Top Ten Tuesday: Books Involving Food that Aren’t Cookbooks


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s topic is all about food, which brings me back to one of my very favorite genres: cozy mysteries.  So many of them are focused on food or mention food often.

Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries by Mia P. Manansala.  These are set in a Filipino family restaurant.  I’ve only read the first in the series, but I enjoyed the characters, the recipes, and the family togetherness.

Tea and Read Mysteries by Joy Avon.  While not fully food-related, this series is set in a tea room, with lots of fabulous teas and pastries.

French Bistro Mysteries by Daryl Wood Gerber.  Set in a French Bistro in Napa Valley, there is plenty of food and wine – and murder – in this series.

Deep Dish Mysteries by Mindy Quigley.  This series takes place in a mobster-themed pizza parlor, which made it an instant winner for me.   Add in Delilah’s sassy, fat cat, and I couldn’t ask for more.

Cheese Shop Mysteries by Korina Moss.  I stumbled into this series accidentally, but you had me at cheese.  I love all the interesting tidbits you learn about cheese and cheesemaking in this series, even if it did cause me to go out and buy a bunch of blue cheese at one point.

Pancake House Mysteries by Sarah Fox.  These take place in a pancake house in a small coastal town.  Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so I loved reading about all the various crepes.

Java Jive Mysteries by Caroline Fardig.  I loved this series mainly because it’s set in a coffee house in Nashville, but also due to the friendships Juliet has and forms throughout the series.

Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries by Olivia Matthews.  This was a new setting for me. Although it’s centered around a family run restaurant, I’d never read about a Caribbean family or food before.  All I can say is that it sounded delicious.

Pies Before Guys Mysteries by Misha Popp.  I love a bit of magic with my mysteries, so this was the perfect series for me.  I’m not a big pie baker, but this series wants me to pull out the pie pans and dive in.

Noodle Shop Mysteries by Vivien Chien.  While I haven’t started this series yet, it’s been on my TBR for a long time now. I’m a sucker for noodles of any kind so this series is a longtime draw for me.

Comments

  1. I love pancakes so The Pancake House Mysteries sounds good!

  2. Claire Louisa says

    So many mysteries involving food!

  3. I don’t think I’ve heard of any of these, but I feel like (based on Hallmark!) there are lots of the foodie and cozy mystery genres that blend. 🙂 Hope you enjoy any of these you haven’t read and thanks SO much for visiting my website today.

  4. Stephen @ Reading Freely says

    Ooh! The Nashville one might be interesting for me since it’s southern.

  5. Ooo, quite a few titles here going on my must check out list, all new to me.

  6. Fun genre and selections! I have the 1st Tita Rosie book on my shelf, and really want to read it soon!

    • Cozy mysteries are my happy place! A little romance, a little murder, it’s everything I want (plus food!). I hope you enjoy Arsenic and Adobo when you do get to it.

  7. Ooh nice picks! All new to me ones! Heartless was really good! A YA take on how the Queen of Hearts came into being, so to speak!

    Thanks for visiting my TTT!

  8. I love cozy mysteries and especially food-related ones! I tried the Noodle Shop series by Vivien Chien and unfortunately didn’t like them, but now you’ve got this whole list for me to check out! I love it!

  9. I’ve read the first Noodle Shop mystery and liked it, but I don’t read enough cozies to keep up with all the series! If I read a cozy, it’s almost always a foodie one, so I need to try some of these others on your list.

  10. I haven’t read a ton of cozies, I’m too easily annoyed for generally women prying into everything and hampering investigations like no one sees them doing it😂. I do like food themes though! Thanks for stopping by my TTT!

    • HAH! I feel you on that. And sometimes they can have the attitude that they’re better than the professionals, which is equally annoying. And yet… I still read them. 😀

  11. Lots of mysteries–all sound like good meals!

  12. Lots of foodie mysteries. I had no idea! Some of them sound really excellent.

  13. So much fun! I didn’t know about The French Bistro Mysteries, thanks!

  14. Wow! What a fun list. Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries sounds like it needs to be added to my TBR pile

  15. I really need to read a cozy mystery sometime because these arell sound so great! 🙂

  16. There are so many mysteries involving foods!! Great list!

  17. A great looking list. I need to read more Food Based Cozies!

    Have a great week!

  18. Mystery and food seem like a cozy combination, and perfect this season

  19. I like the pies before guys and noodle shop mystery series. Cozy mysteries are amazing for this prompt, and you’ve got a few that I’ll be adding to my TBR.

    • Yay, I hope you love them when you get a chance to read them! And I loved Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies, really need to finish that series soon.

  20. True that cozy mysteries have a lot with food. The same is true for most cozy fantasy. Food and/or drinks are always somewhere near the center of attention. I wonder what that says about us humans 😉

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