Since I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Tamar Myers’ books, I looked forward to reading her latest Pennsylvania-Dutch Mystery featuring Magdalena Yoder and her recipes.
In TEA WITH JAM AND DREAD, Magdalena’s long-time and closest friend, Agnes Miller, convinces her that she should change the way she runs her PennDutch Inn. It has been successfully attracting people eager to experience the Mennonite way of life. To get the full experience, they pay extra to assume the household tasks (cleaning their rooms, feeding the animals, etc.). Agnes thinks there is a market of wealthy people from other countries who are willing to come and pay exorbitant prices to see how primitive Americans are. “They all think that we’re nothing but yokels and rubes....I say we play to that strength. Let us be the dumbest, crudest, most culture-deprived Americans that we can be, and still be good, decent Christians.” To which Magdalena replied, “You know I don’t belong to that political party.”
Agnes has already lined up a family: an earl, his wife, and their three teenage children: a girl and twin sons..
Everyone plays his/her part to the hilt. Among the special experiences are seeing the ghost of Magdalena’s grandmother and the daughter hearing the story of a previous guest who fell down the elevator shaft and disappeared. Later on, one of the guests falls off a cliff but there is no sign of his body.
Myers has a slightly twisted, brilliant way of putting words together. Examples: “I’d witnessed him skipping town dressed in a nun’s habit, riding in a bus full of fake nuns. And so what if my sister, who had too many bad habits to list....”
Speaking of a teenage girl’s eye rolling: “If you ask me, it isn’t music that’s the international language; it’s body language.”
“[W]e humans were created out of clay.”
“Does that make us dirt bags?”
There is an interesting plot in the book. Unfortunately, it’s lost. The story does not flow as well as in the previous books in the series. The earlier parts of Magdalena’s life are recapped for people who have not read them but it skips back from the one preceding this one. Much of the dialogue, especially Magdalena’s, is repetitious and doesn’t add to the plot. There is a limit to how many times Agnes, Magdalena, her husband, and her mother-in-law have to be described using the same words. The same holds true for talking about her sister and brother/brother-in-law.
The recipes were not as interesting or unique. Two were for marmalade and the one for brewing a perfect cup of tea was not entirely accurate. Using boiling water and brewing it for six minutes will burn white or green tea.
I’ve been missing Tamar Myers books since the publication of the previous one. This one did not fill the void. ( )

Tea with Jam and Dread by Tamar Myers is the twentieth book in the Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery series. Magdalena Portulacca Yoder Rosen is fifty years old, a Mennonite, married to Dr. Gabriel Rosen, and mayor for the town. Magdalena also runs The PennDutch Inn in Hernia, Pennsylvania. Agnes has convinced Magdalena that she needs to change the image of the inn (instead of giving them an “Amish” experience by working them death and charging guests for it). Agnes has too much time on her hands since the death of her husband, Doc Shafer (they were married for ten days). Agnes believes they should appeal to English nobility and Magdalena can be the “grossest hostess” (in other words show them that we are really rude Americans). The first guests of the new inn are the Earl of Grimsley-Snodgrass (this was their name) and his family (wife and Countess=Aubrey; Lady Celia=daughter; Viscount Rupert=eldest son and twin; Mr. Sebastian=youngest son). They are in for a rude awakening at The PennDutch Inn (like having to bring in their own bags). Things are off to a great start until they find a mummified body on top of the lift (elevator). Then one of Earl’s sons disappear off a cliff (they look alike so it is hard to tell them apart). Though it is odd that no one can find a body. There is something very fishy about this group. Where exactly did Agnes find them? Magdalena sets out to investigate the two crimes.

I had a hard time getting through this book. Tea with Jam and Dread went from silly to idiotic to moronic. This is the worst book I have read in quite some time. Some information is repeated frequently (like the author needed filler). There are also pages of arguing, mudslinging, insults, and long annoying rants. The words “Mennonite” “Jewish” and “hunky Gabe” were repeated so often that it was ridiculous. Magdalena would go off on tangents and get off track. She would then say “Now where was I” and “Oh yeah” (this happened quite often during the course of the novel). I’m sorry, but the whole story was just ridiculous. I wondered if the author had a problem with religion the way various religious groups were mentioned and talked about (it was strange). Tea with Jam and Dread was extremely disappointing. It is nothing like the early books in the series. I give Tea with Jam and Dread 1 out of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of Tea with Jam and Dread from NetGalley in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel. ( )

Author Tamar Myers has changed publishers with the last two books in this series, and it is quite evident that the publisher is located in Great Britain. Even though the story takes place in Pennsylvania, and Magdalena and her family are US citizens, the punctuation, verbiage, and spelling are all British. The story does involve a visiting British family of some nobility, and so maybe we can excuse the British influence on the novel. But none of Magdalena’s quirky humor is changed, from the references to her “sturdy Christian underwear” to her disdain for her bizarre mother-in-law. This novel is better than the previous one, but still, not nearly as good as the early ones. There is an interesting twist in the plot, but it takes quite a bit of time to get there, and you really have to be a fan of the series to pursue it. ( )

Tea With Jam And Dread is the twentieth book in the Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery series.

If you are looking for a book with a lot of humor and puns, give Tea With Jam And Dread a read.

Magdalena Yoder is back once with a hilarious tale from the PennDutch Inn in Hernia, PA. At the PennDutch you pay more, but get more too. You clean your own room and help out with chores around the farm.

Magdalena's Aunt Agnes has finally convinced her to expand the breadth of her advertising to include Europe. Magdalena soon gets a reservation from the Earl of Grimsley and his family. Even though everyone speaks English, there seems to be some kind of language barrier that only adds to the humor.

Soon the body of a prior guest, who was thought to have returned home, is found on top of the Inns elevator. So not only does Magdalena have snooty aristocrats to deal with, but also she has to find out who might have put the dead woman on the top of the elevator.

It was another fun and funny visit to The PennDutch Inn. ( )