Michael Zinn Lewin was born on July 21, 1942 in Springfield, MA. He an author of
mainly mystery novels, although he has also written fantasy and short stories.
He has written more than twenty books.
Ask the Right Question was published in 1971. It is the first in a series of stories
about the private detective Albert Samson, who is based in Indianapolis, Indiana,
where Lewin grew up. Samson is asked to take on a case by the young Eloise
Crystal, who has a scientific mystery on her hands. Her blood type is different
from both of her parents. She wants Samson to find her biological father.
Unlike most private detectives, Samson doesn't drink, doesn't own a gun, cooks
for himself using canned food, has a steady girlfriend, and shoots hoops in
the park for fun. But even though he seems relatively unglamorous and off-beat,
he is both intelligent and smart-mouthed as he tries to unravel Eloise's history.
The New York Times called Ask the Right Question "a smoothly written private-eye story."