This is the fifth in the Asperger Mysteries. I thought I had read them all, but realized that I have missed one.

These are a delight to me. Samuel has Asperger's Syndrome and has a business called "Questions Answered." For a fee he will find the answer to your question. He is not a detective agency, but rather does the job of a researcher for the questioner. Because of his Asperger's, he tends to take everything literally and is somewhat awkward in social situations. I find him charming.

In this book, he is asked by Virginia to answer the question: is her husband having an affair with his college sweetheart who died several years before? Samuel initially does not want to answer this question because it presupposes the existence of a ghost. However, his associate, Janet Washburn, does want to answer the question. She believes she has seen a ghost. The agency does take the question which quickly becomes moot when Virginia's husband is found murdered and Virginia is the prime suspect. Now she wants to hire them to prove she didn't do it, but Samuel says they answer questions and are not a detective agency. But, once again, Janet influences him to answer the question: who murdered Brett?

Samuel is trying to clarify his relationship with Janet. In addition to this, Samuel is sorting out the bond he may or may not have with his father who abandoned him and his mother 27 years before but has reappeared in their lives.

I adore these stories! I am so happy to find that I missed one because now it gives me one to read without having to wait for the author to publish another!

Can you have an affair with a dead person? That's the question Samuel and Janet are asked. Less skeptical Janet takes the lead but soon a human dead body gets I the way. The very man who asked.

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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"Is my husband having an affair with a dead woman?"


That doesn't seem to be the kind of question that Samuel and Ms. Washburn would tackle as Questions Answered. They typically take on things that require esoteric research, problem solving, and occasionally something that takes some investigation that looks a lot like the kind of thing a P.I. would do. Paranormal investigation is not in their wheelhouse. Samuel is almost reflexively dismissive of the idea -- but his associate, Ms. Washburn makes him listen to the prospective client's story. And then he tries to reflexively dismiss the question, but she won't let him. While Samuel is convinced there's nothing supernatural afoot -- in fact, the notion is impossible -- Ms. Washburn had an experience she can't explain as a teenager, and refuses to rule it out.

So Samuel let's her try to come up with an answer to the question and goes back to whatever he was doing before. Before she can get very far into her research, the husband is murdered. Suddenly, the question doesn't matter as much as the replacement question, "Who killed my husband?" Given Ms. Washburn's involvement, Samuel gets interested in things again -- and the two get involved in a very twisty and complicated mystery. As far as twisty-turny-keep you guessing-mysteries go, this is the best that the duo has encountered and will easily satisfy the most puzzle-obsessed of readers.

What makes this even better -- is that given the supernatural/supernatural-adjacent nature of the instigating question, the two are approaching things in very different ways and decide to operate largely separately. Samuel interviews people with assistance of other to drive him places or via the Internet, while Ms. Washburn goes on her own, trying to use Samuel's methods. This change in modus operandi is refreshing for the characters and the readers, and will lead both Samuel and Ms. Washburn to re-evaluate the way they do business in the future.

The danger level in this one is great -- and there are direct threats made against Ms. Washburn and Samuel's mother and father. Which just makes Samuel more determined to come up with definitive answers quickly. The possible supernatural elements stay with the story throughout and it's only near the end that all the characters come to the same conclusions about it. This novel features a great puzzle and the solution is very satisfactory -- and one I didn't see coming (but in retrospect makes complete sense).

So much for the mystery -- there's also plenty going on in Samuel's personal life. On the whole I thought they dealt with it well, but...

I appreciated Samuel pointing out that Asperger's is no longer a diagnosis, but he still claims it s a shorthand way to describe the way he acts/thinks to others. Which is just a great -- and realistic -- way to handle the change in status for the label. Let me follow that observation with this one -- what frustrated me about this one -- and I will admit I was very frustrated at times -- is how little Samuel's mother seemed to understand him. Ms. Washburn, too, but she hasn't known Samuel as long -- or as well as his mother. Dealing with the father who abandoned his family decades ago suddenly reappearing and trying to merge back into his life, would be difficult, complicated and messy. For someone like Samuel? Well, I'm guessing it'd be just as difficult and complicated -- but he'd tell you exactly what's going on with him. And Samuel does so -- repeatedly. His father doesn't believe him; Ms. Washburn seems to try to believe him, but doesn't; neither does his mother. His mother has been with him every day of his life, devoting more of her life and energy to her son than most parents do -- how does she not know him well enough to not double-guess his emotions? If Samuel says he feels "X," then that's probably exactly what he feels -- unless you force him to look at things another way. Over and over again, his mother shows less awareness of Samuel's reactions to things than almost anyone. It just didn't ring true. Samuel's Asperger’s isn't new to her (or Samuel) -- she shouldn't act like this.

