Harry Kemelman: One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross (USA 2015)

From the Publisher:
On a trip to the Holy Land, Rabbi Small is drawn into a deadly conflict between religious extremists in the New York Times-bestselling series.
Retired millionaire Barney Berkowitz, from the small Massachusetts town of Barnard's Crossing, invites Rabbi David Small to come to Israel and bar mitzvah him, as Berkowitz never went through the ceremony in his youth. On what should be a joyous occasion -- and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Holy Land -- the rabbi discovers danger lurking in every corner and a conspiracy that threatens to destroy the state of Israel.

An innocent American has been murdered and when the sleuthing rabbi begins his investigation, he finds the death may have been part of an international conspiracy fueled by religious radicals and an arms-smuggling scheme. Anyone, from a liberal Jewish-American professor to a young religious fundamentalist, could be a suspect -- and the rabbi must rely on his Talmudic logic and daring chutzpah to untangle the mystery and prevent an even more deadly attack.

Harry Kemelman: One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross. A Rabbi Small Mystery. Open Road Media, ISBN: 9781504016124 (August, 2015), eBook, 663 KB (ca. 227 p.), $7.99.

Harry Kemelman: One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross (USA 1989)

From the Publisher:
Murder is in the air when the sleuthing rabbi flies to Israel.
The answer to the prayers of mystery fans everywhere: A Rabbi Small adventure -- full of the wit and wisdom, persistence and chutzpah, that put the Rabbi on the bestseller lists every day of the week! Ever since he made his debut in Friday the Rabbi Slept Late, the adventures of Harry Kemelmans unassuming hero have been hailed by critics and fans. And now, at last, new fans and old can enjoy all the hair-raising tales and unparalleled logic of one of the world's most unusual sleuths.

On a pleasure trip to the Holy Land, Rabbi David Small looks in on the troubled son of Barnard's Crossing's favorite grocers, the Goodmans. A confused young man, Jordan Goodman has embraced the extreme ideals of a controversial fundamentalist Jewish group and become strictly orthodox in observance. But Jordan's newfound beliefs lead him to perform an act of dubious heroism that leads to a murder charge. Knock wood -- Rabbi Small is around to give even Israeli security a valuable lesson in age-old Talmudic logic and good old American know-how.

Harry Kemelman: One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross. An Israeli vacation is no holiday when the sleuthing Rabbi stumbles on murder. A Rabbi Small Mystery. Fawcett Crest, ISBN: 0449206874 (January, 1989), 248 p., $3.95.

Harry Kemelman: One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross (USA 1987)

From the Publisher:
When Harry Kemelman used up the days of the week with the title of his seventh mystery novel, Thursday tbe Rabbi Walked Out, his many thousands of fans wondered whether Rabbi David Small, America's favorite kosher sleuth, would be back for more adventures. Their question was answered with Rabbi Small's triumphant return in Someday the Rabbi Will Leave, which Kirkus Reviews called "a dandy job... thanks to lively temple wrangling, an appealing spread of characters, and a brightly unconventional plot." In Harry Kemelman's new mystery, One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross, we follow Rabbi David Small and his wife, Miriam, on their vacation to Israel. But instead of quiet rest and relaxation, they find that they've embarked on a journey of intrigue and crime involving international arms smuggling and, in all probability, murder.

Jerusalem abounds with suspicious characters: a liberal Jewish-American professor who has dealings with Arabs in the old city; a troubled young man who has become a baal ibuah, the Jewish equivalent of a born-again fundamental-ist... There are also some not-so-suspicious, bur merely troublesome, characters, like Barney Berkowitz, a well-heeled seventy-year-old who wants to be bar mitzvahed at the Wailing Wall. ("What am I supposed to do?" asks Rabbi Small. "Make a little speech saying. 'Today, Barney Berkowitz, you are a man?'") And who can forget the Smalls' Israeli aunt, Gittel? Nobody messes with her, not even a captain in the police department, especially when Gittel threatens to call his mother.

In the end Rabbi Small once again marshals his deductive genius and knowledge of Jewish law and lore to unravel the fiendish plot that has resulted in the death of an innocent American. Here are suspense and surprises enough to satisfy even the most demanding mystery fan, along with that special dose of wit, wisdom, and chutzpah that only Rabbi Small can supply.

Harry Kemelman: One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross. A new Rabbi Small Mystery. William Morrow, ISBN: 0688056318 (March, 1987), 234 p., $15.95.