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The Rabbi Small Mysteries #11
The Day the Rabbi Resigned
Rabbi Small, bored with his clerical duties, is enlisted by Police Chief Hugh Lanigan to set his scholar's mind to a drunk-driving accident that looks like murder. Victor Joyce, a local college professor infamous both for his ambition and extracurricular activities, had been drinking heavily the night of the crash. But a witness who passed by the wreck insists that the victim was not dead, just unconscious. Rabbi Small learns that quite a number of "innocent" citizens drove down the seldom-used road on that rainy night. Any one of them could have had it in for the not-so-revered professor...
280 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 21, 1992
206 people are currently reading
500 people want to read
About the author
Harry Kemelman
64 books146 followersHarry Kemelman was an American mystery writer and a professor of English. He was the creator of one of the most famous religious sleuths, Rabbi David Small.
His writing career began with short stories for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine featuring New England college professor Nicky Welt, the first of which, "The Nine Mile Walk", is considered a classic.
The Rabbi Small series began in 1964 with the publication of Friday the Rabbi Slept Late, which became a huge bestseller, a difficult achievement for a religious mystery, and won Kemelman a 1965 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. The Rabbi Small books are not only mysteries, but also considerations of Conservative Judaism.
His writing career began with short stories for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine featuring New England college professor Nicky Welt, the first of which, "The Nine Mile Walk", is considered a classic.
The Rabbi Small series began in 1964 with the publication of Friday the Rabbi Slept Late, which became a huge bestseller, a difficult achievement for a religious mystery, and won Kemelman a 1965 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. The Rabbi Small books are not only mysteries, but also considerations of Conservative Judaism.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
January 21, 2024
Rabbi David Small has been the rabbi at the Barnard’s Crossing synagogue for 25 years. In fact, he was came just as the building was finished. But Small has been feeling a bit stale lately. After all these years and at age 53, should he leave his post? And should he move into a different line of work altogether, maybe teaching?
Meanwhile, handsome English professor Victor Joyce is killed when his car ends up wrapped around a tree. Initially, everyone thinks that the fate of the womanizing professor from Windemere Christian College is due to drunk driving. However, Hugh Lanigan, Barnard’s Crossing’s police chief and a good friend of the Smalls’, comes to think that Joyce’s death was murder. Once again, the rabbi is drawn into investigating crime. And good for us readers! Author Harry Kemelman has penned another excellent cozy mystery for us to thoroughly enjoy. Highly recommended.
Meanwhile, handsome English professor Victor Joyce is killed when his car ends up wrapped around a tree. Initially, everyone thinks that the fate of the womanizing professor from Windemere Christian College is due to drunk driving. However, Hugh Lanigan, Barnard’s Crossing’s police chief and a good friend of the Smalls’, comes to think that Joyce’s death was murder. Once again, the rabbi is drawn into investigating crime. And good for us readers! Author Harry Kemelman has penned another excellent cozy mystery for us to thoroughly enjoy. Highly recommended.
October 3, 2015
Another of the delightful Rabbi Small mysteries. Years ago I read the mysteries with titles including names of the seven days of the week, such as Friday the Rabbi Slept Late and the six others. Now I'm finishing up the others in the series. As in the aforementioned, the rabbi works together with Hugh Lanigan, Bernard's Crossing police chief and the force. They do the legwork but the rabbi uses his deductive reasoning to pull things together and to arrive at the solution. In this mystery, a man crashes his car into a tree on a dark road at night. Was he merely a drunk driver who lost control, or was he murdered?
A very easy read, consisting mostly of dialogue. I liked so much the explanations of different facets of Judaism but there wasn't as much as in the earlier books. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others, but I read them years ago. Half the book was taken up with introduction of characters before the accident even happened. To solve the mystery I felt 80% was Hugh and the policemen; only 20% was David.
A very easy read, consisting mostly of dialogue. I liked so much the explanations of different facets of Judaism but there wasn't as much as in the earlier books. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others, but I read them years ago. Half the book was taken up with introduction of characters before the accident even happened. To solve the mystery I felt 80% was Hugh and the policemen; only 20% was David.
January 6, 2018
I really enjoy these books, largely because the murder of the murder mystery always seems to be an afterthought, like halfway through Kemelman was all "Oh WAIT, I should kill someone off, huh?" In other books that would be infuriating, but somehow in these it's weirdly endearing.
