The book begins with Mose having labor pains like his daughter-in-law, Barbara, who is on her way to the hospital to deliver triplets. Of course Magdalena takes Freni to the hospital, too, leaving her newly arrived and hungry guests to fend for themselves. Surprisingly, Barbara has twins, and Freni so frantic about the missing baby that she forces Magdalena into promising to find it. The delivery room staff’s explanation is that Barbara’s previous doctor, Dr. Clayton, has made a mistake.

Magdalena discovers Dr. Clayton has suddenly decided to go on a vacation and can’t be reached. She questions the rest of the staff at the small hospital in Hernia, but they all deny knowing anything about Barbara missing triplet. She finally decides to visit the doctor’s home where she finds the door unlocked, invites herself in, and comes across his corpse at the top of the stairs.

I had a difficult time liking Magdalena, because she makes enemies in the book and for good reasons. She interrupts, is extremely pushy and is rude to both family and strangers. She makes unpleasant comments about people she dislikes or people who aren’t doing things her way. She is so opinionated and close-minded that she frequently jumps to the wrong conclusion and is even unwilling to listen to her boyfriend’s explanation when she feels he is lying to her.

Furthermore, as an amateur sleuth, Magdalena’s personality flaws are responsible for her missing at least two obvious clues as to the perpetrator’s identity and that places her in danger.

On the other hand, Ms. Myers does an excellent job of providing insight into the Amish and the Mennonite religion, even translating their curious expressions of speech. She includes some tasty, albeit fattening, Pennsylvania Dutch recipes such as Great Granny Yoder’s Toad Stroganoff and Freni’s Butterscotch Chiffon Pie. The character roster is filled with a sizeable number of odd people, and they provide a colorful backdrop to an otherwise slow plot that is thinly disguised as a mystery.

Magdalena has a tremendous sense of humor, yet it is frequently at other people’s expense. The many “odd” characters that abound in the book are often the targets of ridicule, bringing to my mind the old adage, “If you can’t say something nice about someone, then don’t say it at all,” but in all fairness, Magdalena, targets not only her sister and friends, but also herself. She describes herself as having “a negative chest profile…being thin…(with) a large head… and that (her) elongated proboscis would make a good cheese-cutting implement.”

In the same tradition, Magdalena’s sister, Susannah, is flat chested, allowing her to carry her small dog Shnookums inside her bra and under her clothing that creates a farcical, yet humorous scene. The Hand that Rocks the Ladle generates laughs; laughter that is the result of the peculiar characters that are involved in the many plotline improbabilities.

--Monica Pope