Doing research for this article, I found lots of Jews in crime fiction, but I wanted to narrow my focus to the cozy mystery. Let other Jews prowl the crime-ridden streets in darker books—let’s let the light of Hanukkah shine on the mysteries that stick close to home and have a light side.
Rabbis and Rebbetzins lead the pack, starting with Rabbi David Small in Harry Kemelman’s series. When I discovered this series in high school, I felt seen for the first time in cozy mystery. Rabbi Small’s community and his temple resonated with me in a way that Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot didn’t. I felt like I lived in the world of those books, and devoured them eagerly. In the first book, Friday the Rabbi Slept Late, the rabbi himself is a suspect in the murder of a nanny, and he has to use all the skills of an amateur sleuth, plus a knowledge of the Talmud, to extricate himself and solve the crime.
Rabbi Aviva Cohen is the amateur sleuth in Rabbi Ilene Schneider’s series, set in South Jersey. You can count on Rabbi Schneider, one of the first women rabbis ordained in the United States, for accuracy and humor. You can tell that from her punny book titles—Chanukah Guilt, Yom Killer, and Unleavened Dead.
Sharon Kahn’s Fax Me a Bagel: A Novel Introducing Ruby, the Rabbi’s Wife is a slightly misleading title, as Ruby Rothman is a rabbi’s widow as the story begins. Set in the small town of Eternal, Texas, it’s a very different view of Jewish life from many Jewish cozies, which are east-coast-centric. But it retains a very specific Jewish humor.
For more humor, as well as hair tips, you can turn to Nancy Cohen’s Bad Hair Day series. The 17-book series (so far) has won numerous awards, and Cohen herself is a charming speaker who also writes non-fiction and sci-fi fantasy romance. South Florida hair stylist Marla Shore has a knack for nosing into investigations, starting with Permed to Death, where she’s accused of poisoning the coffee creamer of a difficult client. Facials Can be Fatal takes place during the holiday season and includes a look at Hanukkah.
Sex, Murder and a Double Latte by Kyra Davis opens with a scene that is very relatable to me—having your Jewish mother read the sex scenes in your book. “How can a nice Jewish girl write such a thing? It’s not bad enough you should give me ulcers with all this talk of killing, but now you have to write about naked people, too?”
It’s a very Jewish voice, and one that draws me right in.
For a historical approach, turn to the Ezra Melamed series by Libi Astaire. Set in London in 1810, The Disappearing Dowry concerns the theft of a well-to-do clockmaker’s fortune just as his eldest daughter is due to be married. Mr. Melamed (whose name in Hebrew means storyteller) is a wealthy widower and benefactor of London’s Jewish community, and he steps in to help the family.
Kerry Greenwood’s Raisins and Almonds is another historical, set in 1920s Melbourne, Australia—not a place you’d expect to find many Jews. However just as in the United States, Jewish refugees arrived, fleeing pogroms in Russia and Poland. Their unique community is the setting for this ninth of the Phryne Fisher mysteries. As is often the case, Phryne is involved by a handsome man, in this case a dancing partner named Simon Abrahams. The Jewish community is easily recognizable by its world of refugees, rabbis, Yiddish, and chicken soup.
Jews also appear in mixed marriages in cozy mysteries. Kiki Lowenstein in Joanna Campbell Slan’s series was born Episcopalian and married a Jew, who dies in the first book. She has agreed to raise their daughter as a Jew, which provides opportunities for religion to show up in the course of Kiki’s investigations.
As a Reform Jew myself, I can’t help but include Jewish holidays and ideas in my own work. My protagonist, Steve Levitan, carries my first name and my great-grandmother’s maiden name. He and I share a childhood on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, with frequent excursions into Trenton, New Jersey for family visits and synagogue attendance. The sixth book in the series, Dog Have Mercy, takes place at Hanukkah and Christmas, while in the eighth, Dog is in the Details, the rabbi’s brother is murdered, and the clues lie in the history of the city’s Jewish community.
I hope I’ve provided some fun reads for you—or perhaps Hanukkah gifts for your favorite cozy readers.
Neil Plakcy manages to bring Jewish characters and themes into most of his book, including Invasion of the Blatnicks, his first novel, which is a funny look at Jewish family relationships and shopping mall construction. Several of his Have Body, Will Guard books explore the background of one of his co-protagonists, Aidan Greene, including looks at Sephardic families, Romaniote Jews, and long-lost Torah scrolls. More information at his website, www.mahubooks.com.
