NewPulp Literary Productions

“THE JOSEPHUS ENIGMA—A SAM COHEN CASE ADVENTURE #3”

BOOK REVIEW BY D. CRAWFORD

Authors Shelly Waxman and James Post are not afraid to tackle thorny issues and they do it in an entertaining and provocative way that always engages and challenges the reader. This latest in the Sam Cohen series is no exception to the rule. I highly recommend this as well as the other novels in the series for those who enjoy hard-boiled detective fiction.

A highly original and well-developed plot makes this an enjoyable read from start to finish. The protagonist, Sam Cohen is an interesting character, reminiscent in many ways of the ‘hard-boiled’ protagonists of the classic Dashell Hammett and Raymond Chandler novels but with a depth that reflects the complexities of modern society. He is an attorney based out of a small but comfortable office in an old building in downtown Chicago.

At one time, he rubbed elbows with the rich and powerful, but became disillusioned after being asked to represent the FBI against charges that it was involved in the assassination of a leader of the Black Panthers. Thus, he gave up that life to become “a champion of the downtrodden, a defender of the persecuted, and the last resort of those who have lost all hope.”

Indeed, his latest client, Andy McAndrew finds himself on the verge of despair, turning to Cohen as his last ray of hope. This short, but intense novel is a must read. The Sam Cohen novels represent a new generation of detective fiction for a new generation of readers. Modern writers of detective fiction and thrillers have focused on the scientific aspects of criminal investigations while completely ignoring the human element.

In the Patricia Cornwell variety of novels, nobody questions anything. Consider the character of Jack Ryan in the Tom Clancy adventure novels: he never questions the orders he receives from his government nor much of anything else for that matter. His character, like so many others found within the pages of the majority of the modern detective novels that flood the shelves of bookstores these days, lacks psychological depth.

Indeed, Clancy’s Ryan seems more like a robot than a thinking, feeling human being. Not so with attorney Sam Cohen. Authors Post and Waxman have succeeded in creating a character with whom readers can identify in the protagonist, Sam Cohen. He, like the rest of us, is far from perfect and his faults make his good qualities all the more admirable. Cohen questions authority, including that wielded by his own government, and even questions himself at times. The world of Sam Cohen is much more complex than the typical “us versus them” mentality seen in most modern detective fiction.

If you like the superficial sort of trash that passes for detective fiction today where the “good guys” have badges and wear white and the one-dimensional “bad guys” wear black, this book is not for you. But if you like fiction that challenges the prevailing myths of our times, in an entertaining and provocative fashion, then this latest in the Sam Cohen series is a must read. I highly recommend it.

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SAM COHEN CASE ADVENTURE SERIES: “THE BLACK MESSIAH MURDERS-#1”& “PIRANHAS ON THE LOOSE–#2”