Hell Hath No Curry

Tamar Myers...I just love her books. Magdalena is such a funny character. If you like light-hearted funny mysteries, then you will love these books.

I was fearful that Tamar Myers was losing the oomph to this series of mysteries that feature Magdalena Portulaca Yoder, the Mennonite innkeeper, detective, mayor, and wealthiest resident of Hernia, Pennsylvania. But this offering far exceeded my hopes and expectations. This book is the very best of the lot. The plot is almost unimportant. Sure, there's a murder, but it occurs early and we never meet the victim. The atmosphere is no better than okay. What makes this book really fun to read is the central character, as she goes about trying to find who murdered the local lothario who was having affairs with any number of Hernians. Magdalena has a curious world view, one that I like very much. She treats the reader to a running commentary on religion, language, plastic surgery, modesty, physiques, literature, child rearing, food, oh, just any number of things--and they are all funny, often with an underlying layer of truth. It's that truth that makes them funny. Magdalena is not nearly so naive as she would have us believe at times. She's horny. She's greedy. She's willing to bend a principle if it serves her purpose. She's extremely human, in other words. Tamar Myers is in rare form with this book. I recommend it highly.

This is the 15th in the Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery series, and every bit as tasty as the previous books! The curry recipes in this book are authentic, from Myers' friend Shabnam Mahmood. Mennonite Magdalena Yoder runs the PennDutch Inn, a bed and breakfast in Hernia, where she is also the mayor and often called on to solve crimes. This crime is a humdinger. The new chief of police Olivia Hornsby-Anderson was 'with' the most eligible bachelor in Hernia, Cornelius Weaver (wealthy and a lothario, despite being married in three days) when he died of a heart attack. Magdalena is called on by police Sergeant Chris Ackerman to use her considerable powers, her access to gossip, and her knowledge of the community to find the killer. She quickly uncovers a network of unusual lovers--and also questions Cornelius' hippie stepmother. Could any of them have poisoned him with Elavil, the drug that turned up in the autopsy, sure to have been fatal, considering his weak heart? She has to overcome several personal crises in this installment as well as solve the crime. Yoder is known for her witty, pun-laced banter...at times driving her conversational victims to madness, or confessing, whichever comes first. Armchair Interviews says: Another yummy Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery.

Magdalena Yoder, a conservative Mennonite who owns the PennDutch Inn, where celebrities, the rich and power brokers go to, has rearranged the town hierarchy to meet her requirements. As the new mayor of Hernia, she hires Olivia Hornsby-Anderson as the new police chief; unlike the old chief, Olivia appreciates Magdalena's investigative abilities and appreciates her help on homicides. She also hires a new reverend for the Beechy Grove Church because he is willing to marry Magdalena to her Jewish fiancé. The police chief's second in command asks her to take over the investigation of the death of wealthy Cornelius Weaver. The chief can't even talk to Magdalena about the case because she was in bed with him when he had a heart attack. A toxicology reports show he had a high dose of Elavil in his system which could bring on a heart attack. There are at least six suspects that Magdalene finds that have motives, including a fiancée and five lovers all who knew he was cheating on them. The case becomes dangerous when two of the suspects try to kill her. Tamar Myers can always be counted on to write a good cozy without any blood and sure as HELL HATH NO CURRY is no exception. The author constantly refreshes her characters and series by the circumstances of the players so the long running series never grows stale. There is a lot of humor in the book so readers will find themselves laughing out loud in the middle of a deadly confrontation. Of all the novels starring Magdalena, this has the best and most unexpected ending. Harriet Klausner