That Day the Rabbi Left Town

Rating:
Summary: This Rabbi Draws No Small Audience!
Review: Harry Kemelman's Rabbi David Small is once again gainfully employed! Following his earlier resignation in "The Day the Rabbi Resigned," Small is now teaching at Windermere College--a good, if not proper for him, academic setting. In "That Day the Rabbi Left Town," it seems, having run out of days of the week (remember, this series started with "Friday the Rabbi Slept Late," Kemelman has been creative with working in other diurnal references in his title. That aside, of course, the series has been a fun read. In this one, the death of an elderly colleague gets Rabbi Small into the heart of the action, as it were. Of course, in his new setting he quickly stumbles into all kinds of academic and campus politics, grudges, and jealousies, to say the least. This episode seems a bit different, however, as Kemelman goes didactic and spends a good third of the book giving us perhaps more background, history, and practices of his religion. Readers may find this a struggle, particularly if they are in a hurry to get into the real case! Once that occurs, however, Kemelman cruises.([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: This Rabbi Draws No Small Audience!
Review: Harry Kemelman's Rabbi David Small is once again gainfully employed! Following his earlier resignation in "The Day the Rabbi Resigned," Small is now teaching at Windermere College--a good, if not proper for him, academic setting. In "That Day the Rabbi Left Town," it seems, having run out of days of the week (remember, this series started with "Friday the Rabbi Slept Late," Kemelman has been creative with working in other diurnal references in his title. That aside, of course, the series has been a fun read. In this one, the death of an elderly colleague gets Rabbi Small into the heart of the action, as it were. Of course, in his new setting he quickly stumbles into all kinds of academic and campus politics, grudges, and jealousies, to say the least. This episode seems a bit different, however, as Kemelman goes didactic and spends a good third of the book giving us perhaps more background, history, and practices of his religion. Readers may find this a struggle, particularly if they are in a hurry to get into the real case! Once that occurs, however, Kemelman cruises.([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: Triple Threat
Review: I hope the other books in this series are wonderful, because this mystery is a triple threat: dull, dreary, and didactic. Molasses at the North Pole would move faster than this narrative. The characters are dull; the dialogue, tedious. Instead of reading this book, do something more interesting like counting the clouds in the sky.

Rating:
Summary: My first Rabbi Small mystery.
Review: I realize that this is not the first book in this series, but it is his first that I have read. Although it wasn't great, I'm not quite yet ready to write off the author completely. This particular book seems to be really low-key as far as creating a motive and building storylines. However, I thought it was an okay book if you want an easy, non-suspenseful read. I'll probably try and find the first in this series and start there and see how it goes.

Rating:
Summary: My first Rabbi Small mystery.
Review: I realize that this is not the first book in this series, but it is his first that I have read. Although it wasn't great, I'm not quite yet ready to write off the author completely. This particular book seems to be really low-key as far as creating a motive and building storylines. However, I thought it was an okay book if you want an easy, non-suspenseful read. I'll probably try and find the first in this series and start there and see how it goes.

Rating:
Summary: Slow...
Review: Rabbi Small resigns from the synagogue in Barnard's Crossing and takes a teaching job in Boston. The new rabbi takes over, and becomes accused of murder when a professor from the college is found dead next to his property. This is the same person who was caught peaking in the window the of the rabbi's bedroom when just his wife was at home. Rabbi Small ends up figuring out who was guilty of murdering the professor. Slow book, and the murder doesn't even take place until over halfway in the book.

Rating:
Summary: Slow...
Review: Rabbi Small resigns from the synagogue in Barnard's Crossing and takes a teaching job in Boston. The new rabbi takes over, and becomes accused of murder when a professor from the college is found dead next to his property. This is the same person who was caught peaking in the window the of the rabbi's bedroom when just his wife was at home. Rabbi Small ends up figuring out who was guilty of murdering the professor. Slow book, and the murder doesn't even take place until over halfway in the book.