Don't Cry for Me, Hot Pastrami: A Ruby, the Rabbi's Wife Mystery

Ruby, the Rabbi's Wife #3

by Sharon Kahn

"Grab the Dramamine. When Essie Sue's latest fundraiser transports Ruby and the congregants of Temple Rita from Eternal, Texas, to a Caribbean cruise ship commanded by a Jewish sea captain, seasickness is the least of their worries." "Essie Sue has conducted a scientific poll that would put Dick Morris to shame, revealing that her beloved Rabbi Kapstein's job approval rating has fallen to an all-time low at Temple Rita. In a last-ditch attempt to improve the rabbi's "charisma quotient" (in answer to the question "Is our rabbi as dynamic as you thought he would be?" Kevin scored "one percent"), Essie Sue decides to showcase his leadership ability by having him conduct a tour for temple members. She learns through the kosher grapevine that a long-lost cousin is currently sailing Caribbean for Bargain Cruise Lines - Motto: We Pass Waters Where Others Fear to Tread - A bargain! What could be wrong with that? And when the cruise line is willing to move cabins wholesale for fund-raising purposes, a discount deal is sealed." "Though Ruby loves to travel, this is not the trip of her dreams. The Cruise from Hell begins when Professor Willie Bob Gonzales, the ship's lecturer, dies suddenly in the embarkation area, leaving a laptop full of notes on the Conversos - Jews who became Christians to escape the tortures of the Spanish Inquisition, and who were known to have emigrated to the islands" The food is terrible - Ruby groans from the chefs version of island delights with the flavor of yesterday's Taco Bell, and struggles with the consequences of a bargain voyage - portholes sealed with bubblegum and nightly entertainment by Elvis impersonators. And to make things perfect, Captain Goldberg has the hots for her.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction

291 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Sharon Kahn has worked as arbitrator and attorney, and is a graduate of Vassar College and the University of Arizona Law School. The mother of three, she lives in Austin, Texas.

Sharon spent thirty-one years as a rabbi’s wife, inspiring the creation of Agatha nominated Fax Me A Bagel (Scribner) -- an Alternate Selection of the Book of the Month Club, with Ruby the Rabbi’s Wife doing the sleuthing. Her second mystery novel, Never Nosh A Matzo Ball, was followed by Don't Cry for Me, Hot Pastrami, Hold the Cream Cheese Kill the Lox, Which Big Giver Stole the Chopped Liver, and Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Choir.

Books in the series have been published as hardcover, Kindle and Nookbooks, e-books, Thorndike large print hardcover, paperback, and Audible.com editions.

Reviews

[Melissa Mulcahy-Maestri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I literally read this book because of the title, which is undeniably amazing. The book was unintentionally hilarious and gave me so much hope that I could publish a book someday if somebody published this one. It was pretty well researched as well so there's some interesting info about the Spanish Jews and conversos but not anything you couldn't Google.

[Stacey Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruby is sucked into traveling with her temple members on a bargain cruise captained by Essie Sue's cousin, who is in hot pursuit of Ruby. This is the worst cruise ever. From the inedible food to the torrential rain Ruby is not having a good vacation. First thing during boarding the professor who is supposed to conduct informational talks....well, he dies. The rabbi is forced to take over the talks but can't do it without Ruby's help. Luckily there's a writer onboard who befriends Ruby and can help write the talks. But as things happen Ruby doesn't know if she can trust Ed. Is he a travel writer as he claims? When snooping at a construction site at a temple Ruby takes a picture that may be worth her life....but why? A knock on the head, a near drowning...who is after Ruby? The dead professor's laptop holds clues but Ed has tampered with the files....what does that mean? Ruby is very much alone and in danger. If only she can keep the lecherous captain away from her and learn more about Ed then maybe things would make sense.
Essie Sue pushing the captain on her at every turn, the inept rabbi, people trying to kill her and the unknown Ed all lead to a fun read.

