Memory Book

Private detective Benny Cooperman becomes his own client in his most mysterious investigation yet. Benny awakes in the hospital recovering from a serious blow to the head, with a condition called alexia sine agraphia; in layman's terms, it means he can write but he 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, eludes him.
But when Benny realizes that he was found unconscious beside a dead woman, he figures he must have been close to solving a case. With Anna working as a field agent, and two cops reluctantly sharing their discoveries, Benny pieces together the events that led to a murder - and his own injuries.

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
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