The Question of the Missing Head

The Question of the Missing Head: An Asperger’s Mystery By E.J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen Midnight Ink October 2014

Review by Cynthia Chow

After some 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 and the very aspects that make socializing difficult allow him to be an amazingly observant and intellectually effective detective. While a previous case may have been the locating of a lost boa constrictor, from this Samuel receives a referral to locate someone who has literally lost a head.

It seems that Marshall Ackerman, the chief administrator of Garden State Cryonics Institute, has misplaced the head of Rita masters-Powell, who had herself cryogenically frozen until the point in time when death could be scientifically cured. While a scandal could cause the loss of her endowment and future clients, this mystery is supplanted by the bigger one of just who murdered Rebecca Springer and left her body at the site of the missing head. While Ackerman waits optimistically for a ransom demand, the very-much-in-over-his-head Detective Lapides requests that Samuel’s astounding deductive and observation skills be put to use before Rita’s head thaws past its expiration date.

Luckily for Samuel, the recently laid-off Home News-Tribune photographer Janet Washburn happened to stop by with a question of her own and becomes an inadvertent but willing assistant as she both translates and helps him navigate through our mundane world. With experience as a substitute teacher, Janet proves to be uniquely qualified to enlighten Samuel on the emotional cues that he misses through his very literal perception of the world.

While there will be inevitable comparisons to the Monk television show and mystery book series (and who, as Samuel points out, has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and not Asperger’s Syndrome) as well as any Sherlock Holmes incarnation, this is an entirely unique narrative from the viewpoint of the “gifted” detective and not from his exasperated coworkers. In fact, this entertaining novel shines a light on how Samuel has adapted his traits into assets and through training has learned to make allowances for the mundane “normals.” Most enlightening is the disclosure that Samuel is far more concerned with being judged for his reactions to interruptions of his habits and unexpected new experiences than he is of the events themselves.

The author of several mystery series as well as a nonfiction book on parenting Asperger’s children, Jeffrey Cohen reveals the fascinating aspects of Asperger’s Syndrome while retaining all of the humor of his Haunted Guesthouse, Aaron Tucker, and Comedy Tonight mysteries. Samuel is a sympathetic and very likable character because of, not despite, his traits and it is a delight to observe him connect with those who are so much slower than he. It is always a treat to be educated while being entertained, and readers are sure to experience both in this delightfully funny new series.

I'm half way through this book and all I can say is who I love it I reminds me of Monk in a lot of ways yet it's so different that you can;t help but love the characters I enjoy and appreciate how the author explains Asperger Syndrome and shows how it affects the main character and those around him, but it also touches on how people chose to deal with it also , I loved the mystery never read anything dealing cryogenic the book kept me in thralled I had to make myself put it down I love books like that keep the excellent writing.

Pure Genius! Who would not love this honest, guileless Asberger's brain as he answers the question? The good guys are really good and the bad guys are really slimy. Great fun, and delightful read. Snap it up, book clubs!