I should add -- the authors know a whole lot more about all of this than I do, and their depictions of this are probably spot-on, I guess they just didn't convince me about those depictions like they usually do. Also, in the overall-scheme of things, this was a relatively minor quibble and didn't detract a lot from the pleasure I had in the book -- it just took a lot of space to describe.

The trick to Samuel is to give him a little personal growth, a little greater awareness, a little understanding of himself and the emotional needs of others. Yet, only a little bit. I do think this is depicted faster (possibly unrealistically so) in the books -- because outside of Nero Wolfe, Sherlock Holmes, or other Golden Age/Golden Age-like characters who don't grow and evolve by design, we expect some sort of noticeable personal growth in our series characters (particularly the central characters) from book to book. Samuel shouldn't give us much in that way -- his evolution/growth/whatever you want to call it is going to happen on a glacial pace. And over the last three books (I really need to double back and read the first two in the series), he's taken significant steps forward -- so much so it's like Ms. Washburn has slipped into forgetting that he's not neurotypical a few times here. That makes sense, because their relationship (in every sense) is pretty new. Thankfully, she catches herself and deliberately attempts to accept that -- and generally does - and recognizes when he's trying. Because we readers get a direct pipeline to Samuel's thoughts, we might have an easier time with it than she does, but she does a decent job (and his mother usually does, too). It's a heckuva trick to pull off narratively, and Copperman/Cohen nails it, time and time again.

Another clever mystery, well-told with one of Crime Fiction's most original and convincingly written characters (not a detective, just someone who can easily be mistaken for one) -- this series is a consistently pleasant and rewarding read. The Question of the Dead Mistress is a great jumping-on point, and a welcome-return read for those who've spent time with the crew from Questions Answered before.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Midnight Ink via NetGalley in exchange for this post -- thanks to both for this. My opinions are my own, however.

This book is so much fun that this reviewer hopes for a sequel, then a full series.

Samuel Hoenig and his assistant/girlfriend, Ms. Washburn run a small business, 'Questions Answered.' Samuel suffers from Asperger's and Ms. Washburn adores him, both due to his quirky personality and because of it. We never really learn what either one of these people look like, except that Samuel is tall and Ms. Washburn is blonde and lovely.

Although Samuel never gets beyond addressing his adored as Ms. Washburn, his mother (with whom he still lives, of course) calls her Janet.

Into their office in a strip mall enters a woman who wants to have this question answered: "Is her husband having an affair with his dead girlfriend?" Samuel immediately declares the answer to be "no," as there are no ghosts. Janet, however, takes a different view and it is initially agreed that she will take on the job of answering this question without Samuel.

Not surprisingly, soon after accepting the job of answering the question, a murder occurs, leading from the ghost mistress to a cast of criminals and characters some of which may be dangerous but are nonetheless, not that bright. Can't wait for another one.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced read of this delightful book.

Samuel Hoenig has Asperger's, but that has not stopped him from running a company called Questions Answered. Bring in a question, and he and his associate, Janet Washburn, will do their very best to provide an answer to that question.

When Virginia Fontaine walks into the office with a question, it turns everything upside down. She wants to know if her husband is having an affair with a ghost. The ghost of his ex-girlfriend, who died in a auto crash 3 years prior. Samuel of course does not believe in ghosts...but it is an interesting question. And when the living start to die, then the question becomes all that more important.

This book is well written with great dialog. Samuel's Asperger's is treated with dignity and we can see humor in how he interprets statements and lack of understanding of some social nuances.

As far as the mystery goes (or mysteries, because it gets a little more complex as the story progresses), it all made sense in the end. I highly recommend this very entertaining book in the series.

