The Question of the Unfamiliar Husband

Starred review from August 31, 2015
In the captivating sequel to 2014’s
The Question of the Missing Head from Copperman (the pseudonym of Jeff Cohen), Samuel Hoenig, a highly unusual investigator who runs a little service in Piscataway, N.J., called Questions Answered, puts the single-mindedness of his Asperger’s syndrome to good use. With some help from his mother and from a one-time client, Samuel looks for an elusive woman, graphic artist Sheila McInerney, who lured him from his office in order to leave the body of her husband, Oliver Lewis, there. In addition to trying to figure out the mystery before the protagonist does, the reader has the pleasure of watching Samuel maneuver in a universe where other people—unlike him—are neither literal nor orderly. The complicated story focuses on Lewis’s tawdry history and collection of unhappy ex-wives. Samuel gets arrested, goes on a date, and has a full-blown Asperger’s crisis when things go wrong. Readers will look forward to new challenges for Samuel in his next adventure.