Tuesday the Rabbi Saw Red

by Harry Kemelman

Paper Book, 1975

Status

Available

Call number

F KEM

Publication

Fawcett Crest Book, 272 pages

Description

With his Rabbi Small mysteries, acclaimed author Harry Kemelman has made the best-seller lists every day of the week! The adventures of the unassuming Rabbi are hailed by critics and fans for their wit, wisdom, and the unparalleled logic of one of the world's most unusual sleuths. On Tuesday, Rabbi David Small takes a break from the Barnard's Crossing pulpit to teach a course on Jewish Thought at a small community college. But he soon discovers that all is not idyllic behind the ivy-covered walls. When a bomb goes off in the dean's office, the peaceful campus mood is shattered. Soon everyone-from professors and students to the indefatigable rabbi himself-is suspected of murder. Personally approved for this unabridged recording by the author's estate, veteran narrator George Guidall brings all the characters to life as Rabbi Small ensures that murder doesn't make the grade.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member JonRob

In the fifth of the books featuring Rabbi David Small and his friend police chief Lanigan, the rabbi takes on a part-time job lecturing in Jewish Studies at the Windemere Christian College. His colleagues there include the young radical Roger Fine and the subtly anti-semitic John Hendryx, acting

head of English. While Rabbi Small discovers that things have changed in education since his day, some of Fine's fellow radicals among the students find that his contract is not being renewed, and try to take action. After their meeting with Dean Millicent Hanbury breaks up, a bomb goes off in the room they had been using, which apparently causes the death of Hendryx in his nearby office. All is not what it seems, however, and when Fine is arrested for murder the Rabbi applies some of his trademark Talmudic logic to find the real culprit. As usual, the murder itself is only part of the book's raison d'etre, and we get more information about Judaism into the bargain. Well worth an occasional re-read.

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LibraryThing member BonnieJune54

I enjoy this view of the 70's from my parents' generation. I'm starting to wonder if he ever got the hang of making the killer less obvious.

LibraryThing member leslie.98

I found the mystery in this 5th book in the series below the standard of the previous books (I could tell who the culprit was right away, even before the body was discovered!). However, I enjoyed the setting (a small liberal arts college in the early 1970s) immensely and I also liked the fact that

for once there was very little about the politics of Rabbi Small's congregation.

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LibraryThing member datrappert

Rabbi Small takes a job teaching the basics of Judaism at a Christian college in Boston (which nevertheless has some Jewish students.) Of course, this gives the author a chance to explain a lot of things to the reader, as well as the students, and it's quite interesting. The mystery plot, which, as

always, seems secondary, features early 70s radicals and would-be radicals who look pretty silly 50 years later. These aren't great books by any means, but there is a certain charm--and they don't go on forever. The rabbi's solution to the murder of the day is always based on things the reader has been exposed to. But it takes a rabbi to figure them out!

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