The Wurst Is Yet to Come

Bed-and-Breakfast Mysteries #27

by Mary Daheim

“Daheim writes with wit, wisdom, and a big heart."
—Carolyn Hart, bestselling author of the Death on Demand series The Wurst is Yet to Come : The wacky title alone tells you that you are once again in the uproarious realm of “the reigning queen of the cozies” ( Portland Oregonian ), the inimitable Mary Daheim! In this, the twenty-seventh glorious installment of Daheim’s Bed-and-Breakfast mystery series, harried hostess Judith McMonigle Flynn and her irrepressible Cousin Renie find themselves in Little Bavaria, where the inconvenient discovery of a nonagenarian corpse threatens to put the kibosh on the local Oktoberfest.  No one does cozy mystery better than the delightful Daheim—and if you’re a fan of Lillian Jackson Braun, Diane Mott Davidson, or Jill Churchill, you’ll definitely want to take a big bite out of this mouth-watering Wurst .

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

464 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

Mary Rene Richardson Daheim was an American writer of romance and mystery novels.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this 27th book in 'Bed and Breakfast Mysteries', guesthouse owner and amateur detective Judith Flynn solves crimes at Oktoberfest. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

Dead bodies turn up a lot around Bed and Breakfast owner - and amateur sleuth - Judith Flynn. In this book Judith and her ornery cousin Renie Smith travel to Little Bavaria, Washington for Oktoberfest.....



…..- where Judith will help man the booth for the state 'Bed and Breakfast' organization.



Soon after their arrival Judith and Renie attend a reception where Dietrich Wessler, the elderly gent who made Little Bavaria into a tourist attraction, will speak. Amidst the abundant drinking, dancing, and loud music at the reception....



…..Herr Wessler is found stabbed to death.



Before long the local Police Chief,'Fat Matt' Duomo - who enjoys eating and drinking more than is good for him - asks Judith to investigate Herr Wessler's murder as well as another recent death.



So Judith, with Renie's help, gets acquainted with local citizens, studies town records, looks into possible motives, and so on - to try to identify the killer.



During their inquiry Judith and Renie learn that Herr Wessler had many relatives, including lots of out-of-wedlock children. The sleuths also discover that some residents of Little Bavaria have connections with World War II Nazis, that several local people have 'accidently' drowned, and that some folks are not who they seem to be.



On the positive side the book provides an entertaining look at Oktoberfest celebrations, with parties, drinking, shopping, concerts, singing,



…...a dachshund race,



…... and other fun activities.



Judith and Renie take advantage of the holiday to eat in German restaurants, enjoy a good many drinks, peruse stores, chat with people, etc.

On the negative side, the mystery part of the story is confused, with so many characters that it's hard to remember who's who. Moreover, after Judith and Renie's time-consuming, tedious, and rather boring detective work - which goes on for hundreds of pages - the killer is finally identified by pure chance. This kind of 'Deus Ex Machina' solution is unsatisfying and disappointing.

Judith is a likable character - polite, smart, friendly, and always willing to offer a helping hand. Cousin Renie, on the othe hand, is a nasty, sarcastic, bad-tempered woman who dislikes almost everybody. If the author meant for Renie to be a comic character she wasn't successful.

This seems more like a book about celebrating Oktoberfest (and eating pancakes and pastries) than a mystery story, but the festivities are fun to read about.

You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....

[Ami · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've enjoyed books from this series in the past so I was happy to see this on my library's "New" shelf. This one was a disappointment. I liked the basic premise but it just seemed so contrived and a bit far reaching. The end itself was a bit confusing and didn't clear everything up. And what was up with Renie? I don't remember her being such a mouthy witch in previous volumes.

[Cynthia · Rating 1 out of 5]

The "wurst" bed and breakfast mystery ever. I think I will be putting the cousins to rest.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Judith and her cousin, Renie are traveling to Little Bavaria for Oktoberfest. They are going there to help their bed and breakfast business and get a mini vacation. Of course, where Judith goes, trouble ensues. For example a murder. Even when Judith and Renie try to avoid trouble, they find themselves in the middle of the investigation.

The Wurst is Yet to Come is a fun, quirky, cozy mystery! Judith and her cousin, Renie made a comical duo. I thought it was funny that Judith was known as “Fasto” the acronym of the website for all of Judith’s fans. The website is called Female Amateur Sleuth Tracking Offenders.

