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A review by sweekune
The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
⭐ 4/5 ⭐
A plain yet intriguing restaurant hides in Kyoto. Inside Nagare and Koishi Kamogawa serve a variety of special foods. Their goal is to help people track down specific dishes and to recreate them for their clients.
- The structure of the book is very formulaic. Each chapter focuses on a different meal and customer. The customer arrives, samples the restaurants set menu, speaks to Koishi about the dish they're trying to find and then returns at a later date to see the results. I liked the predictable way it was formatted and how it provided structure to an otherwise ephemeral concept.
- The food is the star of this book and reminds me heavily of the manner in which Studio Ghibli presents food. Heavily and deliciously described, I felt nostalgic for foods I'd never heard of before and which I will never be able to try (allergies). I have often asked people in real life to describe how something I can't have tastes and they have almost always drawn a blank but this book gave me such a vivid feel for these foods.
- I enjoyed the banter and loving relationship the two Kamogawa's shared and kinda wish this was addressed more. I hope in the sequels we see more of the titular father-daughter duo.
If you like cosy books, with delicious food and low stakes/high reward mysteries, I highly recommend this book.
A plain yet intriguing restaurant hides in Kyoto. Inside Nagare and Koishi Kamogawa serve a variety of special foods. Their goal is to help people track down specific dishes and to recreate them for their clients.
- The structure of the book is very formulaic. Each chapter focuses on a different meal and customer. The customer arrives, samples the restaurants set menu, speaks to Koishi about the dish they're trying to find and then returns at a later date to see the results. I liked the predictable way it was formatted and how it provided structure to an otherwise ephemeral concept.
- The food is the star of this book and reminds me heavily of the manner in which Studio Ghibli presents food. Heavily and deliciously described, I felt nostalgic for foods I'd never heard of before and which I will never be able to try (allergies). I have often asked people in real life to describe how something I can't have tastes and they have almost always drawn a blank but this book gave me such a vivid feel for these foods.
- I enjoyed the banter and loving relationship the two Kamogawa's shared and kinda wish this was addressed more. I hope in the sequels we see more of the titular father-daughter duo.
If you like cosy books, with delicious food and low stakes/high reward mysteries, I highly recommend this book.