Customer Reviews

The Day the Rabbi Resigned

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rabbi David Small has been rabbi to the Jewish community in Massachusetts town of Barnard's Crossing for just under twenty five years now. He and his wife Miriam arrived as newlyweds, their two children were born and raised there and they have many ties to the community. Still, at 53 the good Rabbi is feeling a bit restless. Almost from the beginning his relationship with his congregation has been a contentious one, and the squabbling is beginning to wear on both sides. The end of the current one year contract will mark the 25th year, qualifying the rabbi for his pension. With that in mind the Rabbi has decided to look around for a teaching position, since he had enjoyed the time he had spent teaching a course at nearby Windemere Christian College a few years before.

Meanwhile, at Windemere, one of those bits of conflict that arise so often in academia arises, two qualified instructors are up for the one open tenure position in their department. Strangely enough both have ties to Barnard's Crossing and when one is found dead Rabbi Small finds himself involved in the investigation. As he begins to sort out the various clues secrets begin to emerge from the private, and not so private lives of those involved. In the end though the truth is revealed leaving only the question of what will the Rabbi do next?

As is the norm with this series, and with cozies in general the real focus here is not the mystery but the characters involved. Fans of this series will be delighted to see how the Smalls are approaching their empty nest years. While secondary the mystery is somewhat challenging although the reader will probably figure out who the victim will be long before the murder takes place - nearly half way through the book.

This will appeal to fans of this series, those cozy fans who are new to this particular series will probably prefer to begin earlier although this one can stand alone. Anyone looking for a really challenging, more realistic mystery will probably want to look elsewhere.

The rabbi has gotten older and his congregation has gotten younger. David thinks he can now afford to be an irascible curmudgeon. David tells Miriam he would like to give a teaching job a shot. Later in the book he resigns because he is faced with the possibility of receiving a substantial gift from the congregation and he doesn't want to be beholden to the temple. In truth Miriam finds the role of the wife of a rabbi burdensome. She believes she is forced to be nice to everyone. She thinks their pension, without the obligation to support their children any longer, will be more than adequate.

Victor Joyce, an untenured English professor at Windermere College, develops a relationship with the niece of Cyrus Merton. Merton is a trustee and a major supporter of Windermere. Margaret, the niece, and Victor end up marrying. This proves to be an unhappy experience. There was an unstated quid pro quo involved in the union.

The marital residence of Magaret and Victor is a house next door to that of Helen and Herb Rosen. Alice Saxon, another Windermere professor, has a friendship with both Victor and Helen Rosen and so she knows a lot about the circumstances and the state of the marriage of Victor and Margaret. Alice tells Victor they have to be circumspect when they are in the company of each other. Victor Joyce and Mordecai Jacobs are competing for the one tenured position.

At a faculty dinner Victor drinks too much and gets into a crash later. The rabbi and Lanigan, the police chief, work together comfortably and effortlessly to reach the truth of Victor's death. The rabbi says when his relative, who is an atheist, visits and helps to form the minyan, that he davens, not really in the sense of asking for something in prayer, but giving praise.

I'm not a fan of conventional mysteries, but I enjoyed the first three or four Rabbi Small mysteries when they came out. "The Day the Rabbi Resigned," though, has tried my patience, and I'm quitting about a third of the way through the book. If I didn't know already that this was a mystery novel, I'd have no clue thus far (no pun intended). Clearly, all the plot is doing is introducing us to possible suspects for the crime that will occur who knows when. No first-time mystery novelist would be this relaxed with his or her plotting. Kemelman is a good craftsman, and "Resigned" is definitely readable. But I finally had to ask myself if my time could be better spent, and just how long was I willing to hold out until something, anything, happened?

For superior suspense writing (as opposed to "whodunit" mysteries), I highly reccomend James Lee Burke's series of Dave Robicheaux novels, starting with "The Neon Rain."

Rabbi Small wants to start a new career before it's too late, and sets his sights on teaching. Meanwhile, an unpopular man gets himself killed in what looks like a drunk driving accident, and the Rabbi takes a detour in his career planning to assist the police.

Kemelman is often not my cup of tea, but can occasionally create a book that I really enjoy reading. This one wandered too far afield and had a curious stilted tone in many places. Start with a different book if you want to get to know Rabbi Small.