cover image Tea with Jam and Dread

Tea with Jam and Dread

Tamar Myers. Severn, $28.95 (224p) ISBN 978-0-7278-8589-0

In Myers’s rambling 20th Pennsylvania-Dutch mystery (after 2014’s The Death of Pie), Magdalena Yoder’s recently widowed best friend, Agnes Miller, has decided it’s time to attract a better clientele to Magdalena’s PennDutch Inn in Herina, Pa. To the surprise of both, they succeed in luring a titled family from England. When the Earl and Countess of Grimsley-Snodgrass and their three nearly grown children arrive, Magdalena has her hands full providing the advertised authentic Mennonite/Amish experience. Things take a turn for the worse when a body is found on the premises, and Magdalena is forced back into sleuthing mode to solve the crime. Filled with the author’s trademark double entendres and bawdy humor, this tale of deceit, revenge, and murder is sure to please fans of willful, wordy, and winsome Magdalena. Quirky characters, religious lore, and tasty recipes help compensate for the laborious pace. [em]Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary Agency. (May) [/em]