Meat Thy Maker

Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery #24

by Tamar Myers

Sausages to kill for . . . The competition to go into business with Hernia's finest sausage makers is getting hotter than Magdalena Yoder's frying pan in this sizzling culinary cozy.

Schmucker Brothers' Sausages are the talk of the town. The good folk of Hernia are obsessed with the delectable meaty treats, and the prospect of going into partnership with the brothers is proving equally irresistible to investors far and wide, including Magdalena Yoder's current guests at the Penn-Dutch Inn - grocery store chain CEOs Christine Landis and Kathleen Dooley, restaurant owner Terry Tazewell, and Mr Duckworth Limehouse.

All four are in town to pitch a business deal to the Schmuckers. But after a visit to the brothers' pork factory, one of the would-be investors is found slaughtered back at the inn, and Mags must catch a murderer intent on turning her guests juicy pork dreams to rashers! Could there be more to the Schmuckers' sausages than meets the eye?

224 pages, Hardcover

Published January 3, 2023

About the author

Tamar Myers was born and raised in the Belgian Congo (now just the Congo). Her parents were missionaries to a tribe which, at that time, were known as headhunters and used human skulls for drinking cups. Hers was the first white family ever to peacefully coexist with the tribe, and Tamar grew up fluent in the local trade language. Because of her pale blue eyes, Tamar’s nickname was Ugly Eyes.

Tamar grew up eating elephant, hippopotamus and even monkey. She attended a boarding school that was two days away by truck, and sometimes it was necessary to wade through crocodile infested waters to reach it. Other dangers she encountered as a child were cobras, deadly green mambas, and the voracious armies of driver ants that ate every animal (and human) that didn’t get out of their way.

In 1960 the Congo, which had been a Belgian colony, became an independent nation. There followed a period of retribution (for heinous crimes committed against the Congolese by the Belgians) in which many Whites were killed. Tamar and her family fled the Congo, but returned a year later. By then a number of civil wars were raging, and the family’s residence was often in the line of fire. In 1964, after living through three years of war, the family returned to the United States permanently.

Tamar was sixteen when her family settled in America, and she immediately underwent severe culture shock. She didn’t know how to dial a telephone, cross a street at a stoplight, or use a vending machine. She lucked out, however, by meeting her husband, Jeffrey, on her first day in an American high school. They literally bumped heads while he was leaving, and she entering, the Civics classroom.

Tamar now calls Charlotte, NC home. She lives with her husband, plus a Basenji dog named Pagan, a Bengal cat named Nkashama, and an orange tabby rescue cat named Dumpster Boy. She and her husband are of the Jewish faith, the animals are not.

Tamar enjoys gardening (she is a Master Gardner), bonsai, travel, painting and, of course, reading. She loves Thai and Indian food, and antique jewelry. She plans to visit Machu Pichu in the near future.

Series:
* Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery
* Den of Antiquity Mystery

Reviews

[Left Coast Justin]

A couple of weeks ago, one of my GR friends jokingly suggested I read an Amish mystery, which are apparently the hot thing right now. When I grabbed this one from the library after the barest inspection of the cover, I had no idea it was an Amish whodunit. Had I noticed the author had previously inflicted on the world titles such as "Though Shalt Not Grill," "Assault and Pepper" and "Hell Hath No Curry," I would have doubtless eased this back into its slot and quickly backed away.

I can see the appeal, for some folks. The first-person narrator is highly opinionated and, in her own mind, at least, quite the card. A faint stink of MAGA arose from the pages during her clever banter.

Here's a title for you: Drop Your Pencil.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wouldn't be fair to say this series, set in Pennsylvania Dutch territory, had jumped the shark, since the plots have been over-the-top for a long time and hyperbole is one of the main sources of humor. But it's hard to believe that no-one has revealed the secret of the popular, Amish-made sausages that propel the action here until Magdalena Yoder Rosen, the richest woman in the town of Hernia, due to her unremitting effort and her PennDutch Inn. Myers has aged her protagonists enough so that she's been able to kill off some of the older characters by natural attrition, and Magdalena's half-brother/brother-in-law doesn't make an appearance in person--both fairly good things, in my opinion--but there are still plenty of kookie locals, as well as the four guests in the Inn, three of whom have come to get introduced to the Schmcuker brothers and pitch their plans for commercializing their popular sausages.

