agrees to a trade: If Kogan will deal with the plumbing, Benny will plumb the death of his pal Lizzy Oldridge, who died of starvation . . . Benny’s a charmer.” —Kirkus Reviews   “Benny Cooperman is one of the most enjoyable private eyes in crime fiction.” —The Toronto Star   There Was an Old Woman is the eighth book in the Benny Cooperman Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

The first three mysteries in a beloved and acclaimed series featuring “one of the most enjoyable private eyes in crime fiction” (The Toronto Star).   Benny Cooperman is a Canadian Jewish detective with flair, kinder and gentler than the average PI, and squeamish about violence. According to the New York Times: “In Benny Cooperman, the author has leavened the hard-boiled school of detective fiction with comedy and compassion. . . . Canada’s first and foremost private eye is well on his way to becoming a cherished national institution.” Donald E. Westlake adds: “Benny Cooperman is . . . a lot of fun to hang out with.” Collected here are the first three mysteries in the series by Howard Engel, “a born writer, a natural stylist . . . a writer who can bring a character to life in a few lines” (Ruth Rendell).   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?

From an Arthur Ellis Award–winning author, a mystery starring the Canadian investigator who “just plain charms the socks off anyone he meets” (Booklist).   When truck driver Jack Dowden is killed in an accident while 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 the affable detective to solve the mystery of Dowden’s death—before the situation proves hazardous to his health . . .   “Benny, a private detective in fictional Grantham, Ontario, is a marvelous creation—a hardworking fellow whose innate bad luck just keeps leading him into the wrong cases. (Think Jim Rockford minus the proclivity for getting into fistfights.)” —Booklist   “A warmly likable hero with an ironic sense of humor.” —Kirkus Reviews   “Benny Cooperman is one of the most enjoyable private eyes in crime fiction.” —The Toronto Star   Dead and Buried is the seventh book in the Benny Cooperman Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.