Jeff Cohen

Sep 2021 15

Monkey Business: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Films of the Marx Brothers

2021 Articles, Mysteryrat's Maze

by Josh Pachter

KRL readers might perhaps know me as the editor of a recent series of “inspired by” anthologies: The Beat of Black Wings: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell (Untreed Reads, 2020), Only the Good Die Young: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Billy Joel (Untreed Reads, 2021), and The Great Filling Station Holdup: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Jimmy Buffett (Down and Out Books, 2021).

May 2021 8

Only the Good Die Young: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Billy Joel Edited by Josh Pachter

2021 Articles, Mysteryrat's Maze, Sandra Murphy

by Sandra Murphy

The anthology kicks off with Why Judy Why written by Robert Lopresti. Judith finds herself sitting in a police interrogation room, being grilled by two detectives. She seems cooperative enough about what she’s done, but the detectives aren’t clear about one thing: motive. They keep asking, “Why, Judy, why?”, but even if she tells them, they’ll never understand.

Jan 2019 12

Best Books of 2018

2019 Articles, Cynthia Chow, Fantasy & Fangs, Lorie Lewis Ham, Mysteryrat's Maze, Sandra Murphy, Tales of Diversity, Terrance V. Mc Arthur

by Sandra Murphy,
Cynthia Chow, Terrance McArthur,
& Lorie Lewis Ham

Another year has ended, and once again we take a look back at a few of the many books reviewed in KRL in 2018. All but one of our main reviewers share in this post their top 5-10 favorite books they reviewed in 2018. Our newest reviewer, Katherine Costa, wanted to include favorite authors and TV shows that she has reviewed, so hers went up in a separate post.

Nov 2018 3

The Question of the Dead Mistress An Asperger’s Mystery By E.J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen

2018 Articles, Cynthia Chow, Mysteryrat's Maze

by Cynthia Chow

After encouragement from his mother, Samuel Hoenig put his unique observational skills to use by opening Questions Answered, a Piscataway, New Jersey, business that answered any question asked by clients. In between mathematical and logistical calculations to determine the time it takes to circle the globe, Samuel has solved several murders, rescued his long-lost father, and begun a tentative romance with his assistant.

Nov 2017 11

The Question of the Absentee Father By E.J Copperman & Jeff Cohen: Review/Giveaway/Interview

2017 Articles, Cynthia Chow, Mysteryrat's Maze

by Cynthia Chow

It was Samuel Hoenig’s mother who encouraged him to open Questions Answered, an investigation business that helped him to focus his unique observational and detailed-obsessed intelligence. It is also she who asks the one question he never expected, “Where is your father living now?” Twenty-seven years ago Reuben Hoenig left his wife and four-year-old son, and Samuel has always believed that his being on the autism spectrum was the cause.

Oct 2016 1

The Question of the Felonious Friend By E.J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen: Review/Giveaway

2016 Articles, Cynthia Chow, Mysteryrat's Maze

by Cynthia Chow

Although Asperger’s Syndrome may no longer be recognized in the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-V, being on the spectrum of autism is a trait that has helped to make Samuel Hoenig an effective investigator. In the year since establishing his Questions Answered inquiry business, he and his employee Janet Washburn have successfully provided both mundane and unusual solutions. Now he’s being faced with a question that tests all of Samuel’s abilities to understand emotions, as well as being difficult to define in and of itself. How do you know if someone is your friend?

Nov 2015 7

The Question of the Unfamiliar Husband By E.J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen: Review/Giveaway

2015 Articles, Cynthia Chow, Mysteryrat's Maze

by Cyntha Chow

It has been six months since Samuel Hoenig established the Questions Answered agency in Piscataway, New Jersey, and in that time he’s successfully provided eighty-two answers to an equal number of questions from clients. Having the personality traits inherent in Asperger's Syndrome (he does not consider it to be a disease), Samuel compulsively analyzes and detects in ways that are very advantageous to his newly chosen profession. Social interactions with overly emotional and needlessly polite "neurotypicals” though, prove to be far more challenging.

Nov 2014 15

The Question of the Missing Head: An Asperger’s Mystery By E.J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen: Review/Interview

2014 Articles, Cynthia Chow, Mysteryrat's Maze

by Cynthia Chow

After gentle nudging from his mother, Samuel Hoenig establishes Questions Answered, an agency designed to answer questions—not solve problems—and nudge him out of his mother’s attic apartment. Samuel has the trait (he doesn’t consider it an affliction) of Asperger’s Syndrome. The very aspects that make socializing difficult allow him to be an observant and intellectually effective detective. After finding a lost boa constrictor, Samuel gets a referral to locate someone who has literally lost a head.