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Ruby, the Rabbi's Wife #5
Which Big Giver Stole the Chopped Liver?
Essie Sue Margolis is at it again. This time, she's organizing the reunion from hell for the Big Givers to Temple Rita in Eternal, Texas.
The reunioners are gathering at a ritzy hotel in nearby Austin to celebrate the beloved temple's history and to salute its two most important -- or is it self-important -- members: Freddie Fenstermeister, grand-nephew of Miss Rita Fenstermeister, who gave the money to establish the temple, and the temple's current leading lady, Essie Sue herself.
Ruby Rothman, whose late husband Stu was the Temple Rita rabbi, has been roped into helping Essie Sue with some of the plans. Big mistake. An Essie Sue event is sure to be full of surprises, not all of them pleasant.
Cheap but elegant is Essie Sue's motto, with an emphasis on "cheap." To save money, Essie Sue has made her own pièce de résistance -- a chopped liver mold in the shape of Texas. Imagine her shock when the mold disappears from the hors d'oeuvres table and is replaced by a body on ice.
Is the unfortunate corpse related to one of the out-of-town reunioners, or is he a complete stranger who just wandered into the Temple Rita festivities? Who had a reason to wish him dead?
With some unexpected help from Rabbi Kevin Kapstein, and from police lieutenant Paul Lundy, Ruby's soon on the trail of a killer who's also a chopped liver thief.
Meanwhile, back home in Eternal, Ruby's dog Oy Vey must learn to live with new feline friend Chutzpah, and Ruby must decide which of two special men has a place in her heart.
Rich with humor and suspense and with deep insights into the friendships and foibles of small-town congregational life, Which Big Giver Stole the Chopped Liver? is the best yet in this captivating mystery series from one of crime fiction's most entertaining storytellers.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2004
About the author
Sharon Kahn
16 books26 followersSharon 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 17, 2012
The best thing about this book really is the title.
Other than that, it's just a bog-standard cozy that isn't as interesting, or well done as a great many others in the field. It's a plot that in fact, tries to be more complicated than it is, and boils down to someone saying, halfway through the book: "I think X did it." Four more pages: "I'm sure X did it." For more: "Now we just have to trap X." And then they do, while dramatic tension sits quietly weeping in the corner.
There's the beginnings of a subplot early in the book with the unexpected visit of Ruby's son, who drops off a kitten and that upsets her dog, and she worries about that, which is strange, because the next day she's off investigating this case and doesn't worry about (or feed, apparently) either pet for the next few days. Boo.
Rabbi Kevin morphed from being a clueless weenie cheerfully living in the pocket of Essie Mae's pantsuit to outright petulant, spoiled and whiny, and could've used a good slap. Essie Mae is believably terrible, but the fact that Ruby lets Essie Mae walk all over her and publicly ridicule her without complaint made me less of a fan of Ruby, overall.
Saved from being a one-star book by the writing style, which is functional and fluid, and the well executed inclusion of the email conversations between Ruby and Nan, a trick I've seen attempted many times without success but which here is pleasantly diverting. But honestly, I wish GoodReads had a 1.5 star button.
Other than that, it's just a bog-standard cozy that isn't as interesting, or well done as a great many others in the field. It's a plot that in fact, tries to be more complicated than it is, and boils down to someone saying, halfway through the book: "I think X did it." Four more pages: "I'm sure X did it." For more: "Now we just have to trap X." And then they do, while dramatic tension sits quietly weeping in the corner.
There's the beginnings of a subplot early in the book with the unexpected visit of Ruby's son, who drops off a kitten and that upsets her dog, and she worries about that, which is strange, because the next day she's off investigating this case and doesn't worry about (or feed, apparently) either pet for the next few days. Boo.
Rabbi Kevin morphed from being a clueless weenie cheerfully living in the pocket of Essie Mae's pantsuit to outright petulant, spoiled and whiny, and could've used a good slap. Essie Mae is believably terrible, but the fact that Ruby lets Essie Mae walk all over her and publicly ridicule her without complaint made me less of a fan of Ruby, overall.
Saved from being a one-star book by the writing style, which is functional and fluid, and the well executed inclusion of the email conversations between Ruby and Nan, a trick I've seen attempted many times without success but which here is pleasantly diverting. But honestly, I wish GoodReads had a 1.5 star button.
February 6, 2023
Which Big Giver Stole the Chopped Liver? is a cozy set in the small town of Eternal, Texas, just south of Austin. The shtick is that the main character is not a Rabbi as in Friday the Rabbi Slept Late but, instead, the widow of Temple Rita's late Rabbi. I'm rounding up to three stars to be nice. This is the only book I've read in this series and I don't see any reason for that to change.
