Out of the Fry­ing Pan, Into the Choir is a con­tin­u­a­tion of author Sharon Kahn’s series fea­tur­ing Ruby, the Rabbi’s Wife (now a wid­ow). The book hones in on the famil­iar mem­ber­ship of a small town syn­a­gogue. As the sto­ry com­mences, they are plan­ning a Chanukah gala, which is to be the kick off for a big latke sale. The pro­ceeds will under­write the choir’s upcom­ing train trip across the Cana­di­an Rock­ies. Alas, their sopra­no, Ser­e­na Salt, col­laps­es dur­ing the per­for­mance and lat­er dies. 

There’s not much of a mys­tery brew­ing until months after Serena’s death when the choir is in their Van­cou­ver hotel pri­or to board­ing the train. Ruby receives an omi­nous phone call from her police offi­cer boyfriend who informs her that Serena’s body has been re-exam­ined and it now appears that she was poi­soned. Of course, what should have been a relax­ing vaca­tion has now turned into a full blown mur­der inves­ti­ga­tion and the Jew­ish ver­sion of Mur­der on the Ori­ent Express takes off through the Cana­di­an wilderness. 

If this book were a latke, it would be of the very light and fluffy vari­ety. I must admit to lik­ing mine denser and more ful­ly fla­vored, but will cer­tain­ly con­cede that Sharon Kahn’s char­ac­ters are believ­able and endear­ing and her series has devel­oped quite a loy­al following.