Ontario PI Benny Cooperman is on the case of a suspicious suicide in this "convincingly complex" mystery "with an ironic sense of humor" ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Myrna Yates shows up at Benny Cooperman's office asking him to check up on her husband, the contractor Chester Yates, who she believes is having an affair. It seems like an open-and-shut case, until Cooperman finds out that the straying spouse has committed suicide. Something doesn't add up; Mr. Yates bought a 10-speed bicycle just 2 hours before he killed himself. Could this "suicide" in fact be murder? The Jewish detective's got a whole new case on his hands, one in which the suspicions of a wife turn out to be much darker than anyone could have imagined. Cooperman's a detective with flair. Kinder and gentler than your average PI—and ironically squeamish about violence—he's the creation of author Howard Engel, a master of the crime genre whose enthusiastic fans have included Ruth Rendell, Donald E. Westlake, Julian Symons, and Tony Hillerman. Engel's readership spans 13 countries, including Japan, England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, the United States, and his native Canada. The Suicide Murders is the first book in the Benny Cooperman Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

ハワード・エンゲルが生んだベニー・クーパーマンは、暴力が苦手な「優しい探偵」という造形でミステリー界に新風を吹き込みました。カナダの地方都市を舞台に、人間の愚かさと悲哀を乾いたユーモアで描く筆致こそが本作の白眉です。自殺直前に自転車を買うという不可解な行動から紐解かれる心理の深淵は、単なる謎解きを超えた文学的芳醇さに満ちています。 映像版ではベニーの愛嬌ある佇まいが豊かに表現されていますが、活字の特権は、彼の内面にある繊細な皮肉を直接呼吸できる点にあります。視覚的な補完とテキストの深化がもたらすシナジーは、物語をより多層的なものへと昇華させます。両メディアを横断し、この至高の人間ドラマをぜひ味わい尽くしてください。