Fax Me a Bagel: A Novel Introducing Ruby the Rabbi's Wife - Tapa dura

Ruby has been a widow for more than a year now, since the hit-and-run death of her beloved husband, Stu. She should be free to start a new life, but once a rabbi's wife, always a rabbi's wife, at least in Eternal. You never graduate.

Ruby can't even escape her least favorite member of the congregation, Essie Sue Margolis -- who wears designer clothes to take out the garbage. Ruby figures she should be safe from Essie Sue at eleven in the morning at The Hot Bagel. Wrong. Essie Sue is there in a white silk ensemble never touched by human hands. Ruby's smudged tee shirt does not impress.

Still, The Hot Bagel makes the best baked goods west of the Hudson, and Ruby's not about to miss her favorite morning fix. It comes at a higher price than fashion embarrassment, however, as Ruby soon discovers that she has more on her proverbial plate than poppy seeds. Marla, sister of the much disliked Essie Sue, goes into a convulsion and dies, leaving not only her bagels on the table but more unanswered questions than Ruby could ever have imagined. Was Marla's death an accident? Was it part of a plan? How does it fit into other unexplained deaths in the small Texas community that straddles the worlds of the plantation South and the rugged West?

In a romp through Jewish life filled with love and laughter, Ruby encounters more than mayhem. She watches in horror when the temple selection committee finally chooses a rabbi who thinks Essie Sue is the best thing since automated High Holy Day ticketing. Here comes double-trouble.

Author Sharon Kahn, who spent thirty-one years as a rabbi's wife, captures that life in a novel that is genuine and original. Beneath the irony, mystery, and humor lies a cautionary tale in which Ruby's values come shining through, and her intrepid detective work ensures that she'll live to sleuth another day.