Order of Book Series
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Harry Kemelman Books in Order

Harry Kemelman has written 13 books, published between 1964 and 1996. The first book is Friday the Rabbi Slept Late (1964) and the newest is That Day the Rabbi Left Town (1996). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
13
Published
1964–1996
Confirmed
1 of 13 titles
Pages on record
1,925 in 7 of 13 books
Reading time
32–48 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 1,925 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 7 of 13 titles with a page count on record.

See all 13 books in order Printable Harry Kemelman checklist

Rabbi David Small, a religious sleuth in Massachusetts, is Harry Kemelman's creation and the figure at the centre of nearly all his books. Kemelman (1908-1996) was an American mystery writer and a professor of English. The Rabbi Small novels take their titles from the days of the week, from Friday the Rabbi Slept Late (1964) to That Day the Rabbi Left Town (1996), 13 catalogued books in all, with the policeman Hugh Lanigan recurring alongside Small.

How many Harry Kemelman books are there?

Harry Kemelman has 13 books, released between 1964 and 1996. 12 of them belong to the Rabbi Small Mysteries series.

Harry Kemelman Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 13 Harry Kemelman books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman, book 1 of the Rabbi Small Mysteries series (1964)
  2. Cover of Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry by Harry Kemelman, book 2 of the Rabbi Small Mysteries series (1966)
  3. Cover of Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home by Harry Kemelman, book 3 of the Rabbi Small Mysteries series (1969)
  4. Cover of Monday the Rabbi Took Off by Harry Kemelman, book 4 of the Rabbi Small Mysteries series (1972)
  5. Cover of Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet by Harry Kemelman, book 6 of the Rabbi Small Mysteries series (1976)
  6. Cover of Conversations with Rabbi Small by Harry Kemelman, book 8 of the Rabbi Small Mysteries series (1981)
  7. Cover of Someday the Rabbi Will Leave by Harry Kemelman, book 9 of the Rabbi Small Mysteries series (1985)
  8. Cover of The Day the Rabbi Resigned by Harry Kemelman, book 11 of the Rabbi Small Mysteries series (1992)
  9. Cover of That Day the Rabbi Left Town by Harry Kemelman, book 12 of the Rabbi Small Mysteries series (1996)
  1. 1
    Friday the Rabbi Slept LateRabbi Small Mysteries #11964 · 198 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1964198
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Saturday the Rabbi Went HungryRabbi Small Mysteries #21966 · confirmed 2/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Nine Mile Walk1967 · confirmed 2/4
    1967–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Sunday the Rabbi Stayed HomeRabbi Small Mysteries #31969 · confirmed 2/4
    1969–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Monday the Rabbi Took OffRabbi Small Mysteries #41972 · 368 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1972368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Tuesday the Rabbi Saw RedRabbi Small Mysteries #51973 · confirmed 2/4
    1973–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Wednesday the Rabbi Got WetRabbi Small Mysteries #61976 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1976288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Thursday the Rabbi Walked OutRabbi Small Mysteries #71978 · confirmed 2/4
    1978–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Conversations with Rabbi SmallRabbi Small Mysteries #81981 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1981256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Someday the Rabbi Will LeaveRabbi Small Mysteries #91985 · 264 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1985264
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a CrossRabbi Small Mysteries #101987 · confirmed 3/4
    1987–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Day the Rabbi ResignedRabbi Small Mysteries #111992 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    That Day the Rabbi Left TownRabbi Small Mysteries #121996 · 263 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996263
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Harry Kemelman characters in order

The character linked below has its own reading-order page.

Harry Kemelman books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Rabbi Small Mysteries in order

12 books
  1. 1. Friday the Rabbi Slept Late
  2. 2. Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry
  3. 3. Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home
  4. 4. Monday the Rabbi Took Off
  5. 5. Tuesday the Rabbi Saw Red
  6. 6. Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet
  7. 7. Thursday the Rabbi Walked Out
  8. 8. Conversations with Rabbi Small
  9. 9. Someday the Rabbi Will Leave
  10. 10. One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross
  11. 11. The Day the Rabbi Resigned
  12. 12. That Day the Rabbi Left Town

Standalone books

1 book

1 Harry Kemelman title here is not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Harry Kemelman books in order?

You only need to read Harry Kemelman books in order within the Rabbi Small Mysteries series, which holds 12 of the 13 Harry Kemelman books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Harry Kemelman

Start with Friday the Rabbi Slept Late (1964), the first Rabbi Small book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.

What is the newest Harry Kemelman book?

That Day the Rabbi Left Town (1996) is the newest Harry Kemelman book released so far.

Is there a new Harry Kemelman book coming?

No next Harry Kemelman book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Harry Kemelman has won

Wikidata records 1 award for Harry Kemelman. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Edgar Awards1965Won

Harry Kemelman at a glance

Died
Harry Kemelman died in 1996, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to Harry Kemelman on record dates from 1996.
Release pace
Harry Kemelman books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
1,925 pages across the 7 of 13 books with a recorded length, a median of 264 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Harry Kemelman books, 4 of 13, were published in the 1970s.

What the Harry Kemelman books are about

8 of the 13 Harry Kemelman books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: david small (fictitious character) is tagged on 8 of 8. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • David Small (Fictitious character) 8 of 8 books
  • Rabbis 7 of 8 books
  • Mystery & detective 3 of 8 books
  • Small, david (fictitious character) 3 of 8 books
  • Jews 2 of 8 books
  • Massachusetts 2 of 8 books

Other Mystery authors

Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.