Batter Off Dead: A Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery
In Myers's 17th Pennsylvania Dutch mystery (after 2008'sAs the World Churns), Magdalena Yoder, who's eight and a half months pregnant, must try to solve the murder of gluttonous Minerva J. Jay, who drops dead after wolfing down twenty-six pancakes at the Beechy Grove Mennonite Brotherhood all-you-can-eat fund-raising breakfast. Meanwhile, Magdalena gives birth to Little Jacob squatting on the floor of the local market, contends with her bizarre sister and overbearing Jewish mother-in-law, and comments not always wittily on Jewish, Mennonite and other religious practices. Late in the story, the focus returns to who poisoned Minerva's pancakes. A contrived climax and a surfeit of smart-ass humor make this strictly for series fans.(Feb.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.