Customer Reviews

As Dog Is My Witness: Another Aaron Tucker Mystery (Aaron Tucker Mysteries)

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Natural curiosity is not one of freelance writer Aaron Tucker's traits. So, even having solved two previous murders, it would take a lot to get him involved in a third. In this case, it takes a call from his friend Lori Shery, leader of the Asperger Syndrome (AS) support group he's part of. He owes Lori so many favors that he doesn't hesitate to look into a murder for her.

Michael Huston was shot one night while out walking his dog. The police already have a suspect in custody, Justin Fowler, a young adult with AS. And they have a good case against him, too. Justin has a fascination with guns bordering on the obsessive. The antique pistol used in the murder was found in his room. And he's confessed to the crime.

While Aaron agrees that the evidence is pretty bad, he also understands AS since his son Ethan has it. One thing he knows is that someone with the disorder would not shot a person without a very good reason. And since Justin never met Michael, there's no way he would have shot him on a whim.

Aaron starts investigating in the usual places. Michael's marriage was the model of perfection. He was well liked and had no enemies. So, who would want the man dead? Aaron's just started poking around when three goons from a legendary mobster tell him to stop. Is there a mob connection?

Meanwhile, Aaron's friend Mahoney needs Aaron's help tracking down the saboteur who is undermining him at work. The cars Mahoney has just repaired are broken again just a few minutes later. Plus, Aaron's brother-in-law and his family are coming to stay for a week. To say that Aaron doesn't get along with Howard is an understatement, and Aaron's wife Abby tries desperately to get along with Howard, sometimes turning her back on her own family in the process. Looks like it's going to be an interesting and busy week.

This is another great entry in the comedic mystery series. Once again, the first person narration is full of wry observations on the proceedings, usually filled with lots of sarcasm and one-liners. I was grinning and chuckling the entire way through.

The book tries to juggle three storylines. While it does a good job of entertaining with all of them, the story line with the visiting relatives seems to take over at times, slowing down the murder investigation. That's not to say the pace ever lagged. No matter how late I was reading, I had a hard time putting this book down. The murder case does have a couple of nice twists as well, and I never saw the ending coming.

Aaron's family has always been a draw in this series. Because of Howard's visit, they get more page time then in past books. Aaron's relationship with Abby has always been wonderful. Even with the problems they go through here, I still love this portrait of a happy marriage. Ethan's AS has always been present, but it is really developed in this book, and I finally began to understand the disorder.

This series is another winner for those who like their mysteries with a liberal dose of humor. Here's hoping the wait isn't too long before the next installment.

Jeff Cohen's style reminds me of Harlan Coben's underrated jewels, the Myron Bolitar books, with the humor amped up and a bit more of a family slant. The Aaron Tucker books, and As Dog is my Witness makes it unanimous, are expertly written, smoothly plotted gems. And Cohen's books should be read by every parent of a teenager ready to pull out their hair! Which would be every parent of a teenager.

My very favorite mystery author, Julia Spencer-Fleming, says "I started laughing out loud on page 5!" Well, clearly Ms. Spencer-Fleming overlooked page 4. This series deserves a national readership, and Dog may be Aaron Tucker's Greyhound ticket out of New Jersey.

Really well done comic mystery with great gobs of Jewish humor. You'll especially like the take on the holiday season from the Jewish point of view - and it's all too true. In addition we have a good mystery, some fun locals, some real characters and a lot of caring. Jeffrey Cohen has it all in this book, and he deserves to be recognized.

In this book, the plot sings, the characterization is outstanding, and of course the humor is top notch. This book takes all of the entertainment value of the first two Aaron Tucker novels and adds even more suspense and excitement. Involving Aaron's son in the mystery-solving was a stroke of genious. The author at the top of his game with this one. Simply excellent!

Note: You don't have to read this series in order, so jump in here if you can. Once you read it, you'll be sure to go back and get the other two.

This series just gets better. I stumbled upon the first of the series by accident, not knowing about the Asperger's slant and was quite startled to find what appeared to be my own son fictionalized in those pages. Since then, Cohen's writing has become more refined and the family Tucker even more fun to visit. I enjoyed the extended family angle, waiting breathlessly for Aaron to vent his spleen on the intruding (and insensitive) in-laws. Very entertaining. The dialog is mercifully never stilted - a peeve of mine. The addition of more in-depth insight into AS was very welcome; maybe little by little we'll educate the masses concerning "our kids"! The story line has plenty of twists to keep you in the dark and the book is difficult to put down. On the down side, that makes them a very quick read! Keep them coming, Jeff.

This newest book in the Aaron Tucker series is an absolute delight. The author manages to paint a portrait of a loving and very human family with some additional challenges than those most of us face, along with a very satisfying mystery containing some unexpected twists and turns, and his usual wonderful albeit somewhat quirky sense of humor. This book had me smiling throughout, with at least every couple of pages giving rise to laugh-out-loud moments and an occasional guffaw. And once again we are given some insight into the world of people with Asperger's Syndrome and those who love them. Highly recommended.

A seasonal mystery, starting just before Winter Break from school and ending with Chanukah and New Year's. Aaron gets a call from the women who was his best support system when his son as diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome that "one of our children" has been arrested for murder. Aaron's got enough on his plate-- he's revising his screenplay for a possible option, his inlaws are coming for a week long visit, the kids will be home from school, his best friend needs him to help stop the sabotage of his job, and by the way, the 22 year old child has confessed. Then enters the Jewish Mafia... Who better to enlist as sidekick/assistant than his son Ethan? I love this man and his family, and his attempts to make all right with the world. And it's the best "laugh out loud" reading going.

Just love how Jeffrey Cohen weaves a complex tale of family, friends and mystery, and makes it all work together. The additional insights (beyond what's in the first two Aaron books) about Asperger's Syndrome really help us understand his relationship with his family and especially his son. The mystery kept me guessing all the way. A real page turner. And hilariously funny at times. More Aaron Tucker please!!

This is from the first series of three amateur detective tales published by Jeffrey Cohen, titled the Aaron Tucker Mysteries. Following this series, he did another with different cast and setting, but with the same good-natured, good-humored, style and story. These were called the Double Feature mysteries, the hero being manager of a movie theater dedicated to comedy films only. As a change of pace, in name only, we have now available a new series, the first book of which I thought to be quite admirable, Night of the Living Deed (A Haunted Guesthouse Mystery). The major change, which might earn him the coveted "On the NY Times Best Seller List" award, uses his nom de plume; he is now E. J. Copperman. All, I see, are now on kindle, and enabled for robot reading, which is an aid to those of us whose vision is not up to par or who just like being read to.
This book involves Aaron Tucker in the customary assortment of cases to be cleared up either as part of his earning a living as free-lance writer or out of the obligations of friendship. The most tricky of these cases involves a murder in which there is a strong suspicion that the confessed killer did not commit the crime. While engaged in his investigations, Aaron also has to contend with his wife's family visiting out of exaggerated impulses to thrift but a source of misery to all and sundry in the household. I will go so far as to say that Aaron emerges alive despite the evil forces arrayed against him so that he can participate in one more novel by Cohen.
I can recommend the book to all who can do without the spilling of blood, the detailed examination of guts, and the menacing evil streets of the urban setting. Cohen keeps us interested with humor, plot line, characters, and Lust (but only for his wife, the Lawyer).

I was first introduced to the Aaron Tucker series through the book "A Farewell to Legs" and loved it. This is another in series featuring freelance writer Aaron Tucker, his lovely lawyer wife Abby, and their autistic son, Ethan and daughter Leah. The author has written two nonfiction books on autism, with his specialty being the high-functioning autistic disorder known as Asperger's syndrome (which Ethan has).

A young man with Asperger's syndrome has been arrested and charged with murdering an investment banker named Michael. The supposed killer has even confessed. However, a woman with ties to an Asperger foundation asks Aaron to investigate this crime. Soon, Aaron is up to his neck in false clues, suspicious characters including the killer's brother, Kevin, and a local mobster named Hyman Shapiro. On top of the mystery he's trying to solve, he has to deal with the intrusion of his wife's brother's family into his house.

The stories Cohen weaves are great; there are equal parts humor and mystery and Aaron is a very appealing, well written character. Normally, I like how Cohen writes Abby, but at several points in this novel I wanted to slap her for taking her brother's side over her family's side. Ethan steals the show in this book as it's his ability to communicate with the alleged killer that helps solve the mystery.
This is a terrific mystery series that's appropriate for all ages and comes highly recommended.