[Judie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Years have passed and Magdalena Portulacca Yoder Rosen is now 74 years old. She and her husband, Dr. Gabriel Rosen, have been married for 25 years and their children have moved to their own homes.
But she is still the mayor of Hernia PA, owns and operates the PennDutch Inn, (offering a genuine Amish experience), helps solve crimes, and retains strong friendships with her childhood friend Agnes and Police Chief Toy Graham. Her Apparition-American Grandmother still sits on her chair in the parlour.
The murders that have been committed in the Inn have increased the number of visitors who relish the opportunity to stay at what they hope is a haunted house.
In MEAT THY MAKER, four guests have arrived, three of whom are interesting in selling Schmucker Brothers’ Sausage, a local family business owned by three Amish brothers, who want to make their new and extremely popular product available in more locations. They each plan to negotiate a contract with the brothers and have come to meet with them. The two female guests are CEOs of grocery chains and one of the men owns a restaurant. The second man is a tourist.
Soon after they guests see part of the Schumucker operation, one of them is murdered in the inn. Magdalena joins with Toy as they try to find out who killed him. Suspicion falls on them and other people in the community.
There are some interesting twists and turns, red herrings, and commentary on religion and gender identity as well as Magdalena’s sexual fixation.
The ending is unexpected but works, showing more about life within the Amish and Mennonite communities.
MEAT THY MAKER is one of the best books in the series, more focused on the current crime and characters. It is, as usual, witty and thought provoking. The Afterword is interesting, but don’t read it until you have finished the book.

[SKP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, I’m just hoping this is the LAST book in the series! It seems that since we’ve skipped from the main character being 60 to 74, and the kids she was fussing over not hardly being mentioned, and the fact that the same old tired jokes were repeated once more, that this is a sign that we are finished with the series. PLEASE! The earliest books in the series were by FAR the best…the last several have been tortuous to get through, and I actually DNF a couple of them. I’ve skimmed most of the last 4. I didn’t NOT want to read them because I still remember loving this series in the beginning. But I am hoping that this is the last and the series mercifully comes to an end. The plots in the last few were a little better than the 3 or 4 previous ones, but still, I am SO glad to be finished! Even if any more magically appear, I don’t think I will bother…the last couple I ended up getting from the library because they were really overpriced on Kindle. Anyway, if anyone is thinking of reading this series, PLEASE do yourself a favor: start with Book 1 and read them through about Book 12 or so, and then stop.

[Jan Peregrine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cozy murder mystery is heavy on silliness and religious angst, light on murder. I was mildly amused at times, but it wasn't my cup of tea...or maybe I should say hot chocolate. The reader target is a retired woman with lots of time to kill and has conservative righteousness, wink wink.. They'll love it. I won't bother with the series, thank you!

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid and higly entertaining story in this long series. It made me laugh, the twists and the solution surprised me
Recommended
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

[Sarah Limb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! It was super enjoyable to read and hilarious. The ending I felt was drawn out too much, and it turned cheesy. I felt like Mags lost her silliness at the end so it all just felt like a cheesy wrap up. But all the way up until after solving the murder I loooved it.

[Sharon Bezrutczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been awhile since I read one of these books..lol

[Layla A · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried, I really tried. Couldn’t get through this… the humor, at times, was entertaining but mostly felt too obnoxious for me overall.

[Marylin Wechselblatt]

Cute mystery..part of a series.

[Felicia Helsing · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too corny with juvenile humor. Not my genre.

[Elizabeth Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy, interesting read. Sometimes hard to follow, but interesting. Will have to look into other Pennsylvania Dutch novels by Tamar Myers.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very silly tone in this book.

[Hanah Ralston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow moving with lots of action within the last couple of chapters. Wish for more character development on the "killer".

[Gayleen Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was just ok

[Lyn Soulia-Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many adventures and twists for this book. I really like this series and characters. Fun read.

[Anna Komissarov · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a random book I picked up at the library, and it was interesting. It was entertaining and a funny, easy read. The ending had me 😦 definitely a plot twist I was NOT expecting cannibalism!!!

[Sara Goldenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun!!!!

[Linda Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading challenge #52: published in 2023

[LittleRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magda’s current guests at her Inn are hoping to do business with the local Schmucker Brothers who sausages are the big weiner! When one of Magda’s guests is dead at her inn, she must find out who butchered them and prevent another disaster before it occurs.

Only Magda could make the premise of this book work, but then again, only Magda can pull a lot of the things in her books off. Man, I love me some Magda! If you have not read one of the books in this series yet, you are missing out! Magda is like the Stephanie Plum of the Mennonite community and you will find you love her as much as I do. She’s funny, quirky, has a sharp wit and can be a little naught at times…and that’s what makes her so lovable and enjoyable!