April 25, 2017
I have to admit, I didn't finish this novel. I got through chapter 17. The back of the cover said there was a murder mystery in the book but as of chapter 17, it hadn't happened yet. I'm not the kind of reader that needs a body in the first chapter--I'm willing to let the author tell it his/her own way, especially if the prose is engaging, which Mr. Kemelman's always is. But more than a third of the way through and all I've seen so far is character development. Most of the characters are in the academic world--all they seem to talk about is sex and tenure. The latter I don't find very interesting, the former--you can only stand so much without a story. I've loved Mr. Kemelman's other rabbi books, though most of them featured Rabbi Small and the always entertaining Jewish community of Barnard's Crossing. In this book, so far, Rabbi Small hasn't been in more than a handful of chapters and the rest of the community is absent.
Still, I'm giving it 3 stars because the storytelling is entertaining and the characters are well drawn.
Still, I'm giving it 3 stars because the storytelling is entertaining and the characters are well drawn.
April 29, 2022
I really wanted to like this book. It just doesn’t have the emotional stakes or compelling mystery that I remember from other books in the series.
September 25, 2016
The Rabbi David Small mystery books are an indulgence of mine. They are simple whodunnit crime novels, set in a small fictional New England town outside Boston, on the coast. Neither the writing nor the plot nor the characters are really outstanding -- rather solid yes, but no more. Part of the attraction for me is that I read a bunch of them when I was a kid; and part of it is that the stories are set in a rather old-fashioned small-town America that just seems very quaint and nostalgic and enjoyable to me.
Kemelman, born 1908, started writing the series in the early 60ies, when he himself was getting close to retirement. They are always set in the year they are written, at least roughly. But even though he continued writing the stories well into the 1980ies and incorporated somewhat more modern features like hippies, his stories seem to be unchangeably rooted in the 50ies or even earlier, in a time when you knew your car dealer personally, when the only way to get cash was to go to a bank during opening hours, when work was easy to find and workdays ended at 5pm.
The stories usually have a whole bunch of local protagonists and their respective families entangled in multiple ways, through business and acquaintance and via in-laws and romance and circumstance and local social life, and that too adds to the cozy small-town vintage feel. It also gives the protagonists, and especially the main character, rabbi David Small, good opportunities to philosophize about life and people and customs in general, often related to judaic ideas or principles of some sort. While it's not groundbreaking by any means, it's always an interesting glimpse at the not so long gone past.
It's that as much as anything that makes these detective stories endearing to me.
Kemelman, born 1908, started writing the series in the early 60ies, when he himself was getting close to retirement. They are always set in the year they are written, at least roughly. But even though he continued writing the stories well into the 1980ies and incorporated somewhat more modern features like hippies, his stories seem to be unchangeably rooted in the 50ies or even earlier, in a time when you knew your car dealer personally, when the only way to get cash was to go to a bank during opening hours, when work was easy to find and workdays ended at 5pm.
The stories usually have a whole bunch of local protagonists and their respective families entangled in multiple ways, through business and acquaintance and via in-laws and romance and circumstance and local social life, and that too adds to the cozy small-town vintage feel. It also gives the protagonists, and especially the main character, rabbi David Small, good opportunities to philosophize about life and people and customs in general, often related to judaic ideas or principles of some sort. While it's not groundbreaking by any means, it's always an interesting glimpse at the not so long gone past.
It's that as much as anything that makes these detective stories endearing to me.
March 15, 2020
It was the best of the series, it was the worst of the series.
This is the next to the last of the Rabbi Small books and, with our libraries shut down due to the Coronavirus, my reading the last of the twelve books and going cold turkey will have to wait.
The Day The Rabbi Resigned has a lot in it for us Rabbi David Small fans. There are a whole slew of interesting characters. Windermere Christian College, a setting for a previous murder, is revisited. The Rabbi and the police chief work together quite a bit. And, of course, there is the suspense of the title that suggests that, after all of his previous resignations and threats of resignations, David might actually mean it this time. Oh, and then there is the matter of a murder.
The story line in this book was one of the best ones of the Rabbi Small series. There were more twists and turns, false leads, mistakes, plots and subplots. This book will have you glued, and guessing, from start to finish.
