Murder in the East End (2020) Jennifer Ashley (Kat Holloway) Set in London in 1882 Daniel has once again come to Kat Holloway seeing assistance in dealing with a problem–in this case a woman and several children are missing from a foundling house, and Daniel’s brother (of a sort) came to him for assistance. “Daniel […]
Death in Kew Gardens (2019) Jennifer Ashley (Kat Holloway) Set in London in 1881 Kat Holloway and the rest of the staff have been working hard, since Lady Cynthia’s aunt keeps refusing to hire a new housekeeper. Unfortunately, the woman she finally hires is a complete nightmare. When the gentleman next door is murdered, everything […]
Scandal Above Stairs (2018) Jennifer Ashley (Kat Holloway Mysteries) Set in London in 1881 Kat Holloway is still cook at Lord Rankin’s house, even though he has retired to the country, Lady Cynthia remains, and to give her countenance, her aunt and uncle are living with her. Kat and the rest of the staff may […]
Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in England in 1812. After reading Death Below Stairs I wanted to re-read a favorite of mine that also features a woman working as a cook in historical Britain. Every time I read this I love it a little bit more–there is just so very much […]
Death Below Stairs (2018) Jennifer Ashley (Kat Holloway) Set in London in 1881. I read the novella A Soupçon of Poison awhile ago, and when I didn’t find a novel immediately, forgot about it. Kat Halloway has just taken a position as cook for Lord Rankin. She is relatively young for her position, but sought […]
Dine with Me (2019) Layla Reyne Miller Sykes rose in the food world until he had his own restaurant. But now the restaurant is closing, his best friend is getting married, and according to the doctor he has 6 months to live if he doesn’t get his cancer treated. But the treatment (if it works) […]
Grilled Cheese and Goblins (2018) Nicole Kimberling Keith Curry is a food inspector for NATO’s Irregulars Affairs Division (NIAD). He may carry a mage gun, but most of the time his tools are thermometers and glasses that allow him to see the supernatural. This book is six interlinked stories. “Cherries Worth Getting” “Cookie Jamboree” “The […]
Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener Set in London in 1812. This is my favorite book in this series–and I like the other two books quite well. Giselle Barrington has seen her father murdered for the secrets her carries. She manages to escape back to London, but does not know who she can turn to, […]
Delicious (2008) Sherry Thomas Set in England in 1892. This was a fun story–and one full of loving descriptions of food. It also has main characters who are middle aged (30s may not sound middle aged nowdays, but it would have been at a time when most people died in their 50s and 60s.) Verity […]
Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener Set in England in 1812. Giselle Barrington has spent her life following her father around Europe, collecting folklore and working secretly for the Crown. She’s developed her own strange passion: food, recipes, and cooking. “What do you do with the recipes?” The woman looked genuinely interested now. “I’m compiling […]
The Complete Cooking For Two Cookbook (2014) America’s Test Kitchen In the past couple years I started to take cooking more seriously. I’ve always loved baking, but cooking? Not so much. On a whim I picked up a couple of cooking for two books, to see if not having to eat the same meal for […]
Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener Set in London in 1812 Giselle Barrington is the daughter of a folklorist with a fascination for cooking. “What do you do with the recipes?” The woman looked genuinely interested now. “I’m compiling a reference work of dishes from the cultures of Europe. But mainly I follow them.” “Follow […]
A Soupçon of Poison (2015) Ashley Gardener Set in London in 1880 Kat Holloway is a cook for Sir Lionel Leigh-Bradbury, and although the position isn’t ideal in pay, he agreed to her request for an unusual number of days out, so she stays, even when he begins to make unusual and ridiculous demands. But […]
Tender at the Bone (1998) Ruth Reichl I’ve heard Ruth Reichl interviewed several times, and I’d heard her relate stories that were excerpts of the book, so I eventually picked up the book, but then it languished on the shelf for an embarrassingly long time. Here’s the bit I heard that first drew my attention […]
In Defense of Food: An Easter’s Manifesto (2008) Michael Pollan After reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma I picked up In Defense of Food to see what he had to say about the Western Diet and what most Americans eat. OK. I have to admit that I didn’t particularly learn a lot reading this book, because I’ve […]