Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death

In the style of Sherlock Holmes, where the sidekick tells the story. We also do not know all of the facts as in the modern Sherlock adaptations. (I have read the original Sherlock. Some say they can figure it out, but I never did. So I don't know if I can say we didn't know all the facts.) The author did remind us of Sherlock and Watson in dialogue a time or two and I'm glad he did. Just when I started to get frustrated with what we didn't know and the sidekick point of view, I was reminded why he was doing that. Then I settled back into the story.

There were a few places where I started thinking it was too convenient or too fantastical. The other is one character whose set was so fantastical and awkward that I struggled through her part of the story. I see why she was necessary, but I still didn't enjoy it. Those are the primary reasons I rated it a 3 instead of a 4.

The characters were a lot of fun though. The Yiddish words and dialect of the narrator really made me believe I was talking to an elderly Jewish woman. The ending was great because it didn't emphasize anything tragic or sad. It could very easily become a dark story when you are talking about death and the elderly. This one was not at all dark or tragic. The fabulous characters are what made me almost consider giving it 4 stars.