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Lizzie Mast, the worst cook in the Pennsylvania Dutch city of Hernia, Pennsylvania, was killed by angel dust. Drugs in Hernia, Pennsylvania! Unheard of. When the postmistress, Thelma Hershberger, wakens Magdalena Yoder in the middle of the night to tell her that Lizzie was murdered, Magdalena decides that she will not only figure out who murdered Lizzie but will also figure out where the drugs came from. Magdalena Yoder owns the world-renowned PennDutch Inn in Hernia, where for just a few dollars more, her clients can get the real Pennsylvania Dutch experience by doing their own laundry, cooking, cleaning, egg gathering, and working Magdalenaís little farm. Her establishment is booked months in advance. THE CREPES OF WRATH involves the readers in the Mennonite and Amish culture while including many unusual and uniquely quirky characters: Visiting giant female basketball scouts, a peace loving Mennonite who had served in Vietnam, Hollywood mediums, Jewish doctor/mystery writers, and out of control Amish teenagers! Herniaís Chief of Police, Melvin Stoltzfus, who is also married to Magdalenaís sister Susannah, is busy trying to run for councilman, asks Magdalena to solve the murder for him. As if he had to ask. The list of suspects is endless. Who could have brought drugs into Hernia and murdered Lizzie? Was it the couple that just moved into town from Hollywood? Was it the new doctor from New York? Maybe it was one of Magdalenaís guests. Could it have been one of Herniaís own citizens or even Lizzieís own husband Joseph Mast? Magdalena and her pet kitten, little Freni, who spends most of her time in Magdalenaís bra, investigate all the suspects, both complaining and wailing all the while. During the course of the investigation we learn a lot about Magdalena. Sheís a religious Mennonite and follows the bible -- or as close as she can. The only exercise she gets is jumping to conclusions and rolling her eyes. Considering herself a virtuous single women (she doesnít count her short marriage to a bigamist) she canít help but notice the good-looking members of her town, and although Magdalena doesnít consider herself more than a big bag of bones, they canít help but notice her too. She turned her parents home into the very successful and profitable PennDutch Inn, which the townspeople consider both her best and worst feature. They abhor all the outsiders who come into town, making Magdalena one of the richest members of their church but they also can not outwardly condemn Magdalena for her un-Mennonite behavior; sheís the richest member of the church! Magdalena lives with her cook and her stand-in parent, big Freni, whom her kitten was named after. Magdalena, although in her middle years, still listens to her strong-willed mother who might have died 12 years earlier but that doesnít slow her down much. She still makes herself known by causing the occasional rainstorm on Magdalena when she disapproves of her daughterís behavior. All this investigating and thinking can make a person hungry, so the author has given us over a half dozen, easy to follow recipes for crepes and different kinds of fillings. THE CREPES OF WRATH is not a police procedural book or even much of a murder mystery but, like all of Tamar Myersí other books, it is a fun, easy read. There is quick-witted banter, double entendres galore and nothing is so sacred that it canít be laughed about! Iím never quiet sure if I like Magdalena. Sheís a very opinioned woman who speaks her mind whether or not sheís thought about her words! But she is fun to read about and I canít help but like a character that jumps to conclusions all the time.
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, December 2001
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