Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen, Professor Emeritus at Murray State University, brings us his latest 'Uncommon Mystery,' When Beggars Die by E.A. Allen. 

E. A. Allen, When Beggars Die (2013) ISBN: 978-1-60653-066-5

When I met Ed Allen—that’s a great moniker, by the way, for one writing in the tradition of Edgar Allan Poe—he was finishing a Ph.D. in history at Tulane and I was teaching at the University of New Orleans. He went on to a career that included a post as Senior CIA Analyst for European Security Affairs. I can’t think of a better background for someone writing a historical thriller about the precarious balance of power in Europe at the dawn of the twentieth century. That’s the period when the action of When Beggars Die takes place, just after the turn of the century, when the English King Edward VII is in Paris to negotiate a treaty. 

It’s time for those of us who enjoy shooting to lead the push for sensible gun and ammo and magazine laws, for closing loopholes, and for more energetic enforcement of existing gun laws. For too long there has been no debate about guns in this country. That was allowed to happen because people were choosing sides and thinking the other side was unreasonable. Those who wanted more control thought of gun owners as holding the view that no laws should ever be passed restricting gun access in any way, period. On the other hand, gun owners and users have looked at those wanting some controls as if all they wanted was to take everyone’s guns away.

MURRAY, KY (WKMS) - You're probably familiar with our Front Blog series, Good Reads, books recommended by WKMS staff, students and volunteers. A great book doesn't always have to be one that ponders the unknowable or delves into life's quandaries. Mystery novel fan Michael Cohen recommends an uncommon read about a raunchy country singer turned private investigator and a bus accident involving a Hopi Indian.

By Michael Cohen

By Michael Cohen

Murray, KY – Now that schools across the region are back in full swing, it's once again time to dawn that literary hat and pick up a good read. Commentator Michael Cohen recommends an academic murder mystery by Carolyn Heillbrun, who wrote under the pseudonym, Amanda Cross. Cohen peaks through the pages of her first novel starring literature professor Kate Fansler, titled In The Last Analysis.

By Michael Cohen

Murray, KY – Imagine how strange and frightening it would be to see yourself, not quite a year old, with your mother and two men, one of whom is a confessed serial killer. This is what happened to author Sebastian Junger and is only a small part of what he recounts in "A Death in Belmont." Hear what mysery novel expert Michael Cohen thinks about this Boston thriller.