[I'm currently reading some older books that have been gathering dust on my bookshelves. Better late than never.]
Too Many Crooks Spoil the Broth is the first book in the Pennsylvania-Dutch cozy mystery series featuring Magdalena Yoder. Magdalena runs an inn and with her current group of guests, she has a lot to contend with: vegetarians, animal rights activists, avid hunters, an Amish cook who doesn't know the first thing about cooking for vegetarians and oh yeah, two dead guests. Well, they don't show up like that. They actually walk in the door under their own steam, however, like any good cozy mystery, it doesn't take long for the bodies to start piling up.
I'm glad I finally dug this one out of the box to read. I usually end up reading series out of order and then complain that I don't have any of the back story. Myers provides plenty of background information so that the reader know just how Magdalena ends up in this mess...I mean, opening an inn and catering to lots of different people. The one thing I noticed right away that's different from the other/later books in the series, is that Magdalena has not yet picked up the slightly annoying habit of calling everyone "dear". Other than that it's pretty much like the others, in that it contains lots of comical situations to make you laugh (despite the deaths), a fun mystery to follow and some delicious looking recipes to try.
Speaking of recipes, I tried one: Susannah Yoder Entwhistle's Boiled Cookie recipe. While the cookies turned out ok, the batter spread out a little too much (in my opinion) on the parchment. I'd suggest adding an extra 1/2 cup of oatmeal or 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut to the mix before spooning them out. I really liked the peanut butter in this one. Yum.
Back to the book: I would like to read the rest of books in order, however, it's not likely. I'm definitely going to read more of them, though and I'll probably just grab any old one off the shelf to read. I love this series.
Recommended for cozy mystery fans.
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