As the story opens Magdalena has gotten married to New York City doctor Gabriel Rosen. Her biggest problem has been cutting the apron strings. His mother already wanted to come with them on their honeymoon, so when her honeymoon is interrupted by a phone call, Magdalene just knows its Ida Rosen. But she is wrong. It is much worse.

Her former brother-in-law, who had murdered two people, has escaped from prison. Since Magdalena had helped put him in prison her life, along with the lives of her family, are in danger.

To protect her family and help put a killer back in prison, Magdalena and Gabe cut their honeymoon short and rush back to Hernia, Pennsylvania, their home.  As they were packing, Magdalena remembered that this was the weekend of what she hoped would become an annual event - The Hernia Jersey cow competition. The Penn Dutch Inn was to house some of the contestants and their owners. They could be in danger, too.

It was too late to call off the competition, so she sent all the relatives to Gabe's house. Then while Doc Shafor, organizer of the event, was admiring the entrants, he was attacked. Since he was a retired veterinarian and a harmless old man, everyone was at a loss to explain why.

As the World Churns is a mystery that lacks the graphic violence, explicit sex and foul language that plague many of today's novels. There is violence, but not murder. There is a lot of humor as well as a look into the Amish and Mennonite cultures.

Though the recipes are not woven into the story, they look very tempting and when added to a clean tongue-in-check mystery, you have a winning combination. Read As the World Churns and enjoy a different sort of mystery.