are all those nasty Tomahawk stories true!!???
I am no expert, with less than 10 hours on type; but IMHO the airplane is easy and safe to fly (although slightly underpowered).
Certainly if provoked the Tomahawk will stall and spin (rather than mush, like a docile PA28-140); but it is far from unmanageable. See generally
Tomahawk Safety Review.
Rick Stowell has said a lot of negative stuff about the PA38 (see
here); but as he hasn't even flown the aircraft, take his comments with a lump of salt. See further
Tomahawk Controversy.
For a general discussion of the PA38-112, see
here.