Book Description
At the annual church chili supper, Reverend Schrock falls face down into his bowl. It seems someone put peanut butter in the chili, knowing full well that he was allergic.
As Pennsylvania Dutch Innkeeper Magdalena Yoder investigates, she finds plenty of people who wanted the reverend dead, including a serial monogamist with a grudge and a wrongly-accused man whom the reverend testified against. As more motives emerge, Magdalena struggles to find the truth amidst evidence that is all too quickly becoming a five-alarm frenzy.
About the Author
Tamar Myers, who is of Amish background, is the author of the Pennsylvaina Dutch mysteries and the Den of Antiquity series. She grew up in the Belgian Congo, where her parents were missionaries.
Assault and Pepper: A Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery with Recipes FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
Tamar Myers's delectable Pennsylvania Dutch mystery series reaches a landmark baker's dozen in Book 13, Assault and Pepper. If you want peace and quiet, don't check into Magdalena Yoder's country inn. The Mennonite innkeeper -- when she's not serving delicious, calorie-laden, traditional dishes or convincing guests that cleaning their own rooms is part of the family-style vacation they paid extra for -- has a disconcerting habit of discovering dead bodies and a decided talent for uncovering the culprit.
This time, however, its isn't a holiday maker who checks out unexpectedly, it's the Reverend Arnold Schrock, minister of the Beechy Grove Mennonite Church. The grieving widow is quick to declare that someone must have slipped peanut butter into her husband's chili, though it was common knowledge the reverend was allergic to goobers. And the pastor's pushy wife is not content to leave the case to the local sherrif (Magdalena's unfortunately ineffectual distant cousin, Melvin); she insists that Magdalena herself promise to find the killer.
Though she insists she's not a gossip, before long Magdalena learns some less-than-savory details about the good reverend's life -- details that lead her to wonder how the hypocritical preacher wasn't knocked off years ago! But, with a dash of daring, a pinch of humor, and plenty of common sense (and few good recipes), Magdalena stirs the pot until she gets to the truth. Sue Stone
FROM THE PUBLISHER
At the annual church chili supper, Reverend Schrock falls face down into his bowl. It seems someone put peanut butter in the chili, knowing full well that he was allergic.
As Pennsylvania Dutch Innkeeper Magdalena Yoder investigates, she finds plenty of people who wanted the reverend dead, including a serial monogamist with a grudge and a wrongly-accused man whom the reverend testified against. As more motives emerge, Magdalena struggles to find the truth amidst evidence that is all too quickly becoming a five-alarm frenzy.
Author Biography: Tamar Myers, who is of Amish background, is the author of the Pennsylvaina Dutch mysteries and the Den of Antiquity series. She grew up in the Belgian Congo, where her parents were missionaries.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
A fiery red dust jacket fittingly adorns Tamar Myers's Assault and Pepper: A Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery with Recipes, her muddily plotted 12th culinary cozy (after 2004's Thou Shalt Not Grill) to star Magdalena Yoder, the Mennonite proprietor of PennDutch Inn. Magdalena pursues the convoluted truth behind the poisoning of the seemingly beloved Reverend Schrock, who topples "face forward, into a pot of chili" in front of his congregation. Agent, Nancy Yost at Lowenstein Yost. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Mennonite innkeeper Magdalena Yoder (Thou Shalt Not Grill) readies herself for her church's annual chili cook-off but can't prepare for what happens. Someone laces the severely allergic Rev. Schrock's chili with peanut butter, and he dies on the spot. When Yoder investigates, she finds more enemies than she thought possible. More serial fun. Myers lives in Mt. Pleasant, SC. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
The Beechy Grove Mennonite Church chili cook-off becomes the send-off for Rev. Schrock. Crabby Mennonite innkeeper Magdalena Yoder (Custard's Last Stand, 2003, etc.) thinks the saintly reverend must have fallen dead into a pot of chili, but his wife Lodema believes her hubby, highly allergic to peanuts, was poisoned by the chili's secret ingredient. When pesky Magdalena agrees to investigate, the congregation is only too willing to confide the worst to her: the good reverend tippled a little, enjoyed days at the track and nights at the Happy Back Massage Parlor, and probably raided the church building fund. Was there a sin he didn't indulge in? Probably not, but Magdalena makes little headway in finding his poisoner, stymied as she is by her brother-in-law, stupid Sheriff Melvin Stoltzfus, and his besotted deputy Zelda. Even worse, the reverend's wife, overcome with grief, regresses to childhood, and his sister Catherine is shot to death. Meantime, a little girl with dubious parentage is seen at the Tastee-Freeze guzzling ice cream while blackmail money changes hands and the inn's cook is kidnapped. Is sex or greed at the root of the reverend's demise? The answer is so outlandish readers will be tempted to slip the author some of that befouled chili. A silly plot and forced humor spiced by distinctions between the Amish and the Mennonites. Much spicier are six chili recipes, including such unusual ingredients as dumplings, chorizo and egg. Agent: Nancy Yost/Lowenstein-Yost Associates
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