The act seemed innocent enough: A purse left behind and an acquaintance takes it so that he can return it. But when the woman is murdered, the man with the purse becomes the prime suspect. Rabbi David Small, a new member and leader of Barnard's Crossing's Jewish community, has few friends he can turn to for help. Fortunately, Talmudic logic is a weapon that cuts through all misunderstandings. Rabbi Small must clear his name by helping a skeptical police force to find the real killer.

Published in 1964, Harry Kemmelman's "Friday the Rabbi Slept Late" mystery launched the Rabbi Small mystery series and won an Edgar Award for Best First Mystery Novel. The religious bent of the title caused its success to surprise many. Friday the Rabbi Slept Late kicked off a series of books and television adaptations. Before writing Friday, the Rabbi Slept Late, Harry Kemelman had written a mystery story "The Nine Mile Walk" which is widely considered one of the best mystery stories ever written and is among the most frequently anthologized.