As to why it is the worst of the series… that is something that I cannot mention without ruining the book for you. So, I’ll just leave you wanting to know what it is and, therefore, needing to read the book.
This is the next to the last of the Rabbi Small books and, with our libraries shut down due to the Coronavirus, my reading the last of the twelve books and going cold turkey will have to wait.
The Day The Rabbi Resigned has a lot in it for us Rabbi David Small fans. There are a whole slew of interesting characters. Windermere Christian College, a setting for a previous murder, is revisited. The Rabbi and the police chief work together quite a bit. And, of course, there is the suspense of the title that suggests that, after all of his previous resignations and threats of resignations, David might actually mean it this time. Oh, and then there is the matter of a murder.
The story line in this book was one of the best ones of the Rabbi Small series. There were more twists and turns, false leads, mistakes, plots and subplots. This book will have you glued, and guessing, from start to finish.
As to why it is the worst of the series… that is something that I cannot mention without ruining the book for you. So, I’ll just leave you wanting to know what it is and, therefore, needing to read the book.
May 16, 2017
This book is one of a series by Harry Kemelman, most of which are titled by a day of the week, e.g. Monday the Rabbi Took Off; Tuesday the Rabbi Saw Red; Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet et al.. eventually he ran out of days and simply title his books "The Day the Rabbi" or "That Day" or "Some Day".
The Rabbi is David Small the leader/teacher of a Conservative Synogogue and he is a part time sleuth or perhaps more accurately, an extremely intelligent man who is able to put clues together quicker than his good friend Police Chief Lanigan, an Irish Catholic.
The books are a little like a Soap Opera, the positive aspects of Soap Operas, that is to look at ordinary people's lives inside their families and at work and watch as they struggle through the normal conflict/ resolution that all families experience.
Each book also contains a mild mystery but the main thrust of Kemelman's writing is to present life in a synogogue, the congregation that populates it and their surrounding environment and interaction with people of other ethnic backgrounds, primarily Catholic, since the stories take place in certain Boston neighborhoods where the demographics are primarily made up of these two people groups.
I belong to neither people group and I find Kemelman's observations very interesting. Kemelman uses the one people group, Catholics, to highlight the beliefs of the other people group, Jews. He does this through conversations between people from both backgrounds, which at times can border on lecturing. However, it is informative.
He also uses the members of Small's synagogue to clarify the purpose of worship. Or rather that observing the Sabbath is not about worship. What is it about? He answers that question through his stories.
In Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet, a group of men in the synagogue want to buy a retreat in the country in order to have prayer services. And by prayer services, it is meant where each person prays to God according to how they feel led, not memorized prayers or in any kind of traditional sense.
Rabbi Small lets them know that their congregation does not engage in prayer services in the manner of Protestant or Catholics. That is not the point of the congregation and if they persist in this endeavor he will resign.
In The Day The Rabbi Resigned, again Rabbi Small makes it clear that the purpose of synagogue is not to worship God or study the Torah. He was not called by God to his vocation. He is there to study the Talmud and to share his research with his congregation. Again, for what purpose?
To better understand Jewish tradition in order to preserve their heritage. Every rule, tradition, from observing the Sabbath to wearing yarmulkes is about expressing one's Jewish identity. According to Rabbi Small, God is unknowable and it is not the goal of the synagogue to develop any kind of relationship with Him.
Whether this is the general consensus of all Jews or their Rabbis, I have no idea. It is certainly a foreign concept to me. As a Christian my whole belief system is centered around knowing and experiencing God, which we believe is only attained through Jesus Christ redeeming our sins, because otherwise our sins would obstruct that relationship.
Every Rabbi book will in some way develop these basic concepts as expressed through Rabbi Small with, as I said, other Jews and Catholics used as foils to allow the Rabbi to expound.
He even has an atheist Jew, a relative of Small, explain how he practices being an observant, Conservative Jew without believing in God. The atheist in The Day the Rabbi Resigned is a professor at the University of Chicago and is asked to reconcile this seeming dichotomy.
The professor, going into lecture mode explains that Moses made up all the rules himself because he sensibly saw that boundaries are needed for a society to function and flourish. Because he knew he would die, he made up the concept of God so the Jews would continue to follow his rules after he was gone.
