Publisher's Weekly Review
In Agatha-nominee Kahn's fifth wacky "kosher kozy" (after 2002's Hold the Cream Cheese, Kill the Lox) to feature Ruby, the rabbi's widow with chutzpah, Essie Sue Margolis, the terror of Temple Rita, decides it's time for a reunion fund-raiser to renovate the temple after learning that their small town of Eternal, Tex., has grown by 50 people. (Never mind that none of the 50 is Jewish.) At the opening celebratory event, an unknown man is found dead, keeled over in a platter of ice where once rested Essie Sue's chopped liver mold in the shape of the state of Texas. Aided by overly attentive police lieutenant Paul Lundy, Ruby investigates the crime while also dealing with the present man in her life, a sleeping disorder and a new pet, a feisty kitten. While the solution becomes obvious early on and the antics of Temple Rita's Rabbi Kevin strain credibility, Ruby's sense of humor and apt observations on life more than compensate. Readers will laugh their way from the opening fake sushi roll to the final recipe for chopped liver with tofu. Agent, Helen Rees. (Sept. 7) FYI: The jacket art-a yellow crime-scene ribbon draped over the platter that held the Texas-shaped chopped liver mold-perfectly captures the book's light tone. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
More dastardly doings at Temple Rita, where the Homecoming for the Long-Gone is rudely interrupted by the recently deceased. Conceived by Permanent Chair of the Board Essie Sue Margolis as a fundraiser for her synagogue in Eternal, Texas (so small they apparently don't know from kosher), Homecoming brings reluctant current congregants together with those who've moved on to greener pastures for a weekend of festivities that are more culinary than religious. But when the centerpiece of the opening reception, Essie Sue's chopped liver mold with cream cheese icing, disappears, it isn't an irate mish giach who spirited it away; it's a cold-blooded killer who left a corpse in its place. Why Ruby Rothman (Hold the Cream Cheese, Kill the Lox, 2002, etc.), widow of Temple Rita's late rabbi, feels it's her job to investigate the murder is anyone's guess, but at least it brings two suitors, reporter Ed Levenger and police chief Paul Lundy, circling around her pronto. Which is a lucky thing, since as her investigation moves forward--she grills inept Rabbi Kevin Kapstein and pokes away at reunion guests until she inevitably alerts the killer--she needs all the help she can get to avoid becoming the next victim. Kahn's bagels-and-lox view of Judaism, which makes religious practice sound like an endless round of committee meetings, adds little to an otherwise conventional romance-with-a-murder-thrown-in. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
As her late husband the rabbi would surely have wanted, Ruby Rothman continues to smooth ruffled feathers among the congregants of Temple Rita--and solve the odd mysteries that seem to follow the flock. This time, a platter of chopped liver (molded into the shape of the state of Texas!) has disappeared from the buffet table at the Temple Rita reunion, and a dead body has taken its place. Intrepid Ruby must sort things out, aided (or driven to distraction) by her usual cast mates: the temple's well-meaning if wimpy rabbi; Lieutenant Paul Lundy, who has more than mystery on his mind when he looks at Ruby; and bossy, tactless Essie Sue Margolis, up to her eyeballs in trouble this time as her husband's fingerprints are all over the murder weapon. This series continues to get its punch from Ruby's down-to-earth attitude and from the interactions of the secondary characters, who, for all their quirky outrageousness, play a crucial part in Ruby's life. --Stephanie Zvirin Copyright 2004 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Ruby's avowed rival at Temple Rita in Eternal, TX, hopes a temple reunion will raise money for a new building. The main event, however, turns out to be a dead body on ice. A charming "kosher" cozy. Kahn lives in Austin, TX. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
