Friday the Rabbi Slept Late — Harry Kemelman

First in the New York Timesâ€"bestselling series and winner of the Edgar Award: A new rabbi in a small New England town investigates the murder of a nanny.

David Small is the new rabbi in the small Massachusetts town of Barnard's Crossing. Although he'd rather spend his days engaged in Torah study and theological debate, the daily chores of synagogue life are all-consuming -- that is, until the day a nanny's body is found on the rain-soaked asphalt of the temple's parking lot.
 
When the young woman's purse is discovered in Rabbi Small's car, he will have to use his scholarly skills and Talmudic wisdom -- and collaborate with the Irish-Catholic police chief -- to exonerate himself and find the real killer.

Blending this unorthodox sleuth's quick intellect with thrilling action, Friday the Rabbi Slept Late is the exciting first installment of the beloved bestselling mystery series that offers a Jewish twist on the clerical mystery, a delightful discovery for fans of Father Brown and Father Dowling or readers of Faye Kellerman's suspense novels set in the Orthodox community.