A Canadian Marlowe
The Ransom Game. By Howard Engel. Penguin, 1985. 218 pp. $7.95. (Paperback).
If you admire Hammett and Chandler, and think that John D. MacDonald does not quite match them, in spite of the redoubtable Travis McGee, then read “The Ransom Game.” Howard Engel comes closer to Raymond Chandler than anyone, and his hero, Benny Cooperman, might just be the best private eye since Philip Marlowe. And it does not even matter than San Francisco is transposed to Grantham, which is somewhere near Toronto.
The book is about a kidnapping, a large ransom, human frailty, organised crime and disorganised crime. It covers the highs and lows of Canadian society and has more wisecracks per page than Yoda’s face per square centimetre. Above all, Benny Cooperman is such a satisfactory sleuth, constantly freezing in the Canadian winter and wishing himself in Florida, that he makes “The Ramsom Game” a completely satisfying read. Where’s the next? — Ken Strongman.
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Bibliographic details
Press, 31 May 1986, Page 20
Word Count
158A Canadian Marlowe Press, 31 May 1986, Page 20
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