Gruel and Unusual Punishment (Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery, #10) by Tamar Myers

Gruel and Unusual Punishment (Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery, #10) Reviews

• 
  Sharyn

  I am still reading these out of order, but it doesn't seem to bother me as much as other book series. I find them laugh out loud funny, and as these are my "car" books I carry to read in line etc. I get some pretty weird looks as I laugh out loud in places. They are just so silly, as in when Magdelina thnks she is talking to the Lord, or she does something un Mennonite and apologizes. This book had a good mystery, though all the recipes started with grits, so no chance I'll be cooking those. The funnist part of this book is when she had to drive from PA to MD and stocked up on food, just in case, and found she could buy it in MD. Also, no border guard as she was expecting going into the sinful city of Cumberland! I find her combination of intelligence and naivete just hysterical. If you are looking for an easy, funny read, these books are for you. But try to read them in order if you can.
• 
  Gloria

  The nearby city of Bedford has had an overflow of prisoners, so send some to be housed in Hernia. The PennDutch is the establishment chosen to feed the imprisoned, including the recent buyer of Magdalena's bright red BMW.
  
  When one of the prisoners is found dead, the blame is put on Magdalena's (more properly Freni Hostetler's) shrimp and grits. (Being in the American South, I don't think of grits as gruel - gruel is, in this reader's mind, a thin, watery oatmeal..., but I suppose that if the grits is runny enough?) Maybe the dead prisoner was allergic to the shrimp?
  
  An autopsy revealed that the dish was poisoned with arsenic. Who might have put arsenic in the food?
  
  Melvin Stoltzfus, the Chief of Police, first accuses the PennDutch, then asks Mags to help him in his investigation. This leads to the list of visitors of the prisoner, kept by Zelda Root. Zelda named four visitors, and Magdalena dutifully visited each one. Each one was an older woman. Each one insisted that they had married the deceased....
  
  Magdalena figured out who murdered the prisoner.
  
  Rachel Blank, mayor of Hernia, candidate for Senate. She had been shy going away to college and when she returned, she had new confidence. This was because she had worked as a prostitute at the deceased's parents' establishment - and the deceased was blackmailing her. One of his "wives" had also figured it out, and then imprisoned Rachel.....
  
  That "wife" had mummified her parents in a nuclear fallout bunker. The deceased was planning on turning his "wife" in.
  
  As Magdalena was giving a recap of what happened when Rachel was apprehended to her nearest and dearest, she asked Gabriel Rosen, the hunky Jewish doctor, to marry her - and he said yes.
  
  Recipes:
  The Lethal Gruel (Shrimp 'n Grits) Freni Served (omit the arsenic if you like your guests)
  Basic Boiled Grits
  Pumpkin Grits
  Grits Polenta
  Tomato Sauce
  Jalapeno Grits Casserole
  Spinach and Parmesan Souffle
  Souffle Plus
  Grillades and Grits
  
  

  I nodded knowingly. The Good Lord created Sundays for long boring sermons. Folks who drone on and on about their faith during the week are not being considerate. There's nothing wrong with sharing the gospel, don't misunderstand me. It's just that one should share it by example or, at the very least, by brief snippets. No one was ever saved while asleep.

  
  
  

  "I hate no one!" Well, I try not to, at any rate. The Bible commands us to love our neighbors as well as we love ourselves. Having tried mightily to love Melvin over the years - and failed miserably - my new strategy is to try to love myself a little less. If I can get really good at that, then maybe things will even out a little bit.
• 
  June Ahern

  My first read of Tamar Myers' murder/sleuthing book, 'Gruel and Unusual Punishment' and I'd read another. It is really funny with great, crazy characters - some as ugly as a mud pie! - in the very religious Pennsylvania Dutch country. Sometimes the humor was too much for me, but always clean and funny. An easy, take to bed, go to sleep laughing mystery.
• 
  Sandra

  I was not too impressed with this book. I could not get invested in any of the characters, especially the main character.
  
  She was supposed to be an Amish woman but the Amish might not agree.
  