Pro: Let's see now... The victim isn't a beloved main character. He is killed out of our sight and we don't know him well enough to care what happens to him. Most of the characters are nice. They drink but they do not use naughty language or indulge in bondage or whatever but the bad people say "Damn" and smoke.
Con: The odds of this many stereotypical people existing at the same time in the same small congregation seems pretty unlikely. That women of a certain age have multiple extremely handsome men chasing after them is silly. That the police would willingly involve civilians, particularly civilians as inept as these, in their investigations is ridiculous. Two characters were IMO too annoying to play as big roles as they do in a series.
The best thing about the book might be the chopped liver recipe.
Pro: Let's see now... The victim isn't a beloved main character. He is killed out of our sight and we don't know him well enough to care what happens to him. Most of the characters are nice. They drink but they do not use naughty language or indulge in bondage or whatever but the bad people say "Damn" and smoke.
Con: The odds of this many stereotypical people existing at the same time in the same small congregation seems pretty unlikely. That women of a certain age have multiple extremely handsome men chasing after them is silly. That the police would willingly involve civilians, particularly civilians as inept as these, in their investigations is ridiculous. Two characters were IMO too annoying to play as big roles as they do in a series.
The best thing about the book might be the chopped liver recipe.
November 11, 2018
it was light reading and fun
October 28, 2019
Good book, easy read. Realized that it was #5 in a series of 6. Have ordered the rest and already reading #1.
March 3, 2022
An ok read but so much time was devoted to Essie Sue’s reunion that seemed to make the murder not very important
May 21, 2023
Too many people. Too many things happening at o
November 9, 2024
Annoying
August 5, 2012
Ruby, widow of a rabbi, is drawn into helping with a Temple reunion by the tireless Essie Sue Margolis. When a strange man in golf pants is found dead at the start of the banquet, Essie's husband Hal becomes the main suspect. Ruby is sure that the long-suffering Hal--if he can stand Essie Sue, he can stand anything--doesn't have a murderous bone in his body. But she has to convince her pal, the local policeman, while fending off questions from her sometimes boyfriend, a San Antonio reporter. Oy!
March 7, 2019
If she hates Essie Sue so much, why does she continue to agree to do things for her? I think we're supposed to believe that she has a continuing loyalty to her dead husband, the previous rabbi. Clearly though, he's been dead long enough for the temple to move on. Kevin might be too modern and too awkward for Ruby's tastes but the temple is adjusting and changing with the times. It's time for Ruby to move on to a congregation that fits her personality.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2019/comm...
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2019/comm...
August 11, 2015
#5 in the Ruby, the Rabbi's Wife series.
Ruby is involved in a temple homecoming celebration. A stranger is murdered at the reception and the rabbi breaks his tooth on the crucial clue while sampling Essie Sue's chopped liver. Ruby still finds reporter Ed hot, but inattentive. She seems to be developing feelings for police Lt. Paul Lundy.
Ruby is involved in a temple homecoming celebration. A stranger is murdered at the reception and the rabbi breaks his tooth on the crucial clue while sampling Essie Sue's chopped liver. Ruby still finds reporter Ed hot, but inattentive. She seems to be developing feelings for police Lt. Paul Lundy.
July 16, 2008
Austin author. Ruby is very amusing - lots of Austin landmarks. She has a series of books with Ruby and her characters - I'll probably read them all as I found her characters pretty funny. Especially Essie Sue...
June 5, 2009
This book is part of the current wave of books with recipes and murder intertwined. What saves it from fading into the pack is the lead character - the widow of the late Rabbi. She is fleshed out a little bit more than some of the other detectives with quirks and a good dose of Yiddish.
February 12, 2010
The quality of the books in this series is uneven. This one is better than the last, with a clear conflict in the main character's life complementing the intriguing mystery at its heart.
Also includes a chopped liver recipe. Where am I supposed to get chicken fat in that quantity?
Also includes a chopped liver recipe. Where am I supposed to get chicken fat in that quantity?
January 20, 2008
The characters were mostly caricatures and the story framing the mystery was pretty dumb but it was entertaining enough to keep me reading.
November 4, 2009
Entertaining.
February 23, 2010
Reunions can be so complicated.
March 20, 2010
Really fun series. Very light quick read
August 19, 2012
Fun book!
March 1, 2016
HB-B @ 2004, 2/05. A Ruby, The Rabbi's Wife Mystery. Ruby and Detective Paul Lundy team up when a dead man is found at the Temple Rita reunion, and the chopped liver pate is missing. Okay.
August 22, 2016
Another festive time in Eternal, Texas. A synagogue reunion is spoiled ... or had Essie already done the damage by planning it in two separate cities.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews