That Day the Rabbi Left Town

The Rabbi Small Mysteries #12

by Harry Kemelman

Having resigned as rabbi of Barnard's Crossing Temple, Rabbi David Small is delighted to accept the newly created post of Professor of Judaic Studies at Windermere College in Boston. When an elderly English professor disappears during a snowy Thanksgiving weekend, no one expects him to turn up dead. Heart attack? Rabbi Small thinks not. A Mystery Guild Alternate.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Jewish, Audiobook, Judaism, Murder Mystery, Mystery Thriller

263 pages, Paperback

First published February 13, 1996

About the author

Harry 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.

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 4 out of 5]

After serving at Barnard’s Crossing’s synagogue for 25 years, Rabbi David Small decided a few months earlier to retire and teach instead at Windemere College, a small, private Boston university. The synagogue has hired a new rabbi, Dana Selig, and both Selig and Small have moved on — but that doesn’t last. When Selig is accused of killing a lecherous, self-important boorish Windemere professor, Small does what he always does: solve the case.

This is the 12th and final entry in this fun cozy series, and, with author Harry Kemelman’s death, there will be no more. It’s not the best of the series (most of those came early), but I’m not sorry I read it, even if Kemelman didn’t really play fair with clues for the reader. Zay gezunt, Rabbi Small, and goodbye, Chief Hugh Lanigan and Barnard’s Crossing.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drastic times call for drastic measures! With the Coronavirus raging, our local libraries along with the interlibrary loan program are shutdown. The libraries I have access to do not stock an electronic version of the last Rabbi Small book so, rather than wait, I went the “big bucks” and bought an Ebook from Amazon for $5.99 - and it was well worth it! This is, unfortunately the last in the Rabbi David Small series. This book was written in 1996 and the author, Harry Kemelman, died that same year at the age of 88.

If you have read any of my other Rabbi Small book reviews you know that I am not a murder mystery reader. However, this series intrigued me for several reasons - my parents had read them when I was younger, they have a lot of information about Judaism that I don’t have being culturally but not religiously Jewish, and they were just fun to read.

Each of the Rabbi books had similar themes - the Rabbi arguing with his Temple’s board of directors, his trying to educate his congregation on the actual role of a Rabbi, his friendly but often professional relationship with the town’s Catholic chief of police, some Talmudic teachings, and, of course, a murder to solve.

In this final book the Rabbi has left his congregation, as he planned in the previous book, and started teaching at a small college in Boston. Through “listening in” on some of his classes we learn more about the Jewish religion and the emphasis Judaism places on law, morality, and education. When a professor at the college is murdered and the new Rabbi of Barnard’s Crossing implicated, Rabbi Small is once again called upon to help turn his critical eye on the evidence and help the police find the killer.

As usual Harry Kemelman uses his books to sermonize about the modern world. In this book he expounds about the wonders of a good liberal arts education, what Jews were actually “chosen” for, the role of a Rabbi in today’s world, and his take on “modern” marriages. While all of that is interesting, it is really the different characters and the interactions between them that make this series such an entertaining read. Of course, solving a murder mystery adds to the suspense.

I’m sorry to have reached the end of the series as I’ve really enjoyed it. If you are new to the Rabbi David Small series, do yourself a favor and start at the beginning. If you are a long term reader, you will be sad that this is the final book but will not be disappointed by the writing, plot, characters, or ending.

[Hapzydeco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Harry Kemelman combines the tenets of Judaism with mystery. However, this attempt seemed to fall short of the standards that Kemelman set for his previous novels in this series. Perhaps it is just hard to say good-bye to an old friend.

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read all the other "Rabbi" books 20 and plus years ago. Didn't even know about this one until I saw it in a used bookstore! I liked it well enough... like seeing an old friend.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit better note to end the series! More of the dry humor helped, and although too many characters added too many twists & turns, it was a satisfactory conclusion.

[Carol Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the last book in the series and I'm really sorry there are no more. I have probably enjoyed this mystery series more than any other I've ever read.

[Raquel Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume final da série do Rabino Small, e um dos melhores.
Gostei de seguir a carreira religiosa, de investigação e de ensino da principal personagem.
E gostei de aprender mais sobre o Judaísmo.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still a worthwhile audiobook for fans of the series, but a pastiche of tropes from previous installments, and an unsatisfying murder mystery. The little lesson about Judaism in this one is the idea of being a Light unto the World, but that got only passing attention.

[Suzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had forgotten how much I enjoy the Rabbi books. I checked one out of the library and ended up ordering them all. They're short, well written, and provide mystery as well as insight into another religion, one again maligned in today's political atmosphere. Pleasant to look back on how we lived (street cars in Boston?) just a generation or two ago and what we read and enjoyed.

[Alberto · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last Rabbi Small novel, published just a few months before Mr Kemelman's death. I just learned about this book, having read the previous ten books over a decade ago. It was like running into an old friend.

