In this 18th book in the comical 'Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery' series, the amateur sleuth Magdalena Yoder - a Mennonite woman who eschews things like television and dancing - is on the trail of bank robbers. The book can be read as a standalone.
*****
Magdalena Yoder, who owns the PennDutch Inn in Hernia, Pennsylvania, is married to a Jewish doctor named Gabe Rosen and they have a 4-year-old son called Jacob. Gabe's eccentric mom Ida is the Mother Superior at the nearby 'Convent of No Hope' run by the 'Sisters of Perpetual Apathy'.....who do nothing useful.
As the story opens, Magdalena and little Jacob are in the bank when three men dressed in Amish garb stage a robbery.
Jacob inadvertently foils the heist, and a teller named Amy Neubruder is accidently winged with a bullet before the criminals escape.
Magdalena is furious about her offspring being endangered, and since the police haven't caught the miscreants, she determines to find them herself. Magdalena gets no help from the bank employees, however, who seem oddly reticent about discussing the stick-up. Thus Magdalena and two of her friends stake out the bank manager's house, to learn what he knows.
The mission goes badly wrong however, when one of the snoops bursts into song right outside the banker's window.
Meanwhile, several mismatched couples from New Jersey - and an exotic Russian woman - check into the PennDutch Inn. Magdalena shrewdly entices the new guests into having an 'authentic Amish experience' which includes making your own bed; cleaning your own room; waking at dawn to milk the cows; eating plain food; etc....for an extra charge. LOL 😉
To add to the mayhem, Magdalena learns that her nemesis, the thief/killer Melvin Stoltzfus (who's married to Magdalena's imprisoned sister), is in the area.
Melvin wants to harm Magdalena and her loved ones, so the innkeeper is constantly on the lookout - hoping to catch Melvin and send him to jail.
When things get too hot for the bank robbers, a murder occurs, so Magdalena has at least two crimes to solve. She does catch the perp(s) after experiencing some serious - but farcical - peril.
The usual array of recurring characters makes an appearance, including: Freni - Magdalena's Amish cook who constantly quits and has a unique vocabulary (she thinks Magdalena has post pardon depression and needs to go to the Clooney bin); Doc - an old Amish gent who likes to proposition women; Grandma Ida Rosen - who speaks in Yiddishisms….Oy Vey!; Magdalena's cousin Sam the grocer; and more.
I like this series and got a laugh from the story, but the puns and jokes are overabundant this time around. IMO the author sacrificed story for jocularity. Still, if you enjoy comic mysteries, the book is worth a few hours of your time.
No comments:
Post a Comment