[Congregation Beth-El Zedeck Library]

The reviews say-"third Rabbi's wife mystery, DON�T CRY FOR ME, HOT PASTRAMI, is an amusing who-done-it due to the internal sufferings and asides of Ruby. The story line is fun though a reader might wonder why Ruby puts up with Essie Sue, a professional nudnick. Essie Sue is as aggressive a character one will find in a cozy while the Rabbi needs to borrow some of her chutzpah so he will not continue to look like a putz. Fans of an ethnic who-done-it will enjoy this tale that requires noshing a bagel while reading it." Looks like a light, fun read!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Temple Rita group sure can find trouble even on a cruise. First Ruby wins first prize - a place on the cruise but then things look wrong, very wrong. The name of the cruise line is the "Bargain Cruise Line". Then the captain is hitting on Ruby (the captain is busybody Essie Sue's cousin). What else could go wrong?

[Ashley Nichols · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn’t resist the title. It’s funny. There’s a lot of Jewish humor that I think would be funnier to someone familiar with the faith. The red herring was mention too much to not have factored into the murder. I will read the next but I don’t have much hope as I’m not the target audience. The discount cruise was a running joke but mostly I think it was just accurate. We will see.

[Books With Betty · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was a cute cozy mystery. there was a lot of narrative that wasn't important to the story, but it was a very fast read. it was sweet going back in time when people used email as primary communication.
I also needed a book to go with my pickle bookmark, and this one definitely fit the bill.

[Cindi Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/1...

[Teresa Mills-Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of those sweet easy "who-dun-it" reads.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heavy humor all the way but still I enjoyed the read.

[Rebecca Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read. I like them. This is #3 of a 6 part series.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite up to the standards to the first two, but still an enjoyable read.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

oy ve!

[Jennie-Mae Kovacs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book in the Rabbi's Wife series.

Although I haven't read the other books in the series, I enjoyed this one and don't feel I was missing anything by not reading the first two books.

Ruby is a enjoyable character, although why she remains friends with some of the other characters is something I question. Maybe that is explained in the other books. Unfortunately the cruise she "wins" is horrible. This quick read, though, makes you enjoy spending time with Ruby.

I wasn't completely shocked by the ending, I also didn't figure it out on my own, so that was good. Overall a nice cozy mystery.

[smalls · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't think this was such a great book. I hated the narrative. But finally got past it. The story itself was not too bad. Fairly easy to figure out. However there are three characters in the book that are totally obnoxious and I wanted to slap them all. Mostly the rabbi. Man, did he drive me crazy. If I knew this person in real life, I would have to seriously hurt him. As well as the character Essie Sue. But for sure the Rabbi. This is not a man to be in leadership. What a disgrace! I know it is fiction, but there are seriously people out there like this. The other character you will have to discover on your own. I like quirky characters, but these were not quirky, they were obnoxious.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 in the Ruby, the Rabbi's Wife series.

Ruby wins a cruise to St. Thomas in a temple raffle. Essie Sue has arranged a temple group tour on a liner captained by her cousin Horatio. The scheduled speaker is murdered and Ruby's life is threatened because of something she is suspected of knowing.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rabbi's wife books are an amusing mystery series with an interesting group of characters. The amateur crime solving sleuth is Ruby - wife of the previous (now deceased) rabbi of her temple. Ruby has a good sense of humor and good instincts. Good light read.

[Becca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read it for the crazy title, and that alone. Has got to be one of the worst books I've ever read (and horribly edited - typos all over the place!). No wonder my dad's library was getting rid of it. I think I'll take a cue from them and remove this from my shelf immediately.

[Chana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Silly, but not as many laughs as I had hoped. And part of the way through I realized that I had read this before.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruby is a doll; but don't you think three murder attempts is a couple to many for a 225 page book? I have run out of patience with Rabbi Kevin and Essie Sue.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, easy, no thinking required read, which was exactly what I needed this week.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun easy read

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this, the second of the series, Ruby ends up on a cruise, slightly against her will. There is humor, mystery, and romance. I look forward to more in this series.

[Michelle Schingler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and easy read; humorous and enjoyable. Tasty fluff.

[Sherri]

Just okay

[Deborah Sigel · Rating 4 out of 5]

You're killing me with that cover. Where's the nearest deli? Here's hoping this is the start of a romance for Ruby.

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

abandoned

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew who did it early on because they were so obviously acting off for their profession.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...

[Bobbi Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery with humor.

[Katemc]

Really like this series. Started with #3 because library didn't have 1&2