Howard Engel

Rob Payne

This Is Not New York

Benny Cooperman, a Canadian private detective, is convinced he has solved a businessman's mysterious weekly absences, until the subject inexplicably commits suicide

The Suicide Murders

Recovering in a Toronto hospital from a serious blow to the head, private investigator Benny Cooperman struggles with memory loss and a condition that has rendered him able to write but unable to read, a circumstance that compromises his ability to remember his attacker and the case he was on the brink of solving.

Memory book

The ransom game

A Benny Cooperman Mystery

The Ransom Game

Murder on Location

Murder Sees the Light

It's autumn 1925, and a killer uncannily like England's Jack the Ripper is stalking the city streets of Paris and preying on young women. Michael Ward is a journalist newly arrived to the Left Bank. When he falls in with Jason Waddington, an expatriate American writer who introduces him to the cafe scene and his crowd of writers and artists, Ward soon discovers that Jack de Paris is not the only trouble afoot in the City of Light. Rumor has it that Waddington has written a damaging roman a clef about his friends, and tempers are rising even as fear of the killer grips the city. When the body of Laure Duclos is found, it seems their circle has finally been touched by Jack. But Ward has his doubts and begins to wonder whether Laure was truly Jack de Paris's latest victim, or if someone else was using the serial killer as a convenient cover to protect themselves.In a feat of literature reminiscent of Caleb Carr's The Alienist, Howard Engel blends intriguing historical fact with nail-biting fiction to produce a thriller of the highest order. Murder in Montparnasse will delight both new readers of Engel and his long-time fans.

A Mystery of Literary Paris

Murder in Montparnasse

A killer walks among the bohemians and expats of the Left Bank . . . "Engel's descriptions of Paris in the twenties are charming, adding to the fun." — Publishers Weekly Michael Ward is a journalist newly arrived in the City of Light when he falls in with Jason Waddington, an expatriate bullfight-loving American who introduces him to the cafe scene and his crowd of fellow writers and artists. At the moment though, the most talked-about figure in town is "Jack de Paris," a serial killer who targets beautiful women. But Ward soon discovers that Jack de Paris is not the only trouble afoot in Montparnasse. Rumor has it that Waddington has written a damaging roman a clef about his friends, and tempers are rising even as fear of the killer grips the city. When the body of Laure Duclos is found, it seems their circle has finally been touched by Jack. But Ward has his doubts—and begins to wonder whether Laure was truly Jack de Paris's latest victim, or if someone else was using the serial killer as a convenient cover . . . In a feat of literature reminiscent of Caleb Carr's The Alienist, Howard Engel blends intriguing historical fact with suspenseful fiction to produce a thriller of the highest order. Murder in Montparnasse will delight both new readers and longtime fans of Engel's Benny Cooperman mysteries. "Highly recommended." — Library Journal

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.

Getting Away with Murder

Benny is, as always, desperate for paying work, but he flatly refuses an invitation to work for Grantham’s most notorious crime boss. But Benny doesn’t have much of a choice when Abram Wise has him kidnapped in the middle of the night and makes him an ultimatum: either Benny takes the case, or his parents and girlfriend may run into some very bad luck. This mobster’s got a long list of enemies in town, but which one is out to kill him? Book 9 in the Benny Cooperman Mystery series.

Crimes of passion have a special place in legal codes throughout the world: this exploration, beginning in the 19th century, looks at 25 classic, infamous and still unresolved cases. B&W photographs.

Crimes of Passion: An Unblinking Look at Murderous Love

The remarkable journey of an award-winning writer struck with a rare and devastating affliction that prevented him from reading even his own writing One hot midsummer morning, novelist Howard Engel picked up his newspaper from his front step and discovered he could no longer read it. The letters had mysteriously jumbled themselves into something that looked like Cyrillic one moment and Korean the next. While he slept, Engel had experienced a stroke and now suffered from a rare condition called alexia sine agraphia, meaning that while he could still write, he could no longer read. Over the next several weeks in hospital and in rehabilitation, Engel discovered that much more was affected than his ability to read. His memory failed him, and even the names of old friends escaped his tongue. At first geography eluded him: he would know that two streets met somewhere in the city, but he couldn't imagine where. Apples and grapefruit now looked the same. When he returned home, he had trouble remembering where things went and would routinely ?nd cans of tuna in the dishwasher and jars of pencils in the freezer. Despite his disabilities, Engel prepared to face his dilemma. He contacted renowned neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks for advice and visited him in New York City, forging a lasting friendship. He bravely learned to read again. And in the face of tremendous obstacles, he triumphed in writing a new novel. An absorbing and uplifting story, filled with sly wit and candid insights, The Man Who Forgot How to Read will appeal to anyone fascinated by the mysteries of the mind, on and off the page.

