Book Review: Too Many Crooks Spoil the Broth by Tamar (Penn Dutch Mysteries #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Great characters and lots of conflict

Cons: Mystery itself starts rather late in the book.

The Bottom Line:

A late mystery

Entertaining characters

Good, but it's not great

Mystery-lite

Too Many Crooks Spoil the Broth is the first book in the Pennsylvania-Dutch mystery series. It stars inn owner Magdalena Yoder and features recipes after every five chapters.

Magdalena Yoder has turned her family farmhouse into a famous Amish country inn. Booked well in advance, she has the privilege of selecting her customers. So she's a little surprised when she discovers she's booked a hunting party led by a well-known Senator and an anti-hunting, animal rights group for the same week, the opening week of hunting season. With the varying dietary requirements of the two groups, she has her hands full keeping the guests happy and fed while keeping her cook in the kitchen and her sister in line. And that's before the first body shows up!

As a mystery this book is a little slow. The first body doesn't show up for quite some time, and then it's the one guest we've forgotten about. Still, there is plenty of conflict to keep the reader going until the actual murder mystery starts, and I never felt the pace lagged. The guests are interesting characters; however the characters that are to be regulars seem like they could become annoying caricatures. This is especially true of the sister, who is trying to break out of her Amish roots. Still, Too Many Crooks Spoil the Broth is a fun, promising first novel.