The Gourmet Detective: Library Edition

Gourmet Detective #1

by Peter King

Meet the Gourmet Detective. A chef-turned-culinary sleuth, the Gourmet Detective tracks down obscure ingredients and unravels difficult recipes for rival restaurateurs -- until a guest unexpectedly drops dead at the prestigious Circle of Careme dinner. Drawing upon his epicurean and investigative skills, the Gourmet Detective hunts the killer among omelettes Bourguignonne and vats of Madeira sauce. Featuring many real recipes and actual cooking techniques, this delightful mystery is a charming romp through the kitchens of the finest gourmands.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Cozy, Audiobook, Media Tie In

Audio CD

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Peter King is an English born author of mystery fiction, a Cordon Bleu trained chef and a retired metallurgist and aerospace scientist. Before writing full time, he operated a tungsten mine, prospected worldwide and worked on rocket engines for NASA Apollo missions. After retiring in 1991, he began writing fiction and is best known for the Gourmet Detective series and the Jack London historical mysteries. His work blends culinary detail, historical research and classic whodunit storytelling.

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This sounded entertaining and quite fun with a man that loves food and such turned into a detective sleuth. But sadly this was both boring and I didn't like the tone it had towards women. Will not continue with it

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, I'm sure this is a great book.
I got bored.
I honestly got bored of all the food.
All the wine.
All the pretentiousness.

It was like Fraiser Crane (yes, from Fraiser) decided to become a 'Food Detective'. Only remember, he's not a real detective!!! Even though he scoffed at the P.I.E club where 'non detectives were allowed to join' (and he was wasn't referring to himself!)

I would have liked it better if there were some recipes at the back (which I vaguely remember their being a promise of).

What pissed me off the most? "She could be pretty if she changed her hair, wore makeup, and better clothes" EXCUSE ME? This was said about literally every single woman other than the two females he was supposed to be attracted to. Otherwise every single woman was frizzy and "could be pretty". It pissed me off.

Honestly, I read this because I enjoyed the tv movies done by Hallmark. Holy crap, for a change Hallmark got it right, because if they had stuck to the original source material? I wouldn't continue watching. This movies are great, I like the main character... whom I realize now you never find out his name in the book? And in the movies, the real police aren't bimbos like Winnie is in this one.

I am familiar with a lot of foodie lingo, my Grandmother having been a French chef (owned her own restaurant even).. but man... this made me go cross-eyed at times. And the amount of wine drunk honestly gave me a headache even though I wasn't drinking! Good gods it must be expensive to live in the Gourmet Detective's world, since he had a new wine with every single course. And every meal had to have several courses.

It was very outdated. And the character of Michael did more of the detective work than the main character!
It was cool seeing London as the setting (living 30 minutes west that is). And it amused me to see my favorite sparkling white mentioned, though he did try to call it Champagne, and did argue whether it should be called that or not. Well boyo, it's Cava, not Champagne, nor is it originally from California. It's from Catalonia. The only part he got right was that Freixenet is a Spanish company. So put that in your flute and drink it.
Yeah. Not so enjoyable for me. C'est la vie. I doubt I'll continue the series.

[Chaitra · Rating 1 out of 5]

"The Gourmet Detective" (name unknown) is a guy who traces elusive and exotic ingredients for gourmet eateries. He is also fond of fictional private investigators, Philo Vance and Nero Wolfe and the lot, and is a proud member of P.I.E, Private Investigators, Etc. So, when he's offered a job to solve mysterious happenings in an exclusive restaurant by its owner, he's more than happy to accept. What he doesn't bargain on is for a big name TV personality, on the verge of making an exposé that will bring the food industry to its knees, to drop dead in one of the dinners the restaurant is hosting. From then on, the detective works hand in hand with Scotland Yard Food Squad detectives, Inspector Hemingway and Sergeant Fletcher, to solve the case before the murderer strikes again.

