Some one in the Julius and Rebecca Cohen Home for Jewish
Seniors has died... Bertha Finklestein is found face first
in
a bowl of matzoh ball soup. . .with a stolen diamond
earring lodged in her throat. So begins MRS. KAPLAN AND
THE
MATZOH BALL OF DEATH by Mark Reutlinger—one of the most
entertaining amateur sleuth mysteries that I've read in a
long while.
Mrs. Rose Kaplan, the one who made her contest-winning
matzoh ball soup for the seder, is directly implicated in
the homicide and the theft of the earrings. Mrs. K. and
her
sidekick, Mrs. Ida Berkowitz, must work non-stop to solve
the crime before the police formally charge Rose.
Mrs. K. tries her best to think like Sherlock Holmes who
she "admires very much from his books" and Ida narrates
the
story in true Watson-like fashion—although with her own
flair and uniquely Jewish voice. They find themselves in
impossible situations that hilariously break the rules of
the home and even the law as they search for clues. As
they
work against the clock, they still find time to help their
friends both in the home and elsewhere; they counsel a
married couple and prevent a young woman from marrying a
criminal among other things. They make new friends on both
sides of the law.
Mark Reutlinger has created lovable, memorable characters
that are reminiscent of Sadie Shapiro or Mrs. Pollifax and
every bit as entertaining. I look forward to more
adventures like MRS. KAPLAN AND THE MATZOH BALL OF DEATH.
I
am sure we have not heard the last of this pair of
friends—as they foil the no-goodniks of their world.
Move over, Miss Marple—Mark Reutlinger’s charming cozy
debut introduces readers to the unforgettable amateur sleuth
Rose Kaplan and her loyal sidekick, Ida.
Everyone knows that Rose Kaplan makes the best matzoh ball
soup around—she’s a regular matzoh ball maven—so it’s no
surprise at the Julius and Rebecca Cohen Home for Jewish
Seniors when, once again, Mrs. K wins the honor of preparing
the beloved dish for the Home’s seder on the first night of
Passover.
But when Bertha Finkelstein is
discovered facedown in her bowl of soup, her death puts a
bit of a pall on the rest of the seder. And things go really
meshugge when it comes out that Bertha choked on a diamond
earring earlier stolen from resident Daisy Goldfarb.
Suddenly Mrs. K is the prime suspect in the police
investigation of both theft and murder. Oy
vey—it’s a recipe for disaster, unless Rose and her dear
friend Ida can summon up the chutzpah to face down the
police and solve the mystery themselves.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy