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Eternal, Texas is a thriving Jewish Community where Ruby Rothman is still considered the Rabbi¼s wife even though her husband, Rabbi Stu Rothman, was killed a couple of years ago and a new Rabbi has been appointed. Things have changed since Rabbi Rothman¼s death. The Temple Rita now has a health facility called the Center for Bodily Movement. It¼s owned and run by Essie Sue Margolis, Ruby¼s nemesis. The new Rabbi, Rabbi Kevin Kapstein, was Essie Sue¼s choice to be the Rabbi. She¼s determined to change tradition and persuades him to help her make this Passover with their Temple a healthier one. She insists that there will be no more heavy, schmaltz laden, fried food for Eternal¼s Jewish community! This coming Seder will have grape juice instead of the sugary wine that all Jews associate with Passover. Vegetables will be a mainstay for the big feast and there will be no meat on the table except for the traditional roasted shank bone -- only because it¼s part of the Passover ceremony. Essie insisted that the matzo balls be made out of egg whites with less fat and less salt, and has gone so far as to sell these lite Matzo balls, ready made. The congregation agrees that the matzo balls have fewer calories but they also agree that they also have a taste that reminds them of cardboard. Yes, a lot has changed in Eternal except for the yearly murders. The first year Rabbi Stu was killed, the next year Essie Sue¼s sister was murdered, and this year the dead body is Hubert Bogardis, found murdered behind the Center for Bodily Movement. Hubert, known as Bogie, was the baseball coach for the Center. He was found lying dead near the newly bought pitching machine. So how was he killed? Did the machine pitch a baseball into Bogie¼s head? Did his death have something to do with the fact that he was trying to leave Essie Sue¼s employment by getting a job as athletic director at Harmon and Hetty Poundburn¼s Fit and Rural Ranch? The fact that Essie Sue is linked to the Poundburn¼s facility just adds more to the equation. She hired them to help make and distribute her new, healthy matzo balls. Not being the type of person to let a murder just be investigated by Eternal¼s Police Department, Ruby decides to find answers to all the questions. Who killed Bogie and why? What does Rabbi Kevin Kapstein¼s fiancÈe, Angel Elkin, the spiritual director of the Poundburn¼s Fit and Rural Ranch, have to do with it? And why are people dying at the Proudburn¼s ranch? To find her answers, Ruby gets a job at the Poundburn¼s facility and proceeds to get herself into plenty of trouble. This is the second of three „Ruby the Rabbi's Wife Mysteries.¾ Once again we visit with the entire members of Eternal¼s community. There¼s Milt, the bagel shop owner, who sold a half interest of it to Ruby a year ago. We read Ruby¼s emails to her friend, Nan, now living in Seattle studying to become a lawyer. Ruby¼s best friend, Police Chief Purdy, is still trying to solve murders while keeping Ruby safe and even Oy Vey, Ruby¼s three-legged dog is still around. Each book brings us to Eternal, a nice little Jewish community that¼s always a pleasure to visit. Sharon Kahn¼s first book in this series was FAX ME A BAGEL where we were first introduced to all the outragious characters. These books aren¼t the perfect murder mysteries. The holes in the crimes are bigger than the hole in the middle of a bagel but they are fun reads and you get to learn a little about Jewish culture while you¼re at it. The author is even nice enough to give us the recipes to prepare both types of matzo balls: the delicious traditional recipe and Essie Sue¼s way of making them. Noshing a matzo ball might not be low in calories but they are yummy to eat and a fun book to read.
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, March 2002
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