Review: A PAIN IN THE TUCHIS by Mark Reutlinger

Fiction, Cozy Mystery

5*****

Blurb: Yom Kippur is a day of reflection and soul searching. But at the Julius and Rebecca Cohen Home for Jewish Seniors, Vera Gold misses this opportunity to atone for her many sins when she up and dies. Indeed, Vera was such a pain in the tuchis to all those around her that when her sister claims Vera was deliberately poisoned, the tough question isn’t who would want to kill her—but who wouldn’t? Having already solved one murder with her dear friend Ida, Rose Kaplan has a sleuthing reputation that precedes her. It’s only natural that Vera’s sister turns to Mrs. K for help. So do the police, but when her conclusions conflict with theirs, they tell her to butt out! This case has more twists than a loaf of challah. And with a homicidal scoundrel on the loose, Mrs. K has to act fast—or she might be the guest of honor at the Home’s next memorial service.

THOUGHTS: Oy vey! What a fun story! This is the second in a series and takes place at a Jewish home for seniors. Rose is at it once again with her friends to figure out who killed the nasty Vera Gold and why. It may be the day for atonement, but that’s not happening. I absolutely love Rose and can “hear” her voice in my head as I read (she sounds a little like Barbra Streisand in “Funny Girl”). There a lot of Yiddish terms that the author does a good job of explaining without being over the top with it. And a few misses on Rose’s part – like when she talks about the Hippo laws (HIPAA). The imagery puts you right there, for instance when talking about the big store surrounded with a black moat lined with white stripes (parking lot).

When Rose and her pal Ida decide that Vera was murdered, it’s up to them to convince Vera’s son to exhume her body and perform an autopsy even though it’s against his strict Jewish law. They try to enlist the aid of the Rabbi, but that goes nowhere so Rose twists his words to meet her needs. It’s a tad nefarious, but it works and the race is on to find out who the killer is before it happens again.

Although this is the second book in the series, and I haven’t read the first, I had no problem getting to know the characters and the setting. I had a lot of fun with this story and know I’ll be reading more of these books.

Recommended.