Well, that's one way to completely misread the Bible. There are so many ways to refute that but this is a book review not a theological debate. It does remind me of Jeremiah where God tells him that His people have circumcised bodies but uncircumcised hearts (Jeremiah 9:25,26)
As far as the precise plot of this book, several interesting plots circle around each other and, as I mentioned, the actual mystery is rather peripheral.
Donald Macomber, the president of Windermere Christian College wants to get rid of the "Christian" in his college's name. Using his normal strategy for conveying messages, Kemelman informs us of the plot premise through a conversation between Macomber and his friend Mark Levine. Levine, naturally is Jewish. We are not informed of Macomber's beliefs, other than that he is committed to increasing student enrollment.
Macomber asserts that the college was never Christian and the nomenclature was conceived through a desire to make the college seem "morally upright". When the college first started this was desirable to increase enrollment. Now the opposite is true. Macomber feels it is stifling enrollment, perhaps Kemelman's observation of modern culture and its shifting values.
The problem is that one of the board members, Cryus Merton, is a "fanatical Catholic" and is influential enough to veto the motion to change the name.
We get to know Merton, who is a faithfully observant Catholic but, if I may say so, another "uncircumcised heart". It turns out that Merton finds keeping "Christian" in the college's name is good for business because his good friend, Father Joseph, sends clients his way and he doesn't want to in any way sabotage that.
Merton also has a niece, a shy, plain, sheltered thing that has just graduated from a Convent school. He sees that a Catholic professor, Victor Joyce, is up for tenure. He thinks that if Joyce got tenure, he would help him influence Macomber. He decides that Joyce should marry his niece in order to produce such a result.
Joyce, desperately wants tenure, he understands that Merton would make sure he got tenure if he marries the niece. Whatever. No problem. It's not like Joyce has to be faithful or anything, which he's not.
The mystery which takes place after a hundred pages, is when Joyce is killed in a car wreck. He was intoxicated, soaked in fact, after coming from a college dinner. But upon investigation it looks like the wreck did not kill him. If not, who did?
That is what Chief Lanigan is determined to find out and, with the help of Rabbi Small, he does. Or rather Small does and Lanigan is grateful.
One final thought. In a 1973 article in People's magazine, Kemelman said that Rabbi friends wondered if he was basing his Rabbi on them. Kemelman said no, that if he knew a Rabbi Small he wouldn't like him because he "tended to be cold and stuffy."
The Rabbi is David Small the leader/teacher of a Conservative Synogogue and he is a part time sleuth or perhaps more accurately, an extremely intelligent man who is able to put clues together quicker than his good friend Police Chief Lanigan, an Irish Catholic.
The books are a little like a Soap Opera, the positive aspects of Soap Operas, that is to look at ordinary people's lives inside their families and at work and watch as they struggle through the normal conflict/ resolution that all families experience.
Each book also contains a mild mystery but the main thrust of Kemelman's writing is to present life in a synogogue, the congregation that populates it and their surrounding environment and interaction with people of other ethnic backgrounds, primarily Catholic, since the stories take place in certain Boston neighborhoods where the demographics are primarily made up of these two people groups.
I belong to neither people group and I find Kemelman's observations very interesting. Kemelman uses the one people group, Catholics, to highlight the beliefs of the other people group, Jews. He does this through conversations between people from both backgrounds, which at times can border on lecturing. However, it is informative.
He also uses the members of Small's synagogue to clarify the purpose of worship. Or rather that observing the Sabbath is not about worship. What is it about? He answers that question through his stories.
In Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet, a group of men in the synagogue want to buy a retreat in the country in order to have prayer services. And by prayer services, it is meant where each person prays to God according to how they feel led, not memorized prayers or in any kind of traditional sense.
Rabbi Small lets them know that their congregation does not engage in prayer services in the manner of Protestant or Catholics. That is not the point of the congregation and if they persist in this endeavor he will resign.
In The Day The Rabbi Resigned, again Rabbi Small makes it clear that the purpose of synagogue is not to worship God or study the Torah. He was not called by God to his vocation. He is there to study the Talmud and to share his research with his congregation. Again, for what purpose?
To better understand Jewish tradition in order to preserve their heritage. Every rule, tradition, from observing the Sabbath to wearing yarmulkes is about expressing one's Jewish identity. According to Rabbi Small, God is unknowable and it is not the goal of the synagogue to develop any kind of relationship with Him.
