Tea with Jam and Dread

by Tamar Myers

Overview

The brand-new hilariously quirky mystery in the longrunning Pennsylvania-Dutch series.

Deciding that the PennDutch Inn needs to go more upmarket, Magdalena Yoder is delighted to welcome the Earl and Countess Grimsley-Snodgrass and their family as honoured guests, looking forward to the challenge of introducing English nobility to traditional American culture. But, as Magdalena is about to find out, the Grimsley-Snodgrasses are by no means the easiest of guests, and at the same time she has to contend with the discovery of a mummified corpse trapped in her elevator shaft.

Then tragedy strikes during a traditional Pennsylvania-Dutch picnic at Stucky Ridge, when one of the Grimsley-Snodgrasses disappears over the edge of Lovers’ Leap. Did he fall – or was he pushed? And where is the body…?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780727885890
Publisher:	Severn House
Publication date:	06/01/2016
Series:	A Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery , #20
Edition description:	First World Publication
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Tamar Myers was born in what was then the Belgian Congo in 1948, where her parents were American Mennonite missionaries to a tribe of head-hunters. She moved to the USA at the age of fifteen. On her mother's side, Tamar is descended from one of the first Amish families to settle in America in 1738. She is the author of more than forty mystery novels and many short stories.

Editorial Reviews

03/28/2016
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. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"This book will keep you reading long into the night. This was such a great read and full of surprises. I am looking forward to reading the next book by this great author."

Laura C

"Another great volume in the Magdalena Yoder Pennsylvania Dutch Series. I have read every book in the series and they are always a hoot!"

Shari B

Quirky characters, including the ghost of Grandma Yoder, abound in this mystery in which the acerbic, opinionated Magdalena’s first-person account drives this at-times laugh-out-loud cozy” Booklist

Booklist

"Tea with Jam and Dread was such a hoot! Very entertaining and just and all over enjoyably fun read. I would in a heartbeat read anything by Tamar Myers in the future".

K Owen

"Tamar Myers is of my favorite cozy authors. Lots of fun, a great read with bonus recipes."

L. Sprague

Quirky characters, including the ghost of Grandma Yoder, abound in this mystery in which the acerbic, opinionated Magdalena’s first-person account drives this at-times laugh-out-loud cozy” Booklist

Booklist

05/01/2016
Thanks to an ad placed in an English newspaper by her best friend Agnes, innkeeper Magdalena Yoder's newest guests are the Earl and Countess Grimsley-Snodgrass, accompanied by their obnoxious children. Soon the disappearances begin. Another silly romp from Myers (The Death of Pie).

Library Journal

2016-03-03
Downton Abbey meets the Penn Dutch Inn. As fans already know, Magdalena Portulacca Yoder Rosen is a Mennonite bed-and-breakfast owner married to a Jewish physician. Her mother-in-law surpasses the wildest stereotype of a Jewish mother, her half brother is a serial killer, and as the wealthiest person in her small Pennsylvania community, she pays the bills for anything from the sheriff to the pastor of her church. Her latest guests at the inn are the Earl of Grimsley-Snodgrass, his wife, Countess Aubrey, and their three children, identical twin viscounts Rupert and Sebastian and their sister, Lady Celia. Not long after the guests arrive, the desiccated body of a former guest from Japan is found on top of the elevator, clearing up the question of what smelled so awful for such a long time. Cultural misunderstandings abound. In an effort to entertain her British guests, Magdalena takes them on a picnic, where Celia claims to have seen one of the twins pushed off a cliff. For better or worse, no body is found. The handsome local sheriff makes a token effort to solve the crimes, but as always, Magdalena comes up with the answer. Sarcasm and wacky humor overwhelm the underwhelming mystery in Magdalena's ninth (The Death of Pie, 2014, etc.).

Kirkus Reviews