Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death

Move over, Miss Marple—Mark Reutlinger’s charming cozy debut, the short novel Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death, introduces readers to the unforgettable amateur sleuth Rose Kaplan and her loyal sidekick, Ida.
 
Everyone knows that Rose Kaplan makes the best matzoh ball soup around—she’s a regular matzoh ball maven—so it’s no surprise at the Julius and Rebecca Cohen Home for Jewish Seniors when, once again, Mrs. K wins the honor of preparing the beloved dish for the Home’s seder on the first night of Passover.
 
But when Bertha Finkelstein is discovered facedown in her bowl of soup, her death puts a bit of a pall on the rest of the seder. And things go really meshugge when it comes out that Bertha choked on a diamond earring earlier stolen from resident Daisy Goldfarb. Suddenly Mrs. K is the prime suspect in the police investigation of both theft and murder. Oy vey—it’s a recipe for disaster, unless Rose and her dear friend Ida can summon up the chutzpah to face down the police and solve the mystery themselves.

Praise for Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death
 
“Is there kosher food in jail? These two heroines have gotten themselves in quite a pickle! Well, it’s a matzoh ball mess, really. Too deliciously funny!”—Rita Mae Brown, bestselling author of Nine Lives to Die

“If you like humorous cozy mysteries like those featuring Miss Marple, then this new take on them might really appeal to you.”—Popcorn Reads
 
“Good book. Good mystery. Good humor. All around it’s a solid ‘A’ to me and definitely worth a read.”—Bell, Book & Candle
 
“If you’re on the hunt for a fun, mild-mannered mystery full of larger-than-life characters and more Yiddish expressions than you can shake a schtickl at, look no further than Mark Reutlinger’s Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death.”—Smitten by Books
 
“A delightful cozy mystery . . . The writing was simple and easy to follow for the most part, the plot fun and funny, characters engaging.”—Open Book Society