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eososray's review
3.0
Not one of the better books for Rabbi Small. I get a little tired of the Rabbi and the congregation always butting heads over something.
polyhy_14's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
yetilibrary's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this and will look for others in the series. It's especially tasty for those of us with an interest in/knowledge of Judaism--those without it will likely feel a little left out (and maybe bored).
Also, the 70s were weird, and don't let the Baby Boomers tell you otherwise.
Also, the 70s were weird, and don't let the Baby Boomers tell you otherwise.
ncrabb's review against another edition
4.0
So what was it like to be a member of a conservative Jewish temple back in the mid ‘70s? Obviously, I have no idea based on personal experience, but these always-excellent books about Rabbi David Small at least point me in some good broad-brush directions.
If you read these, you almost certainly want Rabbi Small as your neighbor and friend even if you aren’t part of his group. He would doubtless engage you in thoughtful often philosophical conversation that would leave you better off than you were before you made his acquaintance.
Jacob Kestler is dead! Indeed, the grumpy old man with lots of enemies in his small New England town is unexpectedly dead! Granted, he had a urinary infection, and he was allergic to penicillin, but the infection wasn’t life threatening. Nonetheless, he is most emphatically dead, and it looks like someone killed him.
The governing board of Rabbi Small’s temple has been bequeathed a block of land in the community’s retail district. Indeed, one of Small’s temple members, a real estate guy, wants to buy the block. The temple governors will use the money to purchase land in nearby Vermont for a retreat for temple members and their families. Rabbi Small opposes the land sale. A retreat smacks of Christianity, Small argues. Jews do not retreat from life; they participate in it. Furthermore, one of the stores in that block of land wants its lease renewed—a process that was nearly completed when the original owner died. But now the board of governors wants to break that lease and close the pharmacy. That’s the same pharmacy whose staff filled old Jacob Kestler’s prescription, and it was a wrong pill that killed the old man.
Was there a mix-up at the pharmacy? Did a family member inadvertently or deliberately overdose the old man? Rabbi Small ultimately figures out what happened, and while you may figure it out early, you’ll still enjoy the book.
If you read these, you almost certainly want Rabbi Small as your neighbor and friend even if you aren’t part of his group. He would doubtless engage you in thoughtful often philosophical conversation that would leave you better off than you were before you made his acquaintance.
Jacob Kestler is dead! Indeed, the grumpy old man with lots of enemies in his small New England town is unexpectedly dead! Granted, he had a urinary infection, and he was allergic to penicillin, but the infection wasn’t life threatening. Nonetheless, he is most emphatically dead, and it looks like someone killed him.
The governing board of Rabbi Small’s temple has been bequeathed a block of land in the community’s retail district. Indeed, one of Small’s temple members, a real estate guy, wants to buy the block. The temple governors will use the money to purchase land in nearby Vermont for a retreat for temple members and their families. Rabbi Small opposes the land sale. A retreat smacks of Christianity, Small argues. Jews do not retreat from life; they participate in it. Furthermore, one of the stores in that block of land wants its lease renewed—a process that was nearly completed when the original owner died. But now the board of governors wants to break that lease and close the pharmacy. That’s the same pharmacy whose staff filled old Jacob Kestler’s prescription, and it was a wrong pill that killed the old man.
Was there a mix-up at the pharmacy? Did a family member inadvertently or deliberately overdose the old man? Rabbi Small ultimately figures out what happened, and while you may figure it out early, you’ll still enjoy the book.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
2.0
Back in the mists of time (when I was in high school), I gave Harry Kemelman's Rabbi David Small series a whirl. I don't have reviews from that era of reading and I apparently didn't even think enough of (or read enough of) my sampling to think it merited an entry with a star rating in my reading log. But it seems to me that Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet (1976) is the very book I tried and didn't connect with. So, when it came up as I did a search for a suitable "Silver" book that I would have to borrow to read for the Vintage Mystery Bingo Challenge, I decided to give Rabbi Small another try. Unfortunately, I have to report that he still doesn't do a whole lot for me. Oh, the plot is serviceable enough, but the characters just don't engage me. According to the book flap on my library's edition, Rabbi Small is supposed to be one of the "most endearing sleuths in modern fiction." I'm afraid that I just don't see it; he comes across as rather bland to me. But...let's talk about the plot for a moment.
This sixth outing for Rabbi Small involves the mysterious death of an elderly man with his fair share of enemies. Old man Kestler dies from an apparent mix-up in medication. Was it an accident on the part of the dispensing pharmacist? Did a family member give him too much--thinking if one is good then two is better? Or was there some malice aforethought? When Kestler's son starts stirring up trouble with threats of a malpractice suit against the doctor involved, Police Chief Hugh Lanigan begins to quietly investigate...taking Rabbi Small into his confidence along the way. But when Lanigan arrests a troubled young man who has come home to his father's pharmacy and who had a past history of difficulty with Kestler, the good rabbi begins to investigate in earnest and finds ties to his own congregation and a planned real estate deal.
As mentioned above, the plot is serviceable. But it is also uninspired and not quite what I expect of a murder mystery. It's hard to stay interested when the mystery isn't entirely what one has bargained for. And the characters didn't engage me either. They just seemed to be going through the motions of a role in a mystery story. The book was a quick read for all that and decent. But I'm fairly certain that I won't be revisiting Rabbi Small again.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
This sixth outing for Rabbi Small involves the mysterious death of an elderly man with his fair share of enemies. Old man Kestler dies from an apparent mix-up in medication. Was it an accident on the part of the dispensing pharmacist? Did a family member give him too much--thinking if one is good then two is better? Or was there some malice aforethought? When Kestler's son starts stirring up trouble with threats of a malpractice suit against the doctor involved, Police Chief Hugh Lanigan begins to quietly investigate...taking Rabbi Small into his confidence along the way. But when Lanigan arrests a troubled young man who has come home to his father's pharmacy and who had a past history of difficulty with Kestler, the good rabbi begins to investigate in earnest and finds ties to his own congregation and a planned real estate deal.
As mentioned above, the plot is serviceable. But it is also uninspired and not quite what I expect of a murder mystery.
Spoiler
I expect an apparent murder to actually be murder. Not death because of unforeseen circumstances. Mischief was planned...but not death.So I cry "Foul!"First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
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