Don't Cry For Me, Hot Pastrami
A Ruby, the Rabbi's Wife Mystery
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
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 chef's 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.
Ruby manages, as always, to discern the hubris from the humor, but almost pays with her life. The good news is that she finds romance on the voyage. The bad news is that he may be a killer.
Sharon Kahn, a rabbi's wife for thirty-one years, knows the territory.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Widow Ruby Rothman and the gang from Temple Rita in Eternal, Tex., return for a third riotous tale of murder and mayhem from Agatha Award nominee Kahn (Fax Me a Bageland Never Nosh a Matzo Ball). The irksome temple yenta Essie Sue Margolis, fund-raising chairperson and resident busybody, plans a Caribbean cruise with a Jewish sea captain and Prof. Willie Bob Gonzales, who will lecture on Jews of the Caribbean. Ruby knows from a survey she conducted that their rabbi, Kevin Kapstein, is losing ground with his congregation. She's certain that the cruise will boost his waning popularity. However, the survey is anything but kosher, the sea captain is actually Essie Sue's cousin Horatio (n Harry) Goldberg, and Willie Bob dies mysteriously at Ruby's feet while waiting to board the ship. And as if that weren't enough, the boat runs into a severe storm, the opening gala dinner features plastic tablecloths and frozen chicken and it looks like the cruise to die for will be the cruise to die from. Even a possible shipboard romance, the first romantic interest Ruby has felt since her husband's death, is fraught with suspicion and doubts as she uses her high-tech computer skills and the aid of her mysterious e-mail friend, Nan, to discover what really happened to Willie Bob. A fast-paced mystery, a cast of quirky characters, humor and wit that will make readers giggle if not laugh out loud, as well as an enchanting sleuth, make this a delightful addition to the series.