Memory Book: A Benny Cooperman Detective Novel (Benny Cooperman Mysteries) [Paperback]

Howard Engel (Author), M.D. Oliver Sacks M.D. (Afterword)

Book Description

Series: Benny Cooperman Mysteries | Publication Date: December 20, 2005

Left for dead in a dumpster, private investigator Benny Cooperman becomes his own client in his most puzzling mystery yet. 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. Even his girlfriend's name—Anna Abraham—continues to elude him. When Benny learns that he was found unconscious beside a dead woman, he figures he must have been close to solving a case. With Anna working as field agent and two Toronto cops reluctantly sharing their discoveries, Benny pieces together the events that led to a murder—and his own injuries.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Engel's 11th Benny Cooperman mystery (The Cooperman Variations, etc.) is notable because it's the Canadian author's first novel since 2000, when a small stroke left him with a rare disorder that rendered him able to write but unable to read. His PI hero suffers from the same ailment as he wakes from a recurring dream about a train wreck to find himself in a Toronto hospital. It turns out Benny has been in a coma for eight weeks after being found in a Dumpster near the university with a near-fatal blow to the head—next to the body of a young female professor, dead of a similar head trauma. Using a small notebook in which he jots things as they occur to him—a memory book—Benny and girlfriend Anna Abraham reconstruct his most recent case. An anonymously sent basket of roses triggers the name Rose or Rosie, while the sudden disappearance of a student and a prominent faculty member suggests conspiracy. Engel is better on the mechanics of Benny's disorder, and on his laborious recovery process, than he is at creating sleuthful suspense. Benny's vividness, and that of a variety of incidental characters, carries the book. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In this new novel, Engel's first book in several years, private investigator Benny Cooperman wakes up in a Toronto hospital. He's taken a blow to the head, he's told, and he now has a rare condition called alexia sine agraphia, which affects the memory and the ability to read (although not the ability to write). From his hospital ward, Benny solves his toughest case yet: finding out how he got there, and who put him there, and why. He also tries to come to terms with his life-altering affliction. While it's a typical Cooperman novel in many ways, the book is also something altogether new for its author: an exploration of his own life. In 2000, Engel suffered a stroke that left him with alexia sine agraphia; his fear, confusion, and sheer frustration permeate the novel, and many of the feelings Benny expresses are Engel's own. The novel could have turned into something maudlin, but Engel keeps the tone remarkably light and breezy. Compelling reading for Cooperman's legion of fans. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (December 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786717173
• ISBN-13: 978-0786717170
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #853,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST READ FOR COOPERMAN FANS, June 18, 2005

By 

John R. W. Boland (Victoria, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Memory Book: A Benny Cooperman Mystery (Paperback)

if you like Howard Engel and Benny, this is a must read!
I had no idea what had happened medically to Howard - so don't read the afterword by Oliver Sacks til AFTER. Let's just say that the fact that Howard even managed to write this book is truly remarkable and shows that he is indeed a master of the genre. The fact that it is a great book where I was totally hooked after 10 pages and the manner in which the plot unfolds - just read it - it's a remarkable achievement and I thank Howard for his courage.
Just watch out for those nap times...
jb

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Praise Be!! More Cooperman!!, August 8, 2005

By 

Judy McMullan (Waterloo, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memory Book (Benny Cooperman Mysteries) (Hardcover)

When I heard about Howard Engel's stroke, I assumed that I would never see Benny Cooperman again. However, this author has done the seemingly impossible and given us another great story.
Memory Book is different from the other Cooperman novels because Benny has been afflicted with alexia, like Engel. Thus, quite a bit of time is spent with Benny in the hospital, learning how to cope with his altered abilities. However, Benny is just as nosy, persistent and peculiarly charming as ever. He enlists his visitors onto his sleuthing team. The mystery unravels alongside Benny's therapy.
We get to see some old, favourite characters and - of course - some new ones. Engel is a master at painting characters with details that leave you feeling you've met them somewhere before. Former Cooperman fan or not, I recommend you spend some time with Benny and his friends as they help to unravel the mystery and have some laughs along the way.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Memory Books" is especially recommended to mystery buffs, April 10, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memory Book: A Benny Cooperman Mystery (Benny Cooperman Mysteries) (Audio CD)

Co-narrated by Ron Halder and Donna White, "Memory Books" by Canadian mystery writer Howard Engel is the story of small-town private investigatory Benny Cooperman who, after being left for dead from a blow to the head by an unknown assailant, wakes up in a hospital and in the middle of a mystery. All Benny can remember is that he was close to figuring out a mystery but can't remember anything else - including the name of his girlfriend, Anna Abraham. To complicate things further, Benny is suffering from a brain injury that allows him to still write, but not be able to read! But with the help of Anna and the use of a small notepad dubbed the 'memory book', Benny engages in some dedicated bedside sleuthing. Author Howard Engel (who in real life suffers a similar brain injury to that of his lead character) has created a terrific 'who dunnit' style mystery with a medical theme that will engage the reader's total and rapt attention from beginning to end. Expertly abridged and originally broadcast on CBC Radio, "Memory Books" is especially recommended to mystery buffs and, with a total running time of 3 hours and 30 minutes, is a welcome addition to any community library audiobook CD collection..