THE GREAT CULINARY MYSTERY SERIES Or Snoop of the Day
TOO MANY COOKS
It’s been 10 years since this ol’ cook looked at the Great Culinary Series. And it’s a treat to see just how many of these titles are still available today.
Food, of course, has been in literature from the beginning. Eve served a scrumptious Pomme d’Eden appetizer to Adam that would make history. That story taught many lessons — for professional chefs it was “check out your supplier!”
Fairy tales are full of food — just ask Hansel and Gretel. As is Chaucer. Shakespeare. Austen. Good old Dickens.
KILLING THYME
And mystery fiction, which deals with our lives at the most fundamental levels, certainly is.
Sherlock knew his food — and Watson surely enjoyed it. Lord Peter Wimsey was a true believer in the gourmet life. Nero Wolfe had his own personal chef. Stout’s TOO MANY COOKS is a classic culinary mystery.
Virginia Rich may have created the first culinary mystery series with a continuing character, Faith Fairchild, with THE BAKED BEAN SUPPER MURDERS in 1983. Nancy Pickard continued the series ten years later with THE 17-INGREDIENT CHILI CON CARNI MURDERS. Other mystery writers quickly followed.
So here are the top Culinary Mystery Series, by author, with her (sometimes his) debut title:
Peter Abresch — KILLING THYME
Susan Wittig Albert — THYME OF DEATH
Christine Andreae — TRAIL OF MURDER
Lorna Barrett — MURDER IS BINDING
M C Beaton — AGATHA RAISON AND THE QUICHE OF DEATH
Jessica Beck — GLAZED MURDER
K K Beck — THE BODY IN THE CORNFLAKES
Nancy Bell — BIGGIE AND THE QUINCY GHOST
Elizabeth Bastion — NO JUST DESSERTS
Ruth Birmingham — BLUE PLATE SPECIAL
Claudia Bishop — A TASTE OF MURDER
Marinda Bliss — MURDER ON THE MENU
Michael Bond — MONSIEUR PAMPLEMOUSSE
Anthony Bourdain — BONE IN THE THROAT
Anthony Bruno — DEVIL’S FOOD
Dorothy Cannell — THIN WOMAN: AN EPICURIAN MYSTERY
Joanna Carl — THE CHOCOLATE CAT CAPER
Sammi Carter — CANDY APPLE DEAD
Laura Childs — DEATH BY DARJEELING
Jill Churchill — SILENCE OF THE HAMS
Jessica Conant-Park & Susan Conant — STEAMED
Cleo Coyle — ON WHAT GROUNDS
Philip Craig — A BEAUTIFUL WAY TO DIE
Isis Crawford — A CATERED MURDER
Mary Daheim — JUST DESSERTS
Diane Mott Davidson — DYING FOR CHOCOLATE
Krista Davis — THE DIVA RUNS OUT OF THYME
Denise Dietz — BEAT UP A COOKIE
Selma Eichler — MURDER CAN RAIN ON YOUR SHOWER
Janet Evanovich — WICKED APPETITE
Nancy Fairbanks — CHOCOLATE QUAKE
Jerrilynn Farmer — SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL
Joanne Fluke — CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE MYSTERY
Peter Gadol — THE MYSTERY ROAST
Kerry Greenwood — EARTHLY DELIGHTS
Ellen Hart — THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO MURDER
Tim Hemlin — DEAD MAN’S BROTH
Julie Hyzy — STATE OF THE ONION
Takis & Judy Iakovou — SO DEAR TO WICKED MEN
John Irving — LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER
Cathie John — BEAT A ROTTEN EGG TO THE PUNCH
Claire M Johnson — BEAT UNTIL STIFF
Sharon Kahn — FAX ME A BAGEL
Josi S Kilpack — LEMON TART
Peter King — THE GOURMET DETECTIVE
Cecile LaMalle — APPETITE FOR MURDER
Janet Laurence — A DEEPE COFFYN
Cynthia Lawrence — CHILL BEFORE SERVING
Shelby Lewis — DELICIOUS
Nan & Ivan Lyons — SOMEONE IS KILLING THE GREAT CHEFS OF EUROPE
Peter Mayle — ANYTHING CONSIDERED
G A McKevett — COOKED GOOSE
Amy Myers — MURDER AT PUGS PARLOR
Tamar Myers — TOO MANY CROOKS SPOIL THE BROTH
Katherine Hall Page — THE BODY IN THE BELFRY
Joanne Pence — SOMETHING’S COOKING
Nancy Pickard — THE 17-INGREDIENT CHILI CON CARNI MURDERS
Virginia Rich — THE BAKED BEAN SUPPER MURDERS
Phillis Richman — WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA HAM?
Alexandra Roudybush — A GASTRONOMIC MURDER
S J Rozan — BITTER FEAST
Michele Scott — MURDER UNCORKED
Steve Sherman — MAPLE SUGAR MURDERS
Sharon Short — DEATH BY DEEP-DISH PIE
Julie Smith — THE SOURDOUGH WARS
J B Stanley — CARBS & CADAVERS
Lou Jane Temple — DEATH BY RHUBARB
Emily Toll — MURDER PANS OUT
Livia J Washburn — MURDER BY THE SLICE
Janice Weber — DEVIL’S FOOD
Melinda Wells — KILLER MOUSSE
Ruthie Wornall — MURDER IN GUANAJUANO
(Okay — I know. The Bourdain, Gadol and Irving titles aren’t the first volumes in ongoing series. But they SHOULD be. They’re that good.)
“Bon Appétit. And Live Free, Mon Ami!” – Brian Alan Burhoe
Note: Image above is a detail from the front cover of Josi S Kilpack’s LEMON TART.
THE GREAT CULINARY MYSTERY SERIES Or Snoop of the Day