Judith and Renie are such polar opposites but this is what made them work so well together. Judith has the sharp eye and brains whereas, Renie is more of the loud mouth and is great for causing distractions. While, I thought this book was charming, I also wished that I could have gotten into it more. The rest of the characters, I did not find interesting and after a while, they started to get on my nerves. If it was not for Judith and Renie then the murder would never be solved. The police it seemed never did much of anything and the only time that they followed up was if Judith and Renie gave them a lead. Overall, not a fun read.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my first Mary Daheim novel, and I think it'll be my last. As mysteries go, it wasn't terrible. But, the characters were so irascible to the point of being completely unlikeable (my feelings about them changed slightly by the end, but only just). They kept making me think about how very much I'd like to get to the end of the book. As for the plot, it was so convoluted that it almost didn't make sense. Even one of the main characters, Renie, made the point near the end of the novel that the murderer's motive didn't make much sense. I think she hit the nail on the head with that statement!

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barbs, put-down, digs, slams and sarcasm -- it's all here. The two super sleuths toss the invectives at each other and everyone around them so that it becomes more than the story which seems to jump pretty wildly from clue to clue as to who has murdered whom. Throw in a police department that's just barely more efficient than a string of Keystone Cops trailing off the back end of a moving vehicle and you get the general idea. Pretty silly.

[Elena Santangelo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried but couldn't make it more than halfway through this book. It was an audiobook, so I'll start with the reader. At first, I thought she seemed a competent audiobook actress, but after a while realized that she was at least part of the reason I didn't like any of the characters. She used different voices for each character, but none of those voices were pleasant, and most of the women's voices were variations on Wicked Witch of the West. She also seemed to lose energy by disc 3 and never regained it (possibly the writing itself didn't help her in this regard).

But as far as the characters went, they WERE unlikeable. The book began with 2 chapters of constant sniping between series characters who were supposed to like, if not love, each other. One other reviewer said she supposed this was supposed to be humorous. It wasn't funny at all. It was dysfunctional relationships. And read aloud, it gave me a headache. On every disc I listened to, there was at least several minutes of this kind of bickering, usually out of the blue--no building up to an argument, no reason for an argument.

The setting was also odd--it took place at an Oktoberfest in Little Bavaria, Washington (which I assume is based on, or IS, Leavenworth, WA, also known as Little Bavaria, a real tourist attraction town in which everything is German-themed). Possibly the author was also making fun of authenticity of the place in another attempt at humor, but it fell short most of time. Sometimes it almost felt like German-bashing. Sometimes it felt like snobbery.

When the characters weren't finding a ridiculous amount of fault with each other or their location, there was a murder mystery plot which had the possibility of proving interesting, but I couldn't see it through. I found I didn't want to spend another minute with such miserable characters, being read by such a low-energy narrator.

[Jayme(theghostreader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It isn't a bad series. I think it would have made more sense if I read it towards the beginning of the series instead of the end. I will have to go back and read it from the beginning.

[Phyllis Barlow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read every one of the B&B series, and I have got to say this one was my least favorite. Renie was just plain obnoxious in this book, and her (sometimes) idiotic statements just made me gnash my teeth. Like one time Judith kind of paused, and Renie says, "What did you do, take a stupid pill?" I realize this was supposed to be humorous, but it gets kind of old.

However, she (slightly) redeemed herself by being so caring about Judith's welfare when she could tell she was getting tired or hurting.

Will I read anymore of this series? Probably, but I'm beginning to think it's time for the "Cuz's" to go into retirement.

[Ricki · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I have enjoyed most of the books in this B&B series, this book left a lot to be desired. There seemed to be an inordinate amount of emphasis on Serena's snarkiness and the humor was contrived. Not very believable.....what police chief would push an inn keeper to solve his case for him? Not the worst cozy mystery, but certainly far from the best!

[Vickie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am finding the book tedious. The constant smart aleck talk of Renie gets boring and irritating very quickly. The plot is also slow moving. I finally finished the book! The last third was a little better. Mysteries are not my genre anyway.

[Debra McEathron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually like the books in this series. But this one just feels like Daheim had to fill her contract and get a book out. Judith wasn't her usual self, Renie was being more ridiculous than usual and the other characters lacked personality.

[FairyMuses · Rating 1 out of 5]

The best part of this book was, seriously, the cute dog on the cover.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't finish this book - like slapstick comedy in literature.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cousins Judith and Renie go to Bavaria to man a booth for the town’s Oktoberfest. In the middle of the dancing band she finds another dead man and flees the scene determined to not become involved. The local police knows of her reputation and asks for her help so she starts searching for clues. Judith decided that Renie will pose as the sleuth and she will just go along as support. I enjoy the books more where Judith and Renie are at their home with their husbands and mothers.

[Cozybooklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced story

I've been a fan of this series for quite a while and I enjoyed catching up with Judith and Serena (Renie) in this cute cozy mystery.
A simple Oktoberfest turns deadly and it's up to Judith and Renie to figure out whodunit.

[Corinne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only finished listening to the audiobook because it was background noise while I was working on a stitchery project.

The plot was stupid and convoluted. Judith was only marginally better than her totally obnoxious cousin. How many times did Judith tell Renie "shut up"? Can't count that high. And why was Renie excused for her awful behavior by everyone, especially her family? The entire police department was portrayed as lame-brained clowns, which I found offensive.

Not sure if I would read another b&b mystery by this author, although other reviewers have made positive comments about other books in the series.

[Helen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why do I read any more of these? Probably because she describes places not too badly. Her plots are often excessively complex and usually highly improbable. This one rates high on both scales, being so complex I lost track of who was who and what relationships were and so improbable that by the end I really didn't care at all. We visited Leavenworth, the real town, once and enjoyed it very much. The layout is much as she describes and there is a Valhalla Hotel. The food is good, too, and I am sure the police force is competent. I don't think I'll bother to comment any further.

[Cyndi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I want to find another series of clean mystery books that are folksy but not sappy but this book was not the answer. The characters were not all that endearing and too predictable. The humor did not come off and they all seemed to be bumbling. Not sure how the conclusion came about, didn't really make sense how everything just fell into place. The scene at the end where the murderer is about to grasp the hero wasn't suspenseful at all. Might try one more since I really want to find a series since I like to have one heavy book and one lighter one going at the same time.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really like this book because I found the characters annoying and I couldn't figure out where it took place (somewhere in the US maybe?), but it was just interesting enough that I wanted to finish. It was hard to figure out who the killer was because everyone kept giving Judith the runaround. And there were just so many characters. Even though I didn't really like it, I'll check out other books in the series. Maybe they won't be all over the place.

[Jeanne Quigley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This installment of the Bed-and-Breakfast series disappointed me. I enjoyed the setting, Little Bavaria, and the Oktoberfest scenes. There were too many characters, however, and more than a few had multiple names. I was also confused by all the family connections and lost track of how characters were related.

Mary Daheim's series is wonderful; this story doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for her delightful work.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had missed Judith and Renie but as usual Daheim has way way way too many characters. By the time the mystery is solved you are so tired of trying to keep all the characters straight you almost don't care who committed the murder. There were probably 15 characters introduced and anyone of them could have been the murderer. Still Judith is such a likeable character that you make your way through somehow.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't even finish this book. I have read many of the B&B books and enjoyed them all. This seemed like the conversations were mean spirited and not funny at all. I just couldn't finish it. Maybe it was my mood or maybe it was the authors but I didn't like it. Moved on to another, hopefully, better book.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another mystery book discussion book. I had not read any of the previous books in the series and don't think I will. I got about half way through it and couldn't take the coz's bickering anymore. subjects changed mid paragraph. went to the end to see who did it but couldnt recall the character. also couldn't figure out the location of the story.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why I keep reading this series. The mean-spiritedness of the cousin Renie is annoying. Daheim says she's cranky in the morning, but in this book, her nasty remarks are continuous. Is this supposed to be humor?
Also, way too many characters without clear writing to keep them straight.
And yet, I am reading her next book.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cousins sleuthing while attending a bed and breakfast PR event was just not up to the standards of previous entries in the series. Too many characters were introduced that did little to move the plot line along or really create much interest as suspects. With so many back stories not fleshed out, the reader was left with a lot of unanswered questions at the end of the book.

[Wendy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had a hard time keeping the characters straight; I had a hard time keeping their different stories straight; Judith Flynn's (she's the protagonist) cousin is obnoxious and obviously meant to bring some comic relief, but it failed miserably for me; and the solution was so convoluted that it was a complete stretch. I found I just wanted the durn thing over with!

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t generally like to leave reviews for books I don’t finish, but I have to share that I found this completely unreadable. The characters are just so mean and nasty to each other. The way that they constantly insult each other is so unnecessary, if I wanted to hear that, I’d hang out in a middle school cafeteria.

[Cyn McDonald · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't even finish the first chapter before I decided that the characters were amazingly unpleasant and that I didn't have time to waste reading about them. I rarely give up on a book, but I gave up on this one.

[Karen Ditsch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just hated it

I hated the dialogue. It sounded like everyone was trying too hard to be funny and failing. I hated the characters. I hated the author's interpretation of the legal system. I hated the plot. I hated the solution.