Mean and Shellfish

November 1, 2019
Cantankerous, self-deprecating Mennonite Magdalena Yoder starts a new trend when she opens Hernia, Pennsylvania's newest restaurant?Asian Sensations, Amish-Chinese fusion. When the editor of a conservative homemaker's magazine, A Woman's Place, wants to do an article on the restaurant, Magdalena foolishly agrees, lured by the free publicity. Then, after one of the magazine's staff members is murdered at Magdalena's bed-and-breakfast, she is arrested for the crime. Luckily, Magdalena is quickly released on bail, so she is able to investigate the murder and identify the killer before someone close to her is injured. Complicating matters are Magdalena's rebellious teenage daughter and her interfering mother-in-law, Mother Malaise, who runs a cult located just across the street from the inn. Then Mother Malaise drives a wedge between Magdalena and her physician husband, Gabe (aka the Babester). This offbeat cozy, filled with laugh-out-loud humor, is distinguished by its numerous quirky characters (led by the strong-willed Magdalena), the beautifully described Pennsylvania Dutch setting and culture, and the unlikely but richly evoked Mennonite-Jewish relationship between Magdalena and Gabe.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)