Book Talk | The Crepes of Wrath

While walking through my local used bookstore, which is bursting with books from different walks of life, I happened to stumble upon a fun title for the cheap price of $1. I had to pick it up, read it for myself, and then place it in my neighborhood Little Free Library so others can smile, maybe even chuckle, at the title of this book. Here's my book talk on The Crepes of Wrath by Tamar Myers. 

About the Author

Tamar Myers was born and raised in the Belgian Congo (now just the Congo). Her parents were missionaries. She was sixteen when her family settled in America. In college, she began to submit novels for publication, but it took 23 years for her to get published. Persistence paid off, however, because Tamar is now the author of two ongoing mystery series. One is set in Pennsylvania and features Magdalena Yoder, an Amish-Mennonite sleuth who runs a bed and breakfast in the mythical town of Hernia. The other is set in the Carolinas and centers around the adventures of Abigail Timberlake, the proud owner of a Charlotte (and later Charleston) antique store, the Den of Antiquity. Tamar now calls Charlotte, NC, home. She lives with her husband, plus a Basenji dog, a Bengal cat, and an orange tabby rescue cat.

About the Story

When kindly Lizzie Mast, a local Amish woman—and Hernia's worst cook—is found poisoned by a bad plate of crepes, bumbling local police chief, Melvin Stoltzfus, begs Magdalena Yoder, the irrepressible owner (and sleuth extraordinaire!) of the PennDutch Inn, to help him investigate.

With her bed and breakfast full of quirky guests and her handsome new boyfriend to entertain, Magdalena isn't sure she has time for Stoltzfus's foolery. Cleverly (and frugally!) she puts her seven guests on A.L.P.O. (the Amish Lifestyle Plan Option), where guests pay an additional fee for the opportunity to cook for themselves, clean for themselves, and do Magdalena's chores for her.

Still, solving the crime won't be a plate of flapjacks; Lizzie's husband blames the neighbor's 'Amish gone wild' sons; whose rumschpringa exploits are wreaking havoc but even more shocking, the trail of clues leads straight back to the PennDutch Inn...and Magdalena fears that this killer is cooking up something flat-out deadly!

Book Talk

As stated in the beginning of this post, I picked up this book because I like the title, I enjoy reading little random cozy mysteries, I like crepes, and it was only $1, how could I pass this up? I came into the beginning of the story with no real expectations, but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed my time at the PennDutch Inn. 

The humor in this story is just all around. Our main character, Magdalena, has all the witty humor for the whole town. I loved that the author wasn't afraid to poke fun at her own culture without being overly critical. The humor came from the heart and it shows throughout the story.

 The rest of the characters are funny in their own little way. With this being the 9th installment of this series, I did feel that they all probably had more time in previous story than this one. The author does explain how everyone connects and past plot if needed, but it just doesn't feel like much. 

Overall, this isn't a life changing story, but it is a fun one to pick up if you just need to read something a little more down to earth and lighthearted. I don't think I will be reading the rest of the series, but I will pass it on through my neighborhood's Little Free Library so someone else can enjoy this little story. 

Until next time, Happy Reading!