Whether this is the general consensus of all Jews or their Rabbis, I have no idea. It is certainly a foreign concept to me. As a Christian my whole belief system is centered around knowing and experiencing God, which we believe is only attained through Jesus Christ redeeming our sins, because otherwise our sins would obstruct that relationship.
Every Rabbi book will in some way develop these basic concepts as expressed through Rabbi Small with, as I said, other Jews and Catholics used as foils to allow the Rabbi to expound.
He even has an atheist Jew, a relative of Small, explain how he practices being an observant, Conservative Jew without believing in God. The atheist in The Day the Rabbi Resigned is a professor at the University of Chicago and is asked to reconcile this seeming dichotomy.
The professor, going into lecture mode explains that Moses made up all the rules himself because he sensibly saw that boundaries are needed for a society to function and flourish. Because he knew he would die, he made up the concept of God so the Jews would continue to follow his rules after he was gone.
Well, that's one way to completely misread the Bible. There are so many ways to refute that but this is a book review not a theological debate. It does remind me of Jeremiah where God tells him that His people have circumcised bodies but uncircumcised hearts (Jeremiah 9:25,26)
As far as the precise plot of this book, several interesting plots circle around each other and, as I mentioned, the actual mystery is rather peripheral.
Donald Macomber, the president of Windermere Christian College wants to get rid of the "Christian" in his college's name. Using his normal strategy for conveying messages, Kemelman informs us of the plot premise through a conversation between Macomber and his friend Mark Levine. Levine, naturally is Jewish. We are not informed of Macomber's beliefs, other than that he is committed to increasing student enrollment.
Macomber asserts that the college was never Christian and the nomenclature was conceived through a desire to make the college seem "morally upright". When the college first started this was desirable to increase enrollment. Now the opposite is true. Macomber feels it is stifling enrollment, perhaps Kemelman's observation of modern culture and its shifting values.
The problem is that one of the board members, Cryus Merton, is a "fanatical Catholic" and is influential enough to veto the motion to change the name.
We get to know Merton, who is a faithfully observant Catholic but, if I may say so, another "uncircumcised heart". It turns out that Merton finds keeping "Christian" in the college's name is good for business because his good friend, Father Joseph, sends clients his way and he doesn't want to in any way sabotage that.
Merton also has a niece, a shy, plain, sheltered thing that has just graduated from a Convent school. He sees that a Catholic professor, Victor Joyce, is up for tenure. He thinks that if Joyce got tenure, he would help him influence Macomber. He decides that Joyce should marry his niece in order to produce such a result.
Joyce, desperately wants tenure, he understands that Merton would make sure he got tenure if he marries the niece. Whatever. No problem. It's not like Joyce has to be faithful or anything, which he's not.
The mystery which takes place after a hundred pages, is when Joyce is killed in a car wreck. He was intoxicated, soaked in fact, after coming from a college dinner. But upon investigation it looks like the wreck did not kill him. If not, who did?
That is what Chief Lanigan is determined to find out and, with the help of Rabbi Small, he does. Or rather Small does and Lanigan is grateful.
One final thought. In a 1973 article in People's magazine, Kemelman said that Rabbi friends wondered if he was basing his Rabbi on them. Kemelman said no, that if he knew a Rabbi Small he wouldn't like him because he "tended to be cold and stuffy."
January 5, 2016
Due to a small confusion on my part I ended up reading this book last but I'm happy to have finished the series on a high note.
I liked the change in setting, I've always thought the Rabbi was better suited to the college than to the synagogue. The characters where all interesting, from Small's replacement to the other teachers to the students.
I liked the change in setting, I've always thought the Rabbi was better suited to the college than to the synagogue. The characters where all interesting, from Small's replacement to the other teachers to the students.
March 29, 2021
Disappointing
I have read another by this author decades ago, but was very disappointed by how sexist this book was for a story line set in 1987. I will not read any more.
I have read another by this author decades ago, but was very disappointed by how sexist this book was for a story line set in 1987. I will not read any more.
