Recipes for a Mystery by KM Rockwood

Enjoyed for their twisting plots, red herrings, suspense, and revelation of secrets, mystery novels occupy a beloved place in modern fiction. Many are cozy mysteries that include recipes.

Too Many Cooks, in the Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout, published in 1938, is the first mystery novel I could find that contains actual recipes.

Dorothy Sayers’ 1930 novel A Strong Poison does have a judge reciting the recipe for an omelet, but it’s not presented as a recipe.

Today many cozy mysteries have a strong food connection. Much of the story may center around food. The protagonist can be a caterer, a baker, or otherwise be employed in food service. The demise of the victim might be traced to poisoning, choking, or allergies.

 Readers love hearing about the brave