Customer Reviews

Custard's Last Stand (Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Mennonite B&B proprietor Magdalena Yoder defies stereotype. She possesses a wry wit, a caustic tongue, and a mind for metaphor. Yet she's not above allowing her thoughts to dwell on people doing "the horizontal hootchy-kootchy" or "the mattress mambo." She knows her Bible and the commandments through and through, but she's got enough common sense to know when circumstances demand that the rules be bent a little. That's always the case whenever she stumbles upon a murder and feels the need to find the perpetrator.

In this episode, millionaire Colonel George Custard comes to the PennDutch Inn in his limo, accompanied by two servants. The bad news is, he has plans to build a huge hotel that will destroy small-town Hernia's ambiance. The good news is, he's soon murdered, and Magdalena leads the investigation. She *has* to, doesn't she? The local law officials -- her dim-witted brother-in-law and his Tammy-Fay-Mimi-Bobeck-clone sidekick -- are clueless and useless. And they're just two of the many unique characters that pepper this community.

I wouldn't want to meet Magdalena Yoder in person. (If any of us did, we'd miss out on all the wonderful thoughts zipping around in her noggin.) I might want to be a small mouse instead and watch her from a distance ... though I'd surely be in trouble if she spied me and raised a size-eleven Brogan to my body.

Another fun addition to a entertaining series.

Magdalena Yoder is back with another interesting guest, Colonel George Custard, at her inn. She finds him an attractive man until she discovers that he plans to build a 5-star hotel which will be in direct competition with her PennDutch Inn. When the colonel is found dead, there are no end of suspects in Hernia, because many of the townspeople opposed the new hotel which they felt would change the slow pace of the town which they had always enjoyed. Interspersed with the mystery are humorous interludes with a 25-foot snake and Magdalena's intrepid fiance,
Gabe. As usual, it is up to Magdalena to solve the mystery because the town's policeman, her brother-in-law, is not up to the task. This book will not disappoint Tamar Myers' fans.

Tamar Myers, Custard's Last Stand (Signet, 2002)

It's nice to know Ms. Myers listens to her reviews. There's a line buried in this book that sums up every review of every other Magdalena Yoder novel: "It came out as a whine, but my whining is one of my more endearing qualities, don't you think?"

Thankfully, Magdalena whines a lot less in this novel (though the repeated-word thing does show up here with a few other terms), and that certainly makes the eleventh novel in the Pennsylvania Dutch (with recipes!) series all the more readable. (Note: the first was published in 1995. That's eleven novels in seven years... and all the while she's also been putting out the Den of Antiquity mysteries, of which the ninth was released in 2002. That's twenty novels in eight years. Mull that over.)

This time, Magdalena is confronted with one Colonel George Custard, who plans to build a five-star hotel in Hernia, Pennsylvania, that threatens to put Magdalena out of business. All is well and good, and the townsfolk look forward to a nice big brawl, until Custard turns up dead, with a bullet hole in his head and a few cracked ribs. Magdalena, of course, is on the case.

Myers' comedic timing has improved gradually over the years, and there are some unexpected whings in here that actually get the reader to the point of laughing out loud. As with most series fiction, the characters are already drawn, and there are a good number of in-jokes, but Magdalena and company are well-enough portrayed that after about fifty pages, you'll get the in-jokes as if you've been with the series all along.

A worthy addition to the series. Now if only Magdalena will stop whining. *** ½

This 11th book in the Pennsylvania Dutch mysteries by Tamar Myers was worth waiting for. I loved it. Magdalena, the owner of the inn, is in top form, as are all other characters. The humor was on target, the plot fairly simple and suspense worked well when called for. In this book, a guest at the inn named Colonel Custard checks in. He is in Hernia (the town) because he plans to build a five-star hotel and make a tourist haven out of the quaint, Amish-Mennonite community. Suspects abound, as no one wants him to ruin the town like that. Custard recipes look great and are an extra bonus to this highly entertaining book. Magdalena admits she "wails" too much, which helps to validate all the other books that have her "wail"-ing too frequently. One complaint, and that is how she solves this murder. I think it was too far-fetched, even for Magdalena and even if she herself was the one to solve it, there was not enough evidence to convince me to take the suspect seriously. It looked like, when her theory proved true, she just got lucky.
But that tends to be a small thing when being entertained so with another winner from Ms. Myers.