March 26, 2019
Cyrus Merton, still a bachelor at 65 and likely to die as one, has a plain and nondescript orphaned niece whom he felt obligated to take care of but not to love and when that niece expressed an inclination to become a nun (having spent almost half of her life with nuns in boarding school) instead of going to college... and given that he is unlikely to have an heir and the same is true with his widowed sister, he made it his business to find his niece a groom. The problem is, she does not like sex and he wants lots of it plus she is anemic and was advised not to get married yet as the chances of her getting pregnant and having a healthy child are not promising. Disregarding the doctors orders Merton urged them to marry and being grateful and obedient, Peg married Victor Joyce, a lightweight skirt~chasing English professor whose tenure is hinged on his marrying the niece of one of Windermere College's trustees. A few months after the marriage, Victor ended up dead drunk literally but was helped to the afterlife by someone who had started Peg's calvary in the first place and despite Rabbi Small's brilliant deductions together with Chief Lanigan's collaboration ~ the culprit is most likely to go scot free.
June 5, 2022
Retirement on the Mind
I have liked all of the 4 or 5 books by Kemelman that feature Rabbi Small in his traditional role as well as an assistant detective to help solve the crime De jour that I have read. The development of this story seemed a little slow to me. The disparate elements were lengthy and, at first, difficult to synthesize. This improved as the story moved along. Tying the strands together wss expertly done. And then the pace increased. So, I liked this one as well. The inclusion of some aspect of Judaism here was on the proper function of the Rabbi. Added was the theme of two versions of the purpose of education: was the purpose of education to prepare a person for a job? Or was it to create thinkers who could apply their minds to any situation or profession? Of course, there was a murder or at the very least a suspicious death. Perhaps this was the end of the series and the author was himself thinking of retiring Rabbi Small. That would be a shame, but understandable. Without the fire, maybe the story gets a little chilly. Wisdom is knowing when the fire burns down. This story still has the fire, just a little less blazing. I am thankful for every one.
I have liked all of the 4 or 5 books by Kemelman that feature Rabbi Small in his traditional role as well as an assistant detective to help solve the crime De jour that I have read. The development of this story seemed a little slow to me. The disparate elements were lengthy and, at first, difficult to synthesize. This improved as the story moved along. Tying the strands together wss expertly done. And then the pace increased. So, I liked this one as well. The inclusion of some aspect of Judaism here was on the proper function of the Rabbi. Added was the theme of two versions of the purpose of education: was the purpose of education to prepare a person for a job? Or was it to create thinkers who could apply their minds to any situation or profession? Of course, there was a murder or at the very least a suspicious death. Perhaps this was the end of the series and the author was himself thinking of retiring Rabbi Small. That would be a shame, but understandable. Without the fire, maybe the story gets a little chilly. Wisdom is knowing when the fire burns down. This story still has the fire, just a little less blazing. I am thankful for every one.
July 22, 2022
Unlike most of the Rabbi Small series, this one might not be for everyone. I think, when it was written, the murder victim would have been seen as awful and caddish, but not a monster. By today's standards, however, this book might have a trigger warning on the cover.
I'd rather not add any spoilers, but this book really seems out of place in the series, since the dramatis personae are largely folks we've not met before, and the mercurial temple board doesn't really factor into this story at all, except in a very silly and patronizing storyline with Rabbi Small.
If you want to see how David Small gets from the previous book to the That Day the Rabbi Left Town, you should read this, but otherwise, it's largely skippable, since the opening chapter of the next book recaps the end of this one.
I'd rather not add any spoilers, but this book really seems out of place in the series, since the dramatis personae are largely folks we've not met before, and the mercurial temple board doesn't really factor into this story at all, except in a very silly and patronizing storyline with Rabbi Small.
If you want to see how David Small gets from the previous book to the That Day the Rabbi Left Town, you should read this, but otherwise, it's largely skippable, since the opening chapter of the next book recaps the end of this one.
January 5, 2019
It took me several false starts to get going with this book. Mostly it was the fault of too big intervals in picking it up. Each time I had to go back to the beginning and start afresh. There are always so many characters to keep track of that it takes awhile to get them straight. This last time I tried to read the book, I did more concentrated sessions very close together and finally made it. Once all the characters have been introduced and the mystery kicks in, it becomes very hard to put the book down. I was not surprised to find out whodunit but if it had turned out to be someone else, I wouldn't have been so surprised either. There are plenty of false leads and motives to sort through. What surprised me was that the rabbi really did resign. Now there is one book left in this mystery series and I will be sorry to end it.
