Friday the Rabbi Slept Late

Harry Kemelman

Aug 2015 · The Rabbi Small Mysteries Book 1 · Open Road Media

About this eBook

First in the New York Times–bestselling series and winner of the Edgar Award: A new rabbi in a small New England town investigates the murder of a nanny.

David Small is the new rabbi in the small Massachusetts town of Barnard’s Crossing. Although he’d rather spend his days engaged in Torah study and theological debate, the daily chores of synagogue life are all-consuming—that is, until the day a nanny’s body is found on the rain-soaked asphalt of the temple’s parking lot.
 
When the young woman’s purse is discovered in Rabbi Small’s car, he will have to use his scholarly skills and Talmudic wisdom—and collaborate with the Irish-Catholic police chief—to exonerate himself and find the real killer.

Blending this unorthodox sleuth’s quick intellect with thrilling action, Friday the Rabbi Slept Late is the exciting first installment of the beloved bestselling mystery series that offers a Jewish twist on the clerical mystery, a delightful discovery for fans of Father Brown and Father Dowling or readers of Faye Kellerman’s suspense novels set in the Orthodox community.
 

Ratings and reviews

law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, family-dynamics, friendship, Jewish, Jewish-law, prejudice, small-town, amateur-sleuth***** Came back to read the first in series because I wanted to know how the Rabbi got to be friends with the police chief. This one comes near the end of Rabbi Small's firs and possibly last year in the town. There is contention within the politics of the congregation and things get muddier when a young woman is killed and Rabbi Small seems to be implicated. Great story with lessons for all sleuths. George Guidell is the calm narrator with a wry sense of humor.

About the author

Harry Kemelman (1908–1996) was best known for his popular rabbinical mystery series featuring the amateur sleuth Rabbi David Small. Kemelman wrote twelve novels in the series, the first of which, Friday the Rabbi Slept Late, won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. This book was also adapted as an NBC made-for-TV movie, and the Rabbi Small Mysteries were the inspiration for the NBC television show Lanigan’s Rabbi. Kemelman’s novels garnered praise for their unique combination of mystery and Judaism, and with Rabbi Small, the author created a protagonist who played a part-time detective with wit and charm. Kemelman also wrote a series of short stories about Nicky Welt, a college professor who used logic to solve crimes, which were published in a collection entitled The Nine Mile Walk.

Aside from being an award-winning novelist, Kemelman, originally from Boston, was also an English professor.