Magdalena Yoder is the owner of the PennDutch Inn, a charming get-away for the wealthy in the little-known town of Hernia, Pennsylvania. Off the beaten path, it caters to a few well-heeled visitors, and the townspeople want to keep it that way. Then Colonel George Custard (no, not Mustard) arrives for a weekend visit, and reveals his plan to build a huge five-star hotel that will put Magdalena out of business. Then, alas, he is murdered. Well, guess who has to solve the crime? That is the story in a nutshell.

Between the murder and the solution we encounter the "characters" of this little town-from the bumbling police chief Melvin Stolzfus to the irascible piano teacher Miss Quiring to the Reverend Richard Nixon (no relation to the other one) to the Colonel and his offbeat entourage. Author Myers writes with manic humor, packing every sentence with puns, jokes, word-play, and lots of alliteration. She clearly enjoyed writing this book. Here and there she throws in recipes for various types of custard.

If you are looking for a serious mystery, this book is not for you. If you are looking for an easy bedtime read, if you enjoy word-play and funny metaphors, if you are in the mood for light-hearted fluff, well then, Custard's Last Stand might be just what you're looking for. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

Maybe it's because I am reading these en-masse, one after the other (being new to the series), but there is a horrible lack of continuity between the books, esp. this and the previous. Allison was 13 (almost 14) when she was intro'd in the prior book; here she is 12. Her all-too-easy adaptation into this new lifestyle was quite unrealistic (although it's hard to truly criticize, as her story is barely touched on--seems like she was added merely to give Mags a "child" and fill a plot line). Mags' kitten, Little Freni, who was all but forgotten at the end of the prior book and not mentioned till early on in this book--telling us Mags had to give LF up because Allison was allergic. Things like this you would think would be covered in the story and not mentioned in passing. I had that problem when reading the book that started in the aftermath of a tornado also. I had to stop reading and look online to see if I'd missed a book!

All that aside, I do still enjoy these books, wailing and alliteration and repetition be darned, but would definitely find them more enjoyable if these glaring incongruities and omissions didn't nag at me while I read. I still have a number of books to read in this series, but I'm thinking I should read other, non-related books between each of these so that the errors don't stand out so starkly!

Unlike those in Lancaster and similar towns, the Amish and Mennonite of Hernia are not a tourist attraction and the townsfolk want to keep it that way. There is only one place to stay when visiting Hernia and that is the PennDutch Inn, a place where the rich, famous and powerful flock to when they want to get away from it all. The owner Magdalena Yoder is looking forward to a visit from George Clooney but due to a misunderstanding she winds up with business Mogul Colonel George Custard, his cook and his chauffeur.

Magdalena is horrified to learn that the Colonel wants to build a five star hotel that will cater to society's blue bloods. She embarks upon a campaign to have the zoning variance issued by her brother in law revoked. When she returns from a meeting, she finds the Colonel dead, a victim of a gunshot to his head. Her brother-in-law the chief of police asks Magdalena to investigate, but with so many suspects not wanting Custard's hotel in their area, solving the crime is proving quite difficult.

CUSTARD'S LAST STAND is a humorous amateur sleuth novel with no violence or bloodshed. There are numerous suspects, but none apparently with a strong enough motive to kill. The heroine's knowledge of the town's history enables her to find a path towards solving the case, but even with that Magdalena has plenty of work left. Tamar Myers once again provides a fascinating cozy that is a delicious one sitting shoe fly pie.

Harriet Klausner

Got this as a gift for a relative with eye problems. The large print will be great for her. Arrived very quickly and is in excellent condition.

There are no words to describe how enjoyable Magdalena Yoder is to read about. What a zany cast of characters! It takes a great mind to come up with so many laughable daily circumstances. This is a great read as are all of Tamar's books.

We live in Pittsburgh, PA, so this was an especially delightful book with references to Southwestern Pennsylvania. Magdelena Yoder, who is a self-acclaimed bigfoot with her size 11 shoes, is a liberal mennonite at best, but she does have her limits. In this book not only is a murder solved, but we become invested in her relatives and all the inhabitants within a 20 mile radius of her B & B. These are the kinds of characters you want to know more about. This book reminds me of the sherbert served in between main courses. I had just finished a more serious intense novel. "Custard's Last Stand" cleansed my literary palate for other adventures, but you better believe I will have another one waiting to be read between the main course and dessert.