As Dog Is My Witness

September 12, 2005
In Cohen's third Aaron Tucker whodunit (after 2003's A Farewell to Legs
), the aspiring New Jersey screenwriter and occasional freelance journalist again puts on his sleuthing hat after a young man with Asperger's syndrome is arrested for a senseless murder. Despite damning evidence, including the accused's confession and possession of the murder weapon, Tucker, who has an autistic son, finds the nature of the crime incompatible with his understanding of the suspect's symptoms. Persisting even after a local mobster warns him off, the amateur detective uses his son to pursue the truth. While the plot may have too many coincidences for some tastes, Cohen succeeds in injecting humor and humanity into this clever puzzler. Parents of Asperger's children are a natural audience, but this work should appeal to a broad cross-section of the mystery market.