A Memoir

The Man Who Forgot How to Read

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, Canada’s favourite 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 begins to rise, and Benny does his best not to end up ... Dead and Buried. Book 7 in the Benny Cooperman Mystery series.

Dead and Buried

Thirty real-life accounts of passion gone lethally wrong Celebrated mystery writer Howard Engel traces the history of the crime of passion through France, England, Canada, and the United States in his first nonfiction book. The story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in England, is explored along with more familiar, modern cases, such as those of O. J. Simpson and Lorena Bobbitt. With each sordid tale, Engel explores the legal codes and moral implications surrounding crimes of passion throughout history. Careful research and a novelist’s eye for detail and dramatization bring each grisly case into chilling clarity. Crimes of Passion is a must-read for true crime enthusiasts, armchair historians, and fans of the macabre.

An Unblinking Look at Murderous Love

Crimes of Passion

Leonardo Padura

Jeffery Deaver

Mickey Spillane

Andreu Martin

Death de LYX - die besondere Thriller-Reihe geht weiter! Jeffery Deaver, Mickey Spillane und viele andere große Thriller-Stimmen führen zu exotischen Tatorten! Mit Kurzgeschichten von Chad Taylor, José Carlos Somoza, Julián Ibáñez, Lisa Allen-Agostini, Norizuki Rintaro, Paco Ignacio Taibo II, Altaf Tyrewala, Jeffery Deaver, Leonardo Padura, Andreu Martin, Howard Engel, Mickey Spillane, Max Allan Collins und Feryal Tilmaç. Death de LYX - regelmäßig spannende Kurzgeschichten mit Nervenkitzel-Garantie als E-Book. Stöbern Sie auch in den anderen Titeln der Reihe!

Death de LYX - Todesbleich

Benny is recovering in a Toronto hospital from a serious blow to the head. He has a condition called alexia sine agraphia; in layman’s terms, it means he can still write but cannot read. And his memory has been affected too: although he can quote lines from his high-school production of Twelfth Night, he finds himself brushing his teeth with his shaving cream. When Benny learns that he was found unconscious beside a dead woman in a dumpster, he figures he must have been close to solving a case. With his girlfriend Anna working as field agent and two Toronto cops reluctantly sharing their discoveries, Benny tries to piece together the events that led to a murder―and his own injuries. Book 11 in the Benny Cooperman Mystery series.

Memory Book

A grisly tour of hangings, electrocutions, beheadings—and other state-sanctioned deaths that are part of the long history of the death penalty. In Lord High Executioner, award-winning writer Howard Engel traces the traditions of capital punishment from medieval England and early Canada to the present-day United States. Throughout “civilized” history, executioners employed on behalf of the kingdom, republic, or dictatorship have beheaded, chopped, stabbed, choked, gassed, electrocuted, or beaten criminals to death—and Engel doesn’t shy away from the gritty details of the executioner’s lifestyle, focusing on the paragons, buffoons, and sadists of the dark profession. Packed with all-too-true stories, from hapless hangings to butchered beheadings, this historically accurate look at the executioner’s gruesome work makes for a thoroughly gripping read.

An Unashamed Look at Hangmen, Headsmen, and Their Kind

Lord High Executioner

One morning, prolific and bestselling crime novelist Howard Engel awoke to discover he had lost the ability to read. He had experienced a stroke that left him with the rare condition known as alexia sine agraphia—he could write, but as soon as he committed his thoughts to the page, he no longer knew what they were. Other effects of the stroke emerged over time, but none were as dramatic and devastating as this one for a man who made his living working with words. The Man Who Forgot How to Read is the warm, insightful and fascinating story of Engel’s fight to overcome a condition that threatened to end his career. Engel’s remarkable triumph over his affliction—he was finally able to write again and produced another bestselling Benny Cooperman detective novel, Memory Book—will inspire his fans and fascinate anyone interested in the mysteries of the human brain.

Howard Engel

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