Samuel Hoenig owns a business, Questions Answered, that does actually what it says — answer questions. (Samuel, a young man with autism, is not a private investigator, and he rebukes anyone who calls what he does for a client “a case.” His precision reminds me of that of my own high-functioning autistic daughter, certainly part of this series’ charm for me.) He and his trusty assistant, Janet Washburn, investigate a question of a woman who suspects her husband is cheating on her with the ghost of an old girlfriend who died in a fiery car accident three years earlier. Samuel, with his very scientific bent, and ghost-believing Janet split on the existence of spirits in a bit of a tiresome way, but I enjoyed the novel anyway, with its many unexpected twists and its suspenseful denouement.

There’s a subplot involving Samuel’s estranged father that I thought added nothing to the novel, but it didn’t distract from author E.J. Copperman’s cleverly plotted main mystery, although Janet Washburn’s needlessly taking offense did. Still, a wonderful novel that’s highly recommended.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Midnight Ink in exchange for an honest review.

The first I've read in this series, but will not be my last. A different twist to the story, as we see much of it through the eyes of Samuel, who has Asperger syndrome. I really enjoyed the book, and the characters. Some of the mystery got a little lost at times, but for the most part liked that too. Wish there would have been more with Janet's POV, but in general liked that too. Would highly recommend this book and authors.

I must admit that I came to read this book by mistake. I have read a British series with the leading character also having Asperger’s or any of the other diseases on the spectrum. It is a great series and they are also at book 3 in the series so I was a little surprised when I found out this was taking place in New Jersey and not London. However, I am not disappointed with this book. It is a very fast read but that also explains some of the problems I had with the book. Some things are being repeated ad nauseam like Mike the taxi driver, mother’s chair, move computer mouse. It’s cute in the beginning but tends to get annoying after the first three times. I really liked the main character Samuel and his girlfriend whom he is not sure is his girlfriend or not. The story gets a little convoluted at the end where everyone tries to kill the other side for mostly idiotic reasons. It is a nice little book and I would happily recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun mystery. I give it 3.5 stars and thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Janet Washburn and Samuel Hoenig work at "Questions Answered', located in a former pizza place in a strip mall.
A woman enters their workplace and would like to retain their services. She has been married for 7 years to Brett, who is "involved" with another woman. Samuel told her that he was sorry but they were not a detective agency but that he could direct her to one. She said "no" that she needed to have a question answered. This is when I knew I wouldn't be able to put the book down! she explained that her husband was having an affair with his dead girlfriend. Samuel says, "No". The woman, Virginia says, "No? Do you mean you won't answer my question?" Samuel tells her that he IS answering her question. She insists that since Samuel knows no details, how can he say "no." He tells her that it is physically impossible. Virginia explains that she picked up on signs of her husband cheating for the past few months. His former girlfriend, Melanie Mason, has been dead for 3 years and he hasn't seen her for 20 years!. Melanie started talking to her husband 2 months ago. He talked to her at her grave and communicated on Facebook, and plans to meet up with her husband. Virginia tells them that she followed him to a park bench and she got into his car and they drove away. She shows them a picture but only her husband appears. She explains that since Melanie is dead she is transparent.
They reluctantly take her case and soon after, Brett is found murdered. The investigation begins. Anthony Deane, a frat brother of Bretts, seems to be a link after his flamboyant eulogy at Brett's funeral. Then there is the possibility that Melanie is alive? Janet and Samuel go about trying to solve the murder much to the chagrin (and head-butting with) of the police. How the two "detectives" get away with questioning people of interest is beyond me! After countless meetings, scuffles and leads, Virginia tells Janet & Samuel that she no longer needs their services. This is the point in which the story begins to take MANY twists, turns (and spills)! A delightful fast read that is truly "unputdownable" Many thanks to NetGallery and the Publishing company for the opportunity to read and review this great read!!! .

Thank you NetGalley and Midnight Ink for my copy of this book! I found the plot well written and enjoyable. Seeing things through Samuel’s perspective was interesting, the quick-witted way he speaks and thinks is original and I’ve not read it before in other mystery books. Ms Washburn was also pivotal to the story and her dynamic with Samuel makes the whole plot even more appealing. The author’s take on Asperger Syndrome is unique and free of any misconceptions regarding the diagnosis.

I've read all the books in this series. This is another great addition to it. The storyline is convoluted & interesting. Well worth the read. #TheQuestionOfTheDeadMistress #NetGalley