Pennsylvania Dutch

At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother.

In a terrible accident, Rachel Yoder loses her husband, her son, and her unborn child. Now, Rachel leads a reclusive life with her young daughter. Her soul is troubled, and her eye-sight has mysteriously dimmed. But the discovery of an old postcard, hidden for years, is about to change Rachel's world.

This debut mystery introduces Magdalena Yoder, prim, proper, and persnickety proprietor of the PennDutch Inn, where guests luxuriate in the true "Amish experience," (read: doing Magdalena's chores and paying top dollar for the opportunity!).

When one of her more reclusive guests takes a tumble down the PennDutch's picturesquely steep staircase and breaks his neck, the timing couldn't be worse. It's the start of hunting season - and her inn is packed to capacity!

Magdalena Yoder, Amish-Mennonite proprietor of the Pennsylvania Dutch Inn, travels to Farmersburg, Ohio for the funeral of her second cousin (twice removed) who had the unfortunate luck of drowning in a vat of milk - and, as Magdalena knows, Amish men just don't go swimming in milk in the middle of February. Something's definitely rotten in Farmersburg...