Publication date February 13, 2024

Summary

Nagare Kamogawa and his daughter, Koishi, run the Kamogawa Diner and Food Detective Agency in Kyoto.  The restaurant isn’t on any apps or maps and there’s no sign outside. People find them by word of mouth or through a cryptic ad in a gourmet magazine. Nagare was once a police detective, but now he dedicates his life to food. Some people come to him for a good meal, and some people come to him because they want him to find the recipe for a favorite meal from their past. 

Each chapter represents a new food investigation for a new client. There’s Hideshi who wants to taste the nabeyaki-udon his wife made, but she’s been dead for 15 years, and he never paid attention to how she prepared it. Tomomi wants to once again taste the mackerel sushi a neighbor made for him as a child. Each customer comes and tells Koishi all the details that they can remember about the food, then Nagare spends two weeks putting his detective skills to the test and when the customer returns he prepares them the meal they sought.

My Thoughts

This was one of the first NetGalley books I requested last August when  I first learned about NetGalley. I saw the cover and title and knew I needed to read it. Because I skipped the book summary, I admit I was expecting a traditional murder mystery set in a Japanese restaurant. Instead, I found a detective who tracks down recipes. Apparently, you can judge a book by its cover, because this book is delightful!

We never really learn much about the characters. We know that Nagare is a retired detective who turned to food after his wife died five years earlier, and that he is still devoted to his wife. Koishi is proud of her father and resents people who don’t recognize his skills. 

The details in this story focus on the food – the ingredients, the flavors, the smells, even the plating. We learn where the ingredients are sourced and how the same food is prepared differently in different regions of the country. We learn about how subtle changes in preparation affect the food. We hear about the different teas served to enhance the meals. The descriptions were very evocative.

Each time a plate of food arrived, the author named the design of the serving dish. Not being familiar with Japanese pottery, I kept a phone nearby, so I could google them. With the actual pictures of the styles, it helped me create a mental picture of the scene.

The atmosphere also comes from the depictions of Kyoto, and from the wardrobes of the restaurant’s guests. I have a sketchy image of what the Kamogawa restaurant looks like, but I can very much visualize the individual guests. 

I loved the portrayal of Japanese food culture in this book. It gives a sense of the customs and rituals. 

There is a sense of the magical in this book. Kamogawa called it fate that the people who needed his services were able to track him down. He always seemed to know just what the customer needed to eat on their first visit.

You might enjoy this book if you –

• are a foodie
• are interested in Japanese culture
• are open to non-traditional mysteries

You might want to skip this book if you –

• want traditional murder mysteries

• want to bond emotionally with the characters

• get bored by detailed descriptions of food

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating 4/5

About the Author

Hisashi Kashiwai was born in Kyoto, Japan. He graduated from Osaka School of Dentistry before returning to Kyoto where he works as a dentist. He has written extensively about Kyoto and collaborated on TV programs and for magazines. The Kamogawa Food Detectives is the first in this series that has been translated into English.

Jesse Kirkwood has translated 9 books from Japanese into English. He is the recipient of the 2020 Harvill Secker Young Translators’ Prize.