Rabbi Small Books in Order
Harry Kemelman has written 12 Rabbi Small 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
- 12
- Published
- 1964–1996
- Confirmed
- 1 of 12 titles
- Pages on record
- 1,925 in 7 of 12 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 12 titles with a page count on record.
Rabbi David Small, a rabbi in a Massachusetts town, is the detective of Harry Kemelman's mystery series. Twelve books are catalogued, published between 1964 and 1996, from Friday the Rabbi Slept Late (1964) to That Day the Rabbi Left Town (1996). The early titles run through the days of the week: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Police chief Hugh Lanigan appears in the subject headings beside Small, along with an Edgar Award. The series is likely complete.
How many Rabbi Small books are there?
Rabbi Small has 12 books, released between 1964 and 1996.
Rabbi Small Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 12 Rabbi Small 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.
- 119641982/4
- 21966–2/4
- 31969–2/4
- 419723682/4
- 51973–2/4
- 619762882/4
- 71978–2/4
- 819812562/4
- 919852642/4
- 101987–3/4
- 1119922882/4
- 1219962632/4
Do you have to read Rabbi Small books in order?
You should read the Rabbi Small books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Rabbi Small book also stands alone.
Where to start with Rabbi Small
Start with Friday the Rabbi Slept Late (1964), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Rabbi Small book?
That Day the Rabbi Left Town (1996) is the newest Rabbi Small book released so far.
Is there a new Rabbi Small book coming?
No next Rabbi Small book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Rabbi Small at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Rabbi Small title on record dates from 1996, 30 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Rabbi Small books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 1,925 pages across the 7 of 12 books with a recorded length, a median of 264 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Rabbi Small books, 4 of 12, were published in the 1970s.
What the Rabbi Small books are about
8 of the 12 Rabbi Small 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
More books by Harry Kemelman
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Harry Kemelman books in order 13 books