From Library Journal
The long-running Benny Cooperman series gets a booster shot with this tale of toxic waste and murder in Grantham, Ontario. A woman whose husband died in a suspicious accident hires P.I. Cooperman to investigate. Cooperman lacks enthusiasm until he finds ties to a former nemesis; then he risks the wrath of a powerful waste disposal company apparently in cahoots with city government. Benny's usual sources of information and others get him deep into other people's boats, books, and eventually, the truth. A necessary purchase for most collections. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Engel's Benny Cooperman series has attracted a devoted audience in Canada (where the author lives) and Europe, but it has never achieved the recognition it deserves in the U.S. 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.) This time around, Benny is finagled into investigating a yearold death. A widow is convinced that her husband was murdered by the company he worked for, and Benny, poor fellow, agrees to help her prove it. Naturally, one murder leads to more murders, and soon Benny's own life is on the line. In many ways, the Cooperman novels are similar to other privateeye series--certainly the plots themselves aren't particularly original--but the atmospheric setting and the charmingly idiosyncratic characters make them seem entirely fresh. Recommended for all readers, but especially for fans of privateeye yarns who are tired of the same old thing. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
The New Yorker
Mr. Engel has conceived a classic (revenge and retribution) Ross Macdonald plot and a good one.
The Toronto Star
Benny Cooperman is one of the most enjoyable private eyes in crime fiction.
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
Engel is…one of the best.
Book Description
Benny Cooperman is a detective with flair. This kinder, gentler detective-funny, smart and squeamish about violence-is the creation of master of the genre Howard Engel, whose enthusiastic fans include Ruth Rendell, Donald E. Westlake, Julian Symons, and Tony Hillerman. His readers stretch now to thirteen countries, from his native Canada to Japan, England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, and the US.
In his latest case, Benny Cooperman is sure that toxic waste isn't something you should spend too much time thinking about-it just isn't good for your mental health. But when Jack Dowden's widow appeals to Benny to investigate the death of her truck-driving husband, our favorite gumshoe finds himself up to his egg salad-stained lapels in the deadly filth of Kinross Disposals. As he unearths clues-and PCBs-the body count rises, and Benny Cooperman does everything he can not to end up dead and buried.
"Engel is . . . one of the best." (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
About the Author
Howard Engel, winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for crime fiction, is a founding member of the Crime Writer's Association of Canada where his private eye, Benny Cooperman, has been described as a cherished national institution.
Dead and Buried FROM THE PUBLISHER
Benny Cooperman is a detective with flair, known and loved as the witty, egg salad-loving, Jewish gentleman sleuth he is the world over. This kinder, gentler detective - funny, smart and squeamish about violence - is the creation of master of the genre Howard Engel, whose enthusiastic fans include Ruth Rendell, Donald E. Westlake, Julian Symons, and Tony Hillerman. His readers stretch now to thirteen countries, from his native Canada to Japan, England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, and of course the U.S.A. In his latest case, Benny Cooperman is sure that toxic waste isn't something you should spend too much time thinking about - it just isn't good for your health. But when Jack Dowden's widow appeals to Benny to investigate the death of her truck-driving husband, our favorite gumshoe finds himself up to his egg salad-stained lapels in the deadly filth of Kinross Disposals. As he unearths clues - and PCBs - the body count rises, and Benny Cooperman does everything he can not to end up dead and buried.
FROM THE CRITICS
Toronto Star
Benny Cooperman is one of the most enjoyable private eyes in crime fiction.
New Yorker
Benny is likable and resourceful and Mr. Engel has conceived a classic (revenge and retributionRoss Macdonald plot and a good one.
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
Engel is...one of the best.
Library Journal
The long-running Benny Cooperman series gets a booster shot with this tale of toxic waste and murder in Grantham, Ontario. A woman whose husband died in a suspicious accident hires P.I. Cooperman to investigate. Cooperman lacks enthusiasm until he finds ties to a former nemesis; then he risks the wrath of a powerful waste disposal company apparently in cahoots with city government. Benny's usual sources of information and others get him deep into other people's boats, books, and eventually, the truth. A necessary purchase for most collections. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
When feckless Benny Cooperman, the only Jewish private eye in Grantham, Ontario, agrees to investigate the purportedly accidental death of Jack Dowden, a trucker for Kinross Disposals, at the request of his widow, he finds irregularities in the inquest testimony; a suspiciously fortuitous arrival of the company doctor at the moment of death; and hints of illegal dumping of PCBs by Kinross and its parent company, Phidias Manufacturing. Environmental Front leader Alexander Pastor fills Benny in on the companies' scams, and their ties to City Hall Director of Sanitation Paul Renner. But it's Teddy Forbes, ex-wife of Phidias CEO Ross Forbes, who thanks Benny for helping her win a divorce by providing him entry to the well-guarded company, as well as background on alcoholic Ross, his autocratic father, the Commander, and his soon-to-be son-in-law Norman Caine, the new head of Kinross. What next? Alexander's body turns up alongside toxic matter hidden deep in the bowels of the Fort Mississuaga site being handled by Mafia-tinged Sangallo Restorations. And the Commander misses the rehearsal dinner of Caine and Forbes's daughter because he's lying dead in the country club sauna while his wife, Miss Biddy, suffers a stroke. Meantime, Benny keeps turning up specimens of Hesperis matronalis, a plant also known as Dame's Rocket, in suspicious places. Undeterred by too many clues, cover-ups, and family treacheries, Benny gathers his gal pal Anna and his cop buddies and explains it all with the aplomb of a Golden Age detective. Tricky but stodgy, with less of Benny's self-effacing charm than usual, and an all-too-brief cameo appearance for his smart-mouthed mom.
Art & Photography
Book Info