January 7, 2020
This book was written in the 1990's and is a very old school book with a great deal of back story and very little actual violence (the murder is handled in a very off hand way and none of the characters get excited about it) and definitely no profanity. I will be honest , I got bored about a third of the way through and the only reason I finished was because I had read some of the other books in the series and like them so I hoped it would get more exciting, it never did. There are lots of meetings and conversations over tea and coffee but very little actual activity. There is a dead body but lots of speculation if death was accidental or intentional which is not as exciting as it sounds. This book is for the fans and not an occasional visitor to the series like myself. who was disappointed in the story line.
July 19, 2024
Victor Joyce wants tenure as a professor. His ticket in seems to be marrying a board member's daughter. She wants to become a nun, not a wife and hates being a wife. She wants a divorce and a Catholic Church separation. Then Victor gets drunk, runs off the road and is later found dead.
In the meantime Rabbi Small is celebrating, sort of, 25 years as a rabbi. He wants a change, maybe try teaching.
These are two lines of story. The Rabbi gives information and hypotheses to Chief Lanigan, but is otherwise not involved with the murder investigation. The Chief is the one who follows up leads and solves the crime.
All the college politics at the beginning of the book do lay the groundwork for the murder, but can get a bit tedious. The book is easy reading.
In the meantime Rabbi Small is celebrating, sort of, 25 years as a rabbi. He wants a change, maybe try teaching.
These are two lines of story. The Rabbi gives information and hypotheses to Chief Lanigan, but is otherwise not involved with the murder investigation. The Chief is the one who follows up leads and solves the crime.
All the college politics at the beginning of the book do lay the groundwork for the murder, but can get a bit tedious. The book is easy reading.
October 3, 2020
3.5. Like reuniting with an old friend . Started reading this series in the late 1960’s. This title was the next to last one from 1992. The premise has worn. Rabbi Small as an amateur detective dispensing logic and advice based on rabbinical teachings, is not as sharp or hungry for the chase as he helps the local police agency. The mystery is was the assistant professor up for tenure killed by a rival , or was it an accident involving drinking . The ending fizzled.
Always interesting social commentary.
Always interesting social commentary.
May 9, 2022
I read one of the "rabbi" mysteries back when they were new. Lately, I rediscovered them. I read some and heard others as audiobooks.
This one was written, it seems, to be published after Harry Kemelman's passing. It recalls one of the earlier mysteries, "TUESDAY THE RABBI SAW RED." I was saddened that the series ended, but like the rabbi, Kemelman had become repetitive and a bit crusty.
As for the story, I enjoyed it. Not top notch writing or plotting, but good fun nonetheless. Three stars and a thanx for an enjoyable mix of Jewish 'culture' and problem-solving!
This one was written, it seems, to be published after Harry Kemelman's passing. It recalls one of the earlier mysteries, "TUESDAY THE RABBI SAW RED." I was saddened that the series ended, but like the rabbi, Kemelman had become repetitive and a bit crusty.
As for the story, I enjoyed it. Not top notch writing or plotting, but good fun nonetheless. Three stars and a thanx for an enjoyable mix of Jewish 'culture' and problem-solving!
May 22, 2024
This Rabbi Small mystery is mostly set in academia. A local college professor is killed in a car accident while driving drunk. The professor was in competition for tenure, and he submits to a marriage of convivence to give him a leg up on the competition.
Part of the novel goes into the competing theories of the purpose of higher education. Should colleges and universities be places of teaching and learning or discovery and research. Very relevant for today, and of particular interest to this former teacher and present adjunct professor.
Part of the novel goes into the competing theories of the purpose of higher education. Should colleges and universities be places of teaching and learning or discovery and research. Very relevant for today, and of particular interest to this former teacher and present adjunct professor.
February 9, 2025
The blurb on the cover led me to believe that his would be a traditional style muder mystery. But the crime aspect felt like an afterthought and the rabbi himself felt more like a plot device than a main protagonist. About two thirds of the way through the novel, new characters were still being introduced, which left little time to establish them before the crime finally kicked off. Perhaps it's more fulfilling if you've read the other Rabbi Small mysteries, but as a newcomer to the series, I found it slow-moving and disappointing overall.
August 9, 2025
Rabbi Small is a good detective
The Rabbi has been with his community 25 years. He is 53 years old and ready for something new. As the Rabbi begins considering alternatives, changes are also taking place at the local college. The College changes result in the death of an English professor. The ins and outs of those changes eventually come to Rabbi Small's attention. The characters are clever and interesting. As are the twists and turns of the story. An interesting plot evolves. Well told.
