Puss Reboots: Blog: March 2022: The Suicide Murders

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Private I. Guana: The Case of the Missing Chameleon by Nina Laden
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Steeple, Volume 2: The Silvery Moon by John Allison
The Suicide Murders by Howard Engel
Valley of the Moon by Melanie Gideon
With Lots of Love by Jenny Torres Sanchez and Andres Ceolin (Illustrations)

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The Suicide Murders: 03/01/22

The Suicide Murders by Howard Engel is the start of the Benny Cooperman mysteries. Set in Grantham, Ontario, it's a series about a Jewish private detective.

His case should have been a simple cheating husband job. Except the husband isn't cheating and then he's dead. His death is ruled a suicide but things don't add up. Unable to let it go, Benny decides to investigate.

Benny's a lovable curmudgeon. He has an iffy relationship with his parents, but does make the effort to have dinner with them once a week. There's a hilarious scene where his mother angry makes a brisket. While that cut of meat is forgiving, I doubt it's that forgiving.

The overall structure of the mystery reminds me most of Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley (1990). The second mystery is The Ransom Game (1981).

Five stars