From Publishers Weekly
Canadian PI Benny Cooperman returns in this agreeable if not top-notch offering from Arthur Ellis Award-winner Engel (Getting Away with Murder; Murder on Location; etc.), set in the town of Grantham, Ontario. Kogan, the caretaker of Cooperman's office building, asks the detective to look into the apparent starvation death of his elderly girlfriend, Lizzy Oldridge. Cooperman agrees, asking only that Kogan fix his leaky toilet in payment. The inquest reveals that Lizzy had plenty of money, but that she couldn't touch it because of a trust set up by failed politician Thurleigh Ramsden. Ramsden also happens to be the executor of Lizzy's will and the head of the Guild of the Venerable Bede, the charitable organization to which Lizzy left her money. While Cooperman probes this disturbing case, attorney Julian Newby hires him to collect information on attractive local TV anchor Catherine Bracken. When two murders follow, Cooperman discovers that the town of Grantham has lots of dirty laundry to be aired. Though the story starts out crisply, it falters about midway and drags to a muddled conclusion featuring barely mentioned characters and an unlikely surprise for Kogan. Cooperman fans, however, should enjoy seeing their hero once again, even in these reduced circumstances. Agent, Beverly Sloan Literary Agency. (Aug.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Small-town Canadian Jewish private detective Benny Cooperman (Getting Away with Murder) investigates the untoward demise of the ne!er-do-well janitor!s girlfriend, who starved to death despite having plenty of money. He starts with the woman!s oily lawyer, who had access to her safety deposit box. An entertaining read. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
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 because her safe-deposit box cosigner, Thurleigh Ramsden, wouldn't release funds to her. Nosing around the inquest, Benny draws the attention of posh lawyer Julian Newby, who, surprisingly, invites him to lunch and asks him to tail ravishing TV news anchor Catherine Bracken for unspecified reasons. The tailing, however, doesn't take up too much time, and Benny's soon chatting up Ramsden, discovering in the hours before the banker's death that Ramsden's Guild of the Admirable Bede is a scheme to funnel oldsters' funds into his pocket, then learning that scary Steve Morella has real-estate plans that hinge on grabbing Lizzy's house, which she'd willed to the Bede Guild. More menace is supplied by a series of blackmailers who've been harassing the tony Ravenswood family for years; CXAN station manager Orv Wishart is only the latest to ante up. A few key words from his mom ("I'd rather eat an unkosher chicken . . . than talk to that man," she says of one suspect), and Benny has solved a case whose body count rivals those of the hard-boiled detective novels Catherine's boyfriend turns out. Benny's a charmer, and Engel again skewers Americanisms while serving up a deliciously nonsensical murder-on-wry. -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Benny Cooperman, the working-stiff private eye who Donald Westlake says is "a lot of fun to hang out with," is back, this time trying to sort out the kerfuffle surrounding the plumbing, a dead old woman, and a crooked politician.

It all starts with a noisy toilet. Benny's janitor, Kogan, is preoccupied with the death of his elderly girlfriend, Lizzy Oldridge, who appears to have starved to death. Benny 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 former alderman and mayoralty candidate Thurleigh Ramsden, an unsavory character if there ever was one, has gained control of it. Ramsden escapes the inquest with his reputation untarnished, but Benny finds himself hopelessly enmeshed in the posthumous troubles of Kogan's late love. By the end of this twisting, turning tale, the body count has increased alarmingly--but what's happened with the plumbing?
About the Author: Howard Engel has won the Arthur Ellis Award for crime fiction, and is the creator of the acclaimed Benny Cooperman mystery series. He is a founding member of the Crime Writer's Association of Canada, where his private eye has been described as a cherished national institution.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Canadian PI Benny Cooperman returns in this agreeable if not top-notch offering from Arthur Ellis Award-winner Engel (Getting Away with Murder; Murder on Location; etc.), set in the town of Grantham, Ontario. Kogan, the caretaker of Cooperman's office building, asks the detective to look into the apparent starvation death of his elderly girlfriend, Lizzy Oldridge. Cooperman agrees, asking only that Kogan fix his leaky toilet in payment. The inquest reveals that Lizzy had plenty of money, but that she couldn't touch it because of a trust set up by failed politician Thurleigh Ramsden. Ramsden also happens to be the executor of Lizzy's will and the head of the Guild of the Venerable Bede, the charitable organization to which Lizzy left her money. While Cooperman probes this disturbing case, attorney Julian Newby hires him to collect information on attractive local TV anchor Catherine Bracken. When two murders follow, Cooperman discovers that the town of Grantham has lots of dirty laundry to be aired. Though the story starts out crisply, it falters about midway and drags to a muddled conclusion featuring barely mentioned characters and an unlikely surprise for Kogan. Cooperman fans, however, should enjoy seeing their hero once again, even in these reduced circumstances. Agent, Beverly Sloan Literary Agency. (Aug.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal

Small-town Canadian Jewish private detective Benny Cooperman (Getting Away with Murder) investigates the untoward demise of the ne er-do-well janitor s girlfriend, who starved to death despite having plenty of money. He starts with the woman s oily lawyer, who had access to her safety deposit box. An entertaining read. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Internet Book Watch - Internet Book Watch

Any legal contract requires consideration on the part of both parties. Ontario private investigator Benny Cooperman gets the maintenance person to fix his toilet while that same janitor Kogan gets the detective to attend the inquest into the death of his girl friend, wealthy Lizzy Oldridge. Apparently, she starved to death. Benny is shocked to learn that though Lizzy was rich, she could not use her own money because her executor Thurstan Ramsden had set up a trust fund that gave him full and sole power. Her estate left everything to a charity coincidentally headed up by Thurstan. As Benny continues with his inquiries, he is also hired (for cash) to investigate TV reporter Catherine Bracken, but murder follows that case. There Was An Old Woman starts off as the best Benny Cooperman tale to date, but loses steam when the Bracken investigation veers the popular Canadian sleuth into an unnecessary subplot. Fans of the series will still fully enjoy Benny's antics and talent to somehow get in trouble. Kogan is a great secondary character; the deceased Lizzy comes across as a real person in retrospect; and Thurstan is engaging in very disgusting way; just hide your wallet. With what is probably going to become the most famous toilet since the one in Archie's place, the main story line is charming, fun and entertaining. Just flush the secondary story line for full pleasure.

Kirkus Reviews

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 because her safe-deposit box cosigner, Thurleigh Ramsden, wouldn't release funds to her. Nosing around the inquest, Benny draws the attention of posh lawyer Julian Newby, who, surprisingly, invites him to lunch and asks him to tail ravishing TV news anchor Catherine Bracken for unspecified reasons. The tailing, however, doesn't take up too much time, and Benny's soon chatting up Ramsden, discovering in the hours before the banker's death that Ramsden's Guild of the Admirable Bede is a scheme to funnel oldsters' funds into his pocket, then learning that scary Steve Morella has real-estate plans that hinge on grabbing Lizzy's house, which she'd willed to the Bede Guild. More menace is supplied by a series of blackmailers who've been harassing the tony Ravenswood family for years; CXAN station manager Orv Wishart is only the latest to ante up. A few key words from his mom ("I'd rather eat an unkosher chicken . . . than talk to that man," she says of one suspect), and Benny has solved a case whose body count rivals those of the hard-boiled detective novels Catherine's boyfriend turns out. Benny's a charmer, and Engel again skewers Americanisms while serving up a deliciously nonsensical murder-on-wry.