I love food and I love murder mysteries, so I had hoped that this would be a good series for me. Going by the first book, I can't really say that. The murder mystery lacks any suspense - I could see the reveal coming from a mile away. I can do this for a lot of cozies, and it usually doesn't matter because I like the characters. That doesn't hold true for this book as I hated the Gourmet Detective. He's a pompous character, and he exists in this novel, not to solve the mystery as the title would suggest, but to provide red herrings. The real detective in the book is Inspector Hemingway, who solves the crime, but since we spend all our time listening to the GD drone about his illogical suspicions based on his own prejudices; his co-ordinated recipe and music choices; his drooling over the shapely rear of every single woman he meets or sees; we don't get to see the steps involved in the solving of the crime.

And so it fails as a detective novel and a mystery. If I needed recipes, I would read a cook book, where I wouldn't have to deal with the Gourmet Detective's odious personality. One star.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley.

[Wendy]

I'm sorry, I can't get past the way the narrator appraises every woman as either a bombshell, or (paraphrasing) "she would have been a zinger if only she lost ten pounds, learned how to put on makeup, and actually spent more than five minutes choosing her clothes." Book, meet wall.

[han · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.75/3 because I can't stand them butchering my country's cuisine like this:
"The meat balls that Michael had referred to were, he told me, really called Rempah and are a sort of Indonesian hamburger "
Rempah = Spices, not meat balls
"Onions, garlic, more chillies, lemon grass, shrimp paste, lemon juice, sugar and—naturally—
coconut milk."
For Indonesian satay??? OMFG I can't with this blatant culture appropriation.

also the racism:
"I think the head waiter was a former war-lord. Place was full of Eastern promise—and that’s all they were—promises.”
And many more

and the objectification of women:
"We went along a corridor and I followed with pleasure, admiring the sway of her shapely rear in the tight black skirt and the twinkling black-clad ankles"
And many more

The whole matching-music-with-food got old after three chapters and there are too many unimportant events, such as replying to messages and reviewing restaurants, that distracted readers from the actual plot.
The plot is decent for a mystery story, too bad the writer can't write a story without butchering other culture's food and objectifying women.

[Kerrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has good potential for a series. Some of the humor was laugh-out-loud and I enjoyed the shout outs to a number of my fav mystery writers. I recommend planning out a very nice meal (or at least some yummy hors d'oeuvres) to have on hand while you read, the food descriptions are mouth-watering.

I could have done without the almost constant wardrobe listing for each female our main character bumps into. That the female detective was wearing a burgundy linen suite was completely irrelevant to the plot - things like that. And I found the appearance critiques for all of the female characters annoying as well (i.e.,she would have been attractive if she lost weight, dressed better, wore makeup, etc. etc.)

Criticism aside, it was an interesting premise & the plot flowed smoothly. There were a nice array of suspects and enjoyable side characters. I look forward to reading the follow-up.

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basically, food porn seasoned with more than a dash of misogyny and ego. I'll pass on any further helpings of this, thank you.

Although I did not know whodunnit until the very end--largely because the unnamed protagonist really was in the dark most of the time--I knew it had to be female. Too many women were flirtatious with him; it had to be a red herring because, honestly, I couldn't tell why anyone would be attracted to him. Bleh.

[AngryGreyCat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gourmet Detective is the first in a series with the character of the same name. A former chef who now is a food detective who spends time tracking down obscure ingredients, finding sources for supplies, and finding the origins or ingredients in dishes. He finds himself in over his head when there is a murder and now maybe he is a real detective. A culinary cozy with very detailed food, wine and music combinations. I enjoyed this a great deal. I will say that the book was published in 1996 and some references are representative of that time.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The protagonist—and thereby Peter King—is quite a pig. Lots of space dedicated to descriptions of women characters' appearances ("tight enough to be sexy but not so tight as to be tarty") and their breasts ("heaving"). A good enough mystery plot. Enjoyed the classical recommendations.

[Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed parts of this but far too much objectification of women and other issues to make the lovingly rendered food descriptions worth it

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a good mystery, and even though the wine & gourmet food talk went over my head, it was interesting!!! So yes, now I'm in another series....

[Kat Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the first book in Peter King’s Gourmet Detective Series, we are introduced to the ‘Gourmet Detective,’ a chef-turned-sleuth renowned for tracking down hard-to-find ingredients for high caliber eateries and answering the most tricky of food questions. Want to locate a rare spice to use in your dish? Need to know what kind of wine to serve at an outdoor barbecue wedding? Looking for someone to debate the pros and cons of aluminum and cobalt in food? Then the ‘Gourmet Detective’ is your man.

But the Gourmet Detective gets more than he bargained for when he’s invited to sleuth at the ‘cream of the crop’ prestigious Circle of Careme dinner. Unexpectedly, a guest drops over dead, turning a simple mysterious competition of the restaurants into murder. Drawing upon his epicurean and investigative skills, the Gourmet Detective hunts the killer among omelettes Bourguignonne and vats of Madeira sauce.

Repeatedly, he tells us that he isn’t a “real Detective,” just enthralled by Private Eyes (PI) of fiction stories – Sherlock Holmes, Marla Maple, and other more obscure references. He fancies himself a food PI, but when he’s enlisted by the Scotland Yard detective, he realizes it’s much more difficult to solve a murder than a rare ingredient.

Reading The Gourmet Detective was like a reading the movie Clue, albeit with a culinary bent. The ‘gourmet detective’ (I don’t know his first name is ever truly mentioned) comes across as a snobbish, fussy, sexist ninny who seems more like a narrator than a true detective. Granted, he’s supposedly ‘learning’ to be a ‘real’ PI, and helping Scotland Yard solve the mystery. But in the end, his final conclusions are wrong and Inspector Hemingway, the true Scotland Yard detective of the Food Squad (yes, there is a food squad) ultimately solves the crime.

The Gourmet Detective is an easy light read, but there are sections that get bogged down by culinary lingo and history, especially in the beginning of the book. I love that the ‘gourmet detective’ tries to magically pair food, wine, and music for his meals, but when the discourse takes up several pages, it becomes a bore. This occurs consistently throughout the novel and feels a bit too much like name-dropping (hence the snobbish feeling). A sampling of his tastes and brief mentions would have been more engaging and kept the story moving forward. It’s the same for the extended culinary history lessons. While it is the primary job of the ‘gourmet detective,’ it’s not the primary theme of the book. I started glossing over these sections to get to the juicier parts of the murder mystery.

It was hard to engage with the main character, the ‘gourmet detective.’ Writing in the first person limited our views of the mystery. We could only comprehend what the narrator is thinking and feeling and merely witness his speculation towards other characters; not to mention that there were so many characters introduced in this novel that at times I was lost as to who was who. None of the characters are developed fully, including the ‘gourmet detective.’ It leaves us as merely a cold observer instead of rooting for anyone in particular.

If you’re not a foodie or familiar with gourmet culinary lingo, it may be a struggle for you to read this book. Many terms aren’t well-defined and culinary abbreviations are thrown around like a ball in a pinball machine. The names of dishes are floofy, uppity French or Italian. Although, King does a masterful job at describing the dishes in a succulent, luscious voice. My mouth watered at times and I longed to be eating along side the characters.

There were a few interesting twists, but overall, the novel lacked depth and character development. It’s a shame as there was so much potential for this storyline. I can only hope that things improve with other books in this series.

For more reviews, visit my website: Kat's Book Reviews (http://www.katsbookreviews.com)

[Nicola L · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mystery to really sink your teeth into (3.5 stars)

(A copy of this novel was provided to me for review via Netgalley)

In the first book of this culinary mystery series we are introduced to the ‘Gourmet Detective,’ a man renowned for tracking down hard-to-find ingredients for high calibre eateries and answering the most tricky of food questions. This time though, he may have bitten off a bit more than he can chew after he inadvertently gets pulled into solving the murder of an investigative journalist at a high-end dinner party. A bit of real sleuthing is called for as he eagerly follows in the footsteps of his hallowed fictional detective heroes, working with Scotland Yard in a bid to crack the perplexing case, for which there are any number of suspects...

When I am reading culinary mysteries the first question I ask myself is: does it make me feel hungry? The answer here was an unequivocal: YES!

I must admit that this book was much better written than I had initially anticipated, with some great scene setting, particularly that of London and the restaurants themselves, and some vivid food descriptions that really made my mouth water. It’s definitely more culinary than ‘cosy,’ with lots of emphasis on food and drink and a few minor swear-words- though a surprising lack of violence or gore, which is why I’m finding it a bit hard to categorise it! I learned useful details about food and drink too, which is always great, as it was drip-fed to the reader in quite a subtle fashion.

Personally though, I think this book would have perhaps worked better if it hadn’t been written in the first person narrative; it does tend to get overly bogged down in some of the technical details and as a reader you only comprehend what the narrator is thinking and feeling and merely witness his speculation towards other characters. It does become clunky and repetitive at points- especially when he is trying to pair his food choices with music which occurs consistently throughout the novel and just feels a bit TOO much like name-dropping. I’m all for enhancing the eating experience, but those aspects did feel long-winded and distracting at times. That’s not to say that I didn’t like the narrator of course- I did- it’s just that a third-person narrative would have allowed for a much wider scope of information within the plot and far less inadvertent marketing of varieties of wine.

That aside, I did enjoy getting to know the gourmet detective and following his journey as he became a ‘real detective.’ Earlier within the book he does concede that he is a “private person as well as a private eye,” and I would welcome reading more books in this series to see if that still remains the case, as well as seeing if some of the characters in this book make a welcome reappearance in future- especially burgeoning romantic interest Winnie.

I would not hesitate in recommending this book to mystery readers whose ‘tastes’ tend to favour culinary fiction. This is certainly a pleasing addition to the genre.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, hmm... I've read the whole series now. I'm not going to do individual book reviews, some of them are better than others, but they're all enjoyable, quick reads. Then again, throw gourmet food and wine into anything and I'm likely to add some points to it in my mind. Bizarrely, though, given that I gave all the books three stars, I don't know that I recommend them. Had they been written fifty years ago, I'd give them some more slack, but here are my issues with, well, all of them:

The gourmet detective himself, our protagonist, is an unlikable twit. He's a middle aged, pretentious white man, with delusions of self importance. He fancies himself a ladies man and, of course, manages to get one or another into bed (trailed off, never portrayed, just make sure we know it happened, wink, wink) in all or almost all the books. He's misogynistic, racist, and classist. He fancies himself a connoisseur of all things food and wine, and throws about names and terms, most of which the average reader will not have heard of, and will probably just move past without much thought. The problem is, he's pretty much clueless and the mistakes in his descriptions of various ingredients, dishes, and bottles of fermented grape juice are legion.

In short, and yes, I realize I'm generalizing and could be accused of bias myself, he's the sort of detective that a 70+ year old retired upper middle class British metallurgical engineer (who apparently at some point went to the Cordon Bleu cooking school to be trained as a chef, though my bet is he just took a few cooking classes for home cooks, then again, who knows, but it seems he did it after retiring at some point in his 70s) would reimagine himself to be if he were to become a food detective. In short, a sort of Walter Mitty alter ego.

[Ronna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different kind of cozy mystery for sure. This first in the series of the Gourmet Detective finds this unnamed chef, turned food detective, who's goal is to find sources for difficult food ingredients and to determine recipes from various gourmet restaurants. When one of the privileged few attending the infamous Circle of Careme dinner dies twice, our detective goes on the hunt for the killer and the poison that can cause this strange manner of death.

This book almost seems like a spoof on "foodies" and fictional detectives. Many exquisite and different meals are described throughout the book. And most every detective that I've ever read about or seen on TV prior to the publication of this book, is referred to by the Gourmet Detective. Rivalry between chefs, food writers, and TV cooking personalities is portrayed throughout the book. The mystery almost seems to be the venue for these "foodie" things rather than being the main point of the book.

I actually enjoyed most of the food descriptions, detective references and the mystery, but the story might have been more interesting if the mystery had been a bit more focused. I listened to this on Audible and believe that the somewhat stuffy, condescending tone of the reader, actually made the book much more enjoyable. I would give another book in this series a try, but definitely only with Audible.

[Melayla Orn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like this kind of mystery usually but I thought this could have used a thorough editing. There was pages of information that may have been interesting if I was reading a food article, but it had nothing to do with the story and there was just way too much of it. Mystery is what I thought would be the key part of this novel but no, the author had decided that gourmet is the main keyword so he overloaded the book with food and wine talk that did nothing to further the story.

He also seems to really like writing dialogue and being "witty." I guess he was trying to pay homage to old PI novels? Because that's how his dialogue felt to me - very unnatural.

The mystery could have been alright but it felt like very little of the book was devoted to it. Instead we focused on the musings of a rather unlikable character. Actually, none of the characters felt developed enough to be likable or not - they felt like cardboard. And we introduced to so many characters, most of whom have nothing to do with the mystery - it felt like he just wanted a chance to give them witty things to say or something.

Overall, it was an interesting idea but severely over-written. The word florid kept coming to mind as I struggled to finish it. It took me 4 days to finish the style of novel I usually finish in 4 hours.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a shame I know nothing about wine. But the foodie in me loved all the talk of discerning ingredients in each dish. And was partly jealous of all the fabulous places this detective was allowed to dine in and partake in all those dishes! Rubbing elbows with all those famous foodie people should have great fun, but would have turned me into a mute, I'm afraid. A very unlikely detective was this man. He reminded me somewhat of Poirot with some of his antics. I rather enjoyed this first cozy mystery and would gladly read more if I owned them.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relish good foods, memorable characters, and a handful of mysteries? If so, then savor Peter King’s witty, entertaining, and mouth watering The Gourmet Detective, a different kind of sleuth whose palate can detect each component of a gourmet dish; discover alternatives to off beat, hard to find ingredients; and acquainted with the great chefs of London.

But King adds several tablespoons of mystery and intriguing cups of unusual characters, well seasoned with his wit, and a dash of puns, to create a rich dish of remarkable flavors – don’t miss this!

[joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit, I picked this up on a whim. Being a foodie lover of mysteries, I figured WTH...
However, I was pleasantly surprised at how entertained I was. Lots of references to other detectives as the protagonist is a fan of PI stories, lots of mention of gourmet food stuff like fine wines, famous growing areas, but what I like most is that he cooks for himself and describes the buying, prep & cooking of his dinners for one (occasionally 2) and goes to lengths to tie music to the dinner he's prepared. Since most of the selected music is classical, I have a new aural treats in store.

[Cassandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not finish this book. In three chapters we got misogyny and fat phobia. Hallmark is great at taking book series I do not like and making them in to movie series I enjoy. I knew it would be different but I was expecting still a charming man who had the ins of the restaurant food world down! Instead I got a mean, rude, and disrespectful man.

I thought this book was written in the 90s or 80s with how bad the takes were! 2012?!?!

[Timothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting concept and a different take on a detective protagonist. The story was OK. Well written. But it was just too long on explanation at times. Especially when it came to the descriptions of food. It could be boring. And most of the characters and scenarios were so pretentious. I wouldn’t want to spend ten minutes with 1/2 these people.

[Tyrannosaurus regina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really just wanted to read this for the lavish descriptions of food. Pity it tried to be a mystery too. But that wasn't the real issue. The real issue was such gross and transparent sexism that I actually checked to see if the book had been written about forty years earlier.

[Diana Bustamante · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened on Audible. Must admit my attention sometimes strayed. There were some mispronunciations, I believe. Some questionable comments regarding female characters may be a sign of the times when it was written.

[Daffodil]

Just watched the movie on HMM. Need to find a copy of the book.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re thinking of reading this book because you watched the hallmark mystery movie series based on it then you’ve hit the right review. Let me put this out there from the beginning. This book was written in 1994. 30 years ago. I was in high school then and there are a lot of parts of this book that I cringe over. In general, I do like the story. And the narrator for the audible version is terrific. I’m very glad I listened to it. But it was written in 1994. AND the main character is written with a bit of the personalities of manly characters who pegged themselves as suave and lady killers. He is not a horrible person. But discusses women in a sexist manner.

But if you’re looking for the Henry of the Hallmark movies, you’re getting the skeleton of him. The basics. Bits and pieces of who you saw on screen. And Hallmark made some very good changes to the story and characters. There are bits that I recognize from the movies. Finding a man sprawled out on the floor thinking he may be dead but he’s drunk. Two characters thought to be enemies but are secret friends. But most of it is Henry searching on his own and being used by Scotland Yard to find clues. But much less of a group effort. And please keep in mind, the lead character is the narrator. And he talks. Constantly. About everything. Very very long descriptions of meals and foods & preparation. His thoughts constantly leading the way of a man who loves food, and is very opinionated. It is a good story. Excellent narration on audible. But not the hallmark version. I have no regrets listening to this and would recommend it to the right reader.

[Eugene · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with the first of these “culinary detective” mysteries I read (Death al Dente, #4), there is just a soupçon of pedantry here, with the chef’s argot and gourmet one-uppery etc, but the story is of interest, the pages turn easily, and sitting at a table reading it with a bottle of nice wine opened and ready to pour, well, it’s a “good read”…Interestingly, I looked up the series online and was amazed to learn that there was a movie/video/TV series featuring Henry “Gourmet Detective” Ross - and yes it’s our man, altho’ our man is never mentioned by name in the books. Perhaps I’ll run across one someday.
In this first outing, the gourment detective is hired to find out who is trying to ruin the restaurant of one of London’s finest chefs; while the detective at first suspects another, jealous chef of the evil-doings (they’re bitter rivals), he comes to discover that this chef is fighting a similar battle against sabotage and innuendo. And while it’s Scotland Yard who eventually crack the case, the gourment detective gives us a front row seat at the proceedings.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not being a gourmet (or even a gourmand) and not being able to afford gourmet foods or fine wines or champagnes, some of this book was beyond my experience to even imagine. Still, I did learn a lot and most "foodies" could appreciate some of the references. I must say, this was, hands down, the most surprising and creative way to murder someone I've ever come across! Good mystery. Interesting premise and creative setting. The author is obviously knowledgeable about food, wine, restaurants, books and music (or has an excellent research assistant!) There was a peek into the restaurant world that was a bit frightening but all in all, an enjoyable book. I also got lots of ideas about other mysteries to look for. Food and books. Wine and music. Perfect combination.mmm

[Lori Puma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is 80% description of food and 20% mystery. The clues and the unraveling of the mystery are interesting. The in-depth descriptions of food and wine are less so. The restaurant worldbuilding is very realistic.

Murder at 29%. Scotland Yard recruits the Gourmet Detective

I didn’t like how the protagonist was constantly describing women by noting how they could improve their appearance. This book treats women like hard-boiled detective stories do. Not surprising because around a dozen fictional detectives are name-checked throughout the story. But weird for a cozy to treat women so poorly, when most cozy readers are female.

1st person POV. Murder occurs at an event

The protagonist is never given a first or last name. Only referred to as The Gourmet Detective.

[Denise]

The Gourmet Detective goes from place to place on behalf of restaurants to find uncommon ingredients. In this book he is asked by the police to use his knowledge of the restaurant business to help sniff out a killer.

The reason that I bought this book was because I had seen the movie and enjoyed it immensely. The characters were different in the book and I didn't like them as much as in the movie. In the movie, there was delious tension between our gourmet detective and the female detective. The book fails to convey this tension, which only adds to the mystery.
If you like reading about gourmet food and how it's prepared, this is your book.
While I give the movie four stars, the book only receives one.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book after having watched some made-for-TV movies by the same name. The movies are clearly based on this series, but they've updated the characters and moved the whole thing from London -- where the books are set -- to San Francisco (I think).

I'm unsure whether I'll continue with the book series but I enjoyed this one well enough, even having a clue about some of the plot twists from having seen the movie. I wasn't keen on when he spent a few pages describing the dinner he was cooking and the music he was having with it, but I suppose that's part of the attraction for a lot of fans of this sort of cozy. It didn't actually give any recipes, however.