  The plot was confusing and the ending abrupt and not believable.
• 
  Rebecca

  I just like Magdalena more and more as this series progresses! And the recipe for shrimp and grits was VERY successful, BTW! I'm a huge fan of shrimp and grits, but for some reason thought that they were beyond me. BOY was I wrong!
• 
  Dawn Fortenberry

  fun, light mystery story. i especially liked it because the culprit was not who i expected it to be.
• 
  Karol

  I really enjoyed this installment - # 8 in the series. I don't know why I find Magdalena so fascinating . . . even when I didn't like the particular book in the series, I've kept reading!
  
  This ranks up there among my favorites in the series so far. It wasn't quite as predictable, and I saw a little more depth in the character, brought out in part by a troubled teen who became a surprising part of Mags' family.
  
  The mystery itself was a good one, and even the mystery within the mystery about how Magdalena got from one place to another after an accident. (Can't say more than that without giving a lot away.)
  
  It really does seem like it took awhile for the author to know where to go with this character - she'd take her one direction at the end of a book and then do an about face. One inconsistency I did note in this story was when Magdalena referred to a footprint on the ceiling of her home that had been there as long as she could remember. However, two stories ago her house had been completely leveled by a storm, and then rebuilt. Perhaps the author had second thoughts about that . . .
  
  It will be interesting to see whether the author has "settled" the character for purposes of future books in the series. I imagine, though, there might be more weird twists and turns in Magdalena's life.
  
  I've read quite a few now in this series in rapid succession. I plan to move on to some other things for awhile, but undoubtedly I'll come back to Magdalena at some point. I do find her rather irresistable.
• 
  Tammy Rowe

  I really like Tamar Myers' books; she has a great sense of humor and the characters have such personality you have to love them :) The only thing that I find irritating in the series of books is that the same things are explained over and over--such as the way that Magdalena and Susannah's parents died, how the Amish/Mennonites were so inbred that Magdalena just needed a sandwich in order to have a family reunion... cute the first time but annoying the fifth! Otherwise, the books are hysterical; I really enjoy them.
• 
  Jacqui Ainsworth

  This series is growing on me. The main character has some interesting traits that can be annoying but unlike some books, it is clear that these are intended as her character and not the author's personality. They are charming little walks through Amish country. So far these are my favorites of the "recipe mystery" genre.
• 
  Lana Kamennof-sine

  Tamar Myers is always an enjoyable read & this one is no exception. Will be looking out others that develop the Alison character now.
  
  Quirky characters and curiously "normal" albeit bizarre incidents make for fun.
  
  Wouldn't want to try to carry any of our dogs in a bra. (Ranging from 70-153 lbs the back strain they'd cause is horrific to contemplate.)
  
  Some interesting Grits recipes too to try.
• 
  Jan

  After several of these I cannot decided whether I care much about Magadelena and her acerbic tongue. I like the glimpses of Pennsylvania Dutch life but am not so sure about the bed and breakfast hostess. Not a memorable read.
• 
  Gerry

  This one is a Mennonite sleuth living in Quaker country.
  Many puns.
  Nice light read.
• 
  Carla JFCL

  I really enjoy this series of "fluff" books. Magdalena Yoder is quite a character and I enjoy the entire cast of these books. Certainly not intellectual, but great reading for an escape!
• 
  Cassandra

  I enjoyed this book. Magdalena is such a likable character, the book is easy to read and I also enjoyed the somewhat unpredictable ending.
• 
  Kitty Tomlinson

  Magadalena Yoder helps the local sheriff (her hapless brother-in-law) solve the murder of Clarence Webber, who poisoned in the sheriff's jail.
• 
  Melissa (Semi-hiatus Very Behind)

  Recipes aren't as good as usual, but funny mystery about a polygamist.
• 
  Catherine

  I really enjoyed this book.
• 
  Emma the Dork

  really funny, full of action, about and amish woman who works as a detective in murder cases.
• 
  Joni

  I've enjoyed it..not as much as her previous ones though.
• 
  Kayt18

  Great laughs and a wonderful read.
• 
  Dee

  KINDLE