Uno/Murder/Rab/Wahl

Anyone who is interested in the ethical discussions in Alexander McCall Smith is likely to be interested in this book. The "detective," Daniel Winter, is a rabbi who gives brief explanations of Jewish law and its reasoning -- just enough to be interesting, such as why someone cannot be convicted of murder if the jury is unanimous (raises suspicions) or a parent cannot testify for or against a child and vice versa. The plot involves a feminist rabbi who is run down by a car after a spirited discussion at a Sunday evening radio talk show. Daniel is particularly upset with this woman when he leaves the show, but he ends up getting involved in the investigation for a number of reasons -- not least of which is that someone believes that the man accused of the crime is innocent. Daniel also has a romance beginning with a police psychologist who is an infrequent attender of his synagogue but who has come to see him about a stolen watch she wants returned (one of the youth appears to have stolen it from her daughter). All the various threads interwind and connect at various points in this carefully plotted book. I look forward to reading more in the series. My only comment would be that I am not on the same page as Winter on some issues and chafed a bit; I suspect that this book will be more popular with men than with women.

There are many books in my library. Many of them came there because of a quirk that I have for picking up books that look as if they would be interesting. Being who I am & what I have done with my life; this can mean anything from a mystery based on the treatis of quantam physics such as the amazing authoress Pat Murphy writes or it can mean one steeped in the candid strangeness of living in today's California {something that I do not do by choice} & being of an ancient & most honorable faith - be that Judaism or Christianity or another of which I AM an adherant. Be that as it may, The Unorthodox Murcher of Rabbi Wahl is a fascinating & indepth look at another of the literary world's leaders of a religious community. It gives us both a challenging mystery wrapped in the healing of one man's heart, the solution to two different types of mysteries several years apart & asks us to question some of the basic tenets of two of the larger faiths without being too stiff or formal about it. The book gave us enough background to hang ourselves: the ability to pick the perpetrator & be wrong. It gave use the ongoing clues found by peripheral people who turned out to be future victims & also those from seemingly incongruous ones as well: such as a little boy at a distinctly Jewish wedding. I'm sure that many people have read the Kemelmen series on Rabbi Small & those of the Monsignor Blackie Ryan. This book belongs in that genre. The book of knowing a religion exists, knowing some of the tenets & services & believing that justice will most likely prevail, perhaps not in all instances but most of them. I liked the book. Voracious reader that I am, I was moving books to reshelve my fall reading list & made this the 8th book that I've read in the new year by simply picking it up & opening it to the first page. I will read it again. Why don't you try it for the first time? Jacqueline G. Emrys herbalist, reader

I devoured this book in no less than three or four sittings. Independant of the complex plot surrounding the murder of the feminist controversial Rabbi Wahl and the varying suspects, this book possesses much wisdom into Jewish theology and yes, Jewish humor. That should come as no surprise given the author's great expertise in these matters and prolific output of scholarly Judaic books. Our protaganist, Rabbi Daniel Winter, hosts a radio talk show host with a panel of three clergymen wherein we learn about Judaism's views on capital punishment, abortion, and the role of women, among other issues. Regarding abortion, Rabbi Daniel Winter jokes, "In Judaism, a fetus remains a fetus until it graduates from medical school." Telushkin is no stranger to this format of a radio show, inasmuch as his dear friend Dennis Prager hosted a similar show entitled "Religion on the Line" and Telushkin regularly appeared as a panel member. The influence of Prager also finds its way into the text when we read of the question posed to Hebrew school students, "If your dog and a stranger were drowning, whom would you save first?" Prager has famously posed that exact question for nearly three decades to high school students. A disturbing majority has been discovered to opt for the dog, not surprising in a society in which love is valued above all and in which the infinite sacredness of human life, created in G-d's image, is lost. This book was a delight on many levels-- the suspense generated, the romantic relationship between Rabbi Winter and Dr. Goldstein, the many Jewish ideals incorporated into the text, and the surprise ending.

I devoured this book in no less than three or four sittings. Independant of the complex plot surrounding the murder of the feminist controversial Rabbi Wahl and the varying suspects, this book possesses much wisdom into Jewish theology and yes, Jewish humor. That should come as no surprise given the author's great expertise in these matters and prolific output of scholarly Judaic books. Our protaganist, Rabbi Daniel Winter, hosts a radio talk show host with a panel of three clergymen wherein we learn about Judaism's views on capital punishment, abortion, and the role of women, among other issues. Regarding abortion, Rabbi Daniel Winter jokes, "In Judaism, a fetus remains a fetus until it graduates from medical school." Telushkin is no stranger to this format of a radio show, inasmuch as his dear friend Dennis Prager hosted a similar show entitled "Religion on the Line" and Telushkin regularly appeared as a panel member. The influence of Prager also finds its way into the text when we read of the question posed to Hebrew school students, "If your dog and a stranger were drowning, whom would you save first?" Prager has famously posed that exact question for nearly three decades to high school students. A disturbing majority has been discovered to opt for the dog, not surprising in a society in which love is valued above all and in which the infinite sacredness of human life, created in G-d's image, is lost. This book was a delight on many levels-- the suspense generated, the romantic relationship between Rabbi Winter and Dr. Goldstein, the many Jewish ideals incorporated into the text, and the surprise ending. A fan of Telushkin's non-fiction works for quite some time, I can hardly wait to begin his other two mystery novels.

This book was a pleasure to read! It was highly enjoyable, had a perplexing and well thought out plot and was a book that has a permenant spot on my bookshelf!