The Rabbi has been with his community 25 years. He is 53 years old and ready for something new. As the Rabbi begins considering alternatives, changes are also taking place at the local college. The College changes result in the death of an English professor. The ins and outs of those changes eventually come to Rabbi Small's attention. The characters are clever and interesting. As are the twists and turns of the story. An interesting plot evolves. Well told.
December 3, 2020
Don’t expect a traditional murder mystery when you read Harry Kemelman. You will get a death which may or may not be suspicious. It will inevitably be intertwined with a complicated family story, and with the corruptive influence of money. All of this will come to be examined it the context of the Jewish faith, the intended meaning of the Talmud and its application to understanding motives. Be prepared for an an interesting educational experience if you know little about Judaism.
January 8, 2023
Surprise, Surprise!
A not very nice guy is dead on arrival at the hospital after a car crash. Was it an accident? Or did somebody help him along the way? Our good rabbi is inadvertently able to help figure it out. I love this author’s style of starting off with individual stories that quickly intertwine into a nuanced mystery with a very common sense solution. Not my favorite of this series but still a pretty good read.
A not very nice guy is dead on arrival at the hospital after a car crash. Was it an accident? Or did somebody help him along the way? Our good rabbi is inadvertently able to help figure it out. I love this author’s style of starting off with individual stories that quickly intertwine into a nuanced mystery with a very common sense solution. Not my favorite of this series but still a pretty good read.
August 23, 2025
Meh. It was fun reading a Rabbi Small book decades after I’d read my last one, but other than that the novel wasn’t really memorable. One reason I had enjoyed the series in the past was because I used to learn things about the Jewish faith and rabbinic philosophy. Maybe my lack of enthusiasm is due to simply having more knowledge now. There’s only one more after this one and rather than completing the series I’ll pass. Thank you Harry Kelmelman, R.i.P.
March 29, 2018
I read the early Rabbi books when they first came out. Now I seem to have skipped to the end. This one didn't compel me enough to want to go back and read the ones I missed. Rabbi Small is still his 30 year old self. Seems to me he was going to quit in book one. The secondary characters are all compelling and I really liked the cousin.
November 22, 2018
Lively story, unusual murder mystery and informative, too. This is the last book of the Rabbi series and published just before Kemelman died. It is such a tribute to his teaching and it explains several aspects of Jewish culture in a fun way, as well as a couple of Catholic facts. Good plot and a fitting end.
October 11, 2024
This is the worst of the Rabbi Small books.
All of the books suffer from the passage of time. And, the author, has repertoire of monologues about modern education, Judaism, and equality which have worn VERY thin by this point in the series.
And, that's before you get to the completely mismanaged handling of sexual assault.
Plus, the mystery isn't that deep.
All of the books suffer from the passage of time. And, the author, has repertoire of monologues about modern education, Judaism, and equality which have worn VERY thin by this point in the series.
And, that's before you get to the completely mismanaged handling of sexual assault.
Plus, the mystery isn't that deep.
March 29, 2025
Kemelman's stories are great enjoyment and learning
Rabbi Small, a fictional Rabbi, is what I would hope live Rabbis would be like. He goes a step further by using his knowledge to help solve crimes. In reality he sees how people truly are and can discern how they acted.
What a fun easy read that teaches as well as entertains.
Rabbi Small, a fictional Rabbi, is what I would hope live Rabbis would be like. He goes a step further by using his knowledge to help solve crimes. In reality he sees how people truly are and can discern how they acted.
What a fun easy read that teaches as well as entertains.
June 10, 2025
This was an odd "mystery." Nothing happens in the first half of the book except for wandering from point-of-view to point-of-view, and when a death finally occurs, the reader is left in the same universe. It would be hard to carry off today when a body is expected in the first three chapters, but it oddly works.
April 10, 2018
very satisfying.
I am sure that I will reread (re-listen to) some of Kemelman's books.
The characters are so familiar and likable and the information about Jewish law and decision making overall is so interesting.
May Kemelman rest in peace.
I am sure that I will reread (re-listen to) some of Kemelman's books.
The characters are so familiar and likable and the information about Jewish law and decision making overall is so interesting.
May Kemelman rest in peace.
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