The pacing is not as good as his other books, the murder doesn't even occur until almost 2/3 of the way into the book. Also, despite the introduction of many potential suspects, the actual killer is quite obvious (not the case in any of the previous books).

Nevertheless, if you're a fan it is a good read. And if you're not yet a fan, then definitely don't read this. Start with Friday the Rabbi Slept Late.

[Charles van Buren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars, April 6, 2017

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This review is from: That Day the Rabbi Left Town (The Rabbi Small Mysteries) (Kindle Edition)

This one is definitely for fans of Harry Kemelman's Rabbi Small series. There isn't much mystery or action to recommend this novel to others. I would suggest it to fans who have read everything else which Kemelman wrote and who don't mind ending the series with a sub par mystery. No one should begin their Rabbi Small experience with this novel. It just isn't up to the standard of Friday The Rabbi Slept Late.

[JustEvan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thoroughly disappointed. The mystery is about 5 pages of the book for one. And any connection to actual Jewish practice mentioned is minor at best. Double meh.

[Virginia Tican · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Canty, an American who worked as a correspondent clerk and once as general factotum at an International Correspondence School branch in London had re~invented himself after the school closed, assumed the name Malcolm Kent and misrepresented himself as an Englishman with an MA from the University of Liverpool and got a job as a Professor at Windermere Christian College and was even fortunate enough to marry the daughter of one of the college's founders and its benefactor. For all his affectations, pretensions and trading on his status, he had no friends fearing that they may ferret out his lack of formal education and thus his imposture. Then one day a young Professor (Thorvald Miller) hoping for a tenure became old man Kent's one and only friend. At this time Kent was 70 way past retirement age but because of his clout, the trustees decided to keep him on. By this time Rabbi Small having resigned from his congregation at Barnard's Crossing was also teaching at Windermere so he knew of Kent's death near the houses of his replacement Rabbi Selig and Professor Miller, Kent's only friend. Kent's body was found under a snowdrift and Rabbi Selig was a suspect because he threatened Kent after he was caught as a Peeping Tom on the rebbetzin not Miriam Small, but Mrs. Selig. Owing to Kent's wife's standing in the community, the big guns were called in and Chief Lanigan's bosses sent Assistant DA Bradford Ames and the intimidating Schroeder, homicide division of the Boston PD, still Ames had great respect for the Rabbi's pilpul so he was not averse to his involvement considering too, that his fellow Rabbi was a person of interest.

[Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine finish to the series. Rabbi Small has moved on to teach Judaic Studies in Boston; Barnard's Crossing has new Rabbi; and there's a body buried in the snow in the new rabbi's shrubbery.

So a pretty standard winter day in this series. Just like in the first novel, there's some minor suspicion of the new Rabbi Selig, and Rabbi Small has to step in to figure out what really happened.

As mysteries go, this one is pretty obvious thanks to a very out-of-place sequence, but the joy in this series is not in the conclusion, but in the path to getting there.

This book was published the same year Harry Kemelman died, but clearly he chose not to give Rabbi Small a saccharine, greatest hits, history tour kind of finale, and that's just fine. Another mystery, another rabbi, another group of waffling temple board members, and a final gin and tonic with Chief Lanigan is all we really needed.

Highly recommended. Shame this series never got a decent TV or movie adaptation. (Lanigan's Rabbi does _not_ count.)

[Betsy Milan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Rabbi Small novels

I have read (and reread) all of the Rabbi Small novels, but for some reason this one totally escaped my notice. That is too bad, because the mystery is one of the best constructed of all those in the series. At the end, I see how all the little clues add up, but I certainly did not anticipate the ending. Because the Rabbi has taken a position in Boston, many of the quirky town characters (and even quirkier temple members) are barely mentioned, but in their place are some questionable academicians. There is one story line about a young Gentile lady considering converting that I wish had been more satisfactorily settled but it is left hanging, mid-sentence so to speak. That was a very small matter in what was overall a fun, quick read.

[Rebecca Augustine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rabbi David Small Begins a New Career

This is not my favorite of the Rabbi Small series; unfortunately it was the last. David and Miriam Small are now empty nesters, a new rabbi has come to take over, and the Smalls have decided to live - at least part-time - closer to the college where David teaches. Naturally, what would a Rabbi Small mystery be without a murder? A body is found, and it just happens to be that of a very unpopular professor at David's college. Furthermore, it is found in the driveway of the new rabbi who had replaced David! What makes things particularly awkward for the new rabbi is that he had threatened the professor a few days earlier when he had been caught as a "peeping tom" on the new rabbi's wife.

[J.D. Sutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one! Always a bit sad to come to the end of a series when you feel like you have really gotten to know the main characters. David Small is definitely an intriguing character who I liked quite a bit and on some occasions annoyed me because of his stubbornness but he was certainly consistent.

In this book, the mystery is a pretty good one with plenty of potential suspects to muddy the waters. Even so, I had a fairly good idea who the culprit was though I hadn't figured out how and all the reasons why. Kemelman does a great job of providing all the pieces so that it all makes sense when all is revealed.

Overall, this is a fitting conclusion to the series that is done quite well.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot. Other "Rabbi" books I have read have been about his position as rabbi of a congregation and his problems with them. I like the face that the mystery is always a minor part of the story and I learn a lot about Judaism from his answers to questions that occur naturally in the story.
The change of setting for That Day the Rabbi Left Town provided a fresh feel to the rabbi, his family and his calling. I read the first few of these books years ago when I was a young woman and am enjoying them even more now that I'm a senior.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the Harry Kemelman Rabbi day-of-the-week books years ago and loved them. This year I found that before his death in 1996, he wrote 5 more Rabbi books -- these less about murder mystery and more about Judaism itself. Using fiction to teach about something can ring wrong. The 5 books Professor Kemelman wrote, one every 4 or 5 years, do not have a false note in their fictional exploration. As a Catholic, almost everything I have known about Judaism has been through a Christian lens. I have loved the Vatican II document, Nostra Aetate, ("In our age," or "in our time") and its homage to Judaism and apology for the Catholic role, overt or covert, in the holocaust. Nostra Aetate says there is a continuity between Judaism and Christianity, but that Christianity does not supersede Judaism as had been believed for 2 millennia. But the last 5 fictional books of Prof. Kemelman talk about Judaism on its own. That Day the Rabbi Left Town, as did the other 4 post-day-of-the-week-the rabbi books, taught me a lot. I appreciate it.

[Sidney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Rabbi's Finale

In his final appearance, Rabbi David Small takes a job at a Boston college, and events unfold around the school and the rabbi's replacement in his hometown. The Kemelman style unfolds a fascinating little tale with some religious lessons in the mix. The murder's late in the book, but an intricate mystery is developed, and the rabbi's keen mind is what's needed to provide answers. It's a shame there wasn't one more chapter to bring down the curtain, but it's an entertaining entry in the series.

[Elaine Krol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing book. Too full of characters from previous books, which crowded what should have been the main characters. The action was confusing, as was the storyline. I only finished it because I made myself finish it. Perhaps someone else helped write it, or finish it, as this was written at the end of the author's life. Did not draw the reader in as the previous books did, or explain anything interesting about Judaism. Instead, it called the first books of the Bible "fables."

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Rabbi Small mystery is always a treat. You get the mystery interspersed with an explanation of Jewish religious practices. In this one, Rabbi Small is retired from being rabbi and is in Boston teaching a class on Jewish thought at Windermere College.
What I like about the Rabbi Small mysteries is that although you have a murder victim, you don't necessarily have a bloody, violent scene, figuring out whodunit just by connecting the dots.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe this is the last book in the series. The Rabbi goes back to teach at Windemere and a despised Professor is found deceased after the new rabbi has threatened him since he had peeped at his wife. Did the man die of a heart attack? Did the rabbi indeed kill him? Of course Rabbi Small solves the puzzle.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seemed that the author took longer than usual to get to the crime but that's okay because it is always an enjoyable trip, meeting new characters and revisiting the old. I had an inkling this time of who-dun-it but there were certainly others who had motive. I will miss this series. I still have Conversations with Rabbi Small to read but that is not a mystery.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read eleven of the twelve books in this series before I joined Goodreads in May, 2011. This one has been on my To-Read list since 2015. When it finally became available on Kindle Unlimited, I snapped it up. It was well worth the six-year wait.

Unfortunately, this was the last book Kemelman wrote before his death in 1996, so I must now say a fond farewell to Rabbi David Small. :-(

[Sarah Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only other book I’ve read in this series is the first and I really enjoyed it. That said, I was a bit let down by this one. The first half was full of background information that wasn’t entirely necessary. It just seemed to drone on for no apparent reason. I still enjoy the premise of the series but this book fell short for me personally.

[Phil Howard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the other ten books in the Rabbi Small series twenty or more years ago. I enjoyed them. I found this one to be loosely plotted and rather a disappointment from what I remembered. I might go back and read some of the others again. I still have "Conversations with Rabbi Small" to read also - not a mystery tho, I understand.

[James Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Rabi Small Mystery I've read. Just like me to start at the end of a series. It's got me wanting to read more even though the story line didn't seem to develop with great speed and the mystery gets solved in the end quite quickly.

[LOWELL P YODER · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting way to end the series!

The character mix made an unusual stirring of "big city" and "small town/suburbia" relationships and co-existence that gave the whole story line a bit of intrigue. 😃

[Cynthia Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

don’t bother

This is by far the worst of the Rabbi Small series. The book is merely multiple details (mostly train and bus schedules) then miraculously Rabbi Small figures everything out and a man
confesses to murder.