Murder Sees the Light was published by Penguin Canada in 1984, and it represents Engel’s most inventive use of setting: Benny Cooperman, an entirely urban creature whose idea of wilderness is a park bench, finds himself at a remote fishing lodge in northern Ontario where a murder has occurred. The isolation — no phones, no libraries, no contacts, no quick escape route — forces Benny to rely entirely on his observational skills and his ability to read people.
The fishing lodge provides a classic closed-circle mystery setting: a limited number of suspects, all with opportunity, and no possibility of outside interference. But Engel uses the setting for more than plot convenience: the northern Ontario landscape — vast, indifferent, beautiful, and slightly menacing to a city boy — serves as a counterpoint to Benny’s urban sensibility. His discomfort in nature (bugs, bears, boats, and an absence of delis) provides gentle comedy while his detective’s intelligence proves that the skills honed in Grantham’s streets are transferable to any environment.
The novel also develops Benny’s relationship with the Ontario wilderness that lies just beyond the edges of his usual world — the vast, sparsely populated north that begins only a few hours’ drive from the settled cities of southern Ontario.
Collecting Murder Sees the Light
First edition (Penguin Canada, Toronto, 1984): Paperback original.
Market values:
- First Canadian edition: $15–$35
- First US hardcover (St. Martin’s): $20–$50