Review by C.J. Bunce
The foodie detectives are back, back for six more “episodes” where they undercover, in good cozy mystery style, lost recipes for foods brought to them by those who have chance encountered the detective agency’s very existence. In an unmarked backstreet building in Kyoto, Japan, retired cop and widower Nagare Kamogawa and his 30-something daughter Koishi only advertise via a single, cryptic line in the ad column of a gourmet magazine, with no actual contact information. What they offer is the re-creation of a memory via a dish from your past. I reviewed the 2013 bestselling novel The Kamogawa Food Detectives, here at borg, followed by his 2014 novel The Restaurant of Lost Recipes here. Translator Jesse Kirkwood has brought the next volume to Random House/G.P. Putnam’s Sons, The Kamogawa Food Detectives: Menu of Happiness, available now here at Amazon.
How do these next six cases compare to the first twelve?
As with the first and second books in the series, these quaint, short, palm-sized stories of two people using their skills to help strangers find themselves via self-reflection and nostalgia aren’t what Western readers would typically think of as mysteries. Filled with Japanese cuisine and brief trips to neighborhood-level Japan past and present, the mystery is uncovered off the page by master chef Nagare. Each chapter follows the exact same formula as in the first book, which makes the narrative exactly like watching an episode of a Hallmark TV drama. If the second book seemed routine, it was probably because that approach actually works in these stories’ favor.
First the stranger finds his or her way to the restaurant. Next, they sample food from whatever Nagare has prepared for the day. During this segment it’s really not about the food–we learn a little about the new client guest. Then Koishi gives a brief interview to each new guest, inquiring the details of what they remember about the food, where they ate it and when, even with whom in some cases. Koishi schedules an appointment for them to return in two weeks, then she discusses the details with her father, and he leaves to begin his research. The next paragraph is the guest returning to sample the meal (usually) two weeks later. Usually in one sentence Nagare says something that reflects some life issue the guest has, which is intended to resonate with the guest. We never learn more of the guest and the next chapter moves on to the next guest. Repeat five more times. Drowsy, the cat on the cover, is back, too. Somebody let this cat inside! If it was grueling to read in the first and second books, now it’s a bit humorous and we’d miss Drowsy’s scene if the author left it out.
But by the third volume it’s clear that author Kashiwai, a trained dentist and writer about Kyoto, is actually getting better with each volume. His descriptions are more vivid. He’s even exploring the dishware in his simple restaurant more in this book, including a visit from the man who supplies it. Kashiwai’s knowledge of both Japanese history and food styles past and present are astounding. You might ask: How is a dentist so knowledgeable in these areas as easily as you ask how a retired police detective is so knowledgeable in these areas.
As with the first two books Nagare surprises the guests by digging deep into their pasts to uncover more information than the guest was willing to provide, but never in a negative way. The entire action (again) happens off the page, which means the story is completely devoid of any mystery trope material. Does the recounting of a mystery by a character make this a mystery series? It has subject matter, but without any of the tropes. That’s what makes this series unique. Although it has less at stake than your average Hallmark TV mystery series, readers still will feel the tugs at Nagare digging deep into the pasts of his clients, however briefly.
How would a writers room take on this subject as a TV series? Could it be made into something that stays fresh with each episode? You’ll want to imagine the fun of following Nagare off the page as he explores the streets of Japan, interviewing people about long-gone restaurants, people who moved away decades ago, and experiences long-removed from the map from any number of reasons. This volume includes people returning from their college years, trying to re-create dishes eaten with their parent or a surrogate parent, a dish sought out by a famous writer, and for a last moment thinking of a lost love. The dishes that set Nagare off on his research only a retired person could accomplish include kake soba (a noodle soup), curry and rice, yakisoba (also a noodle dish), gyoza (a type of dumpling), omurice (fried rice topped with an omelet and usually catsup), and croquettes.
Yes, Nagare and his daughter have little to no character arc over the 600 pages of the series. Maybe the comfort of knowing the characters you’re returning to will be there waiting, unchanged and without disruption of angst is the very reason to come back for more? The series screams for recipes to be included in an appendix. The ingredients and high level details of the recipes are practically included in the text, so hopefully a recipe book will follow soon. Translator Jesse Kirkwood again keeps the pleasant tone and English swaps for Japanese sayings completely easy to understand and relate to.
A good partner with both the Geek Anime Cookbook (reviewed here) and The Unofficial Ghibli Cookbook (reviewed here), pick up your copy of the English editions of The Kamogawa Food Detectives, available now here at Amazon, its first sequel, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes available here, and this new volume The Kamogawa Food Detectives: Menu of Happiness, available now here at Amazon. Read it now, as we’ll be publishing an early review in the coming weeks of the fourth book in the series, The Kamogawa Food Detectives: A Serving of Hope, available for pre-order now here at Amazon and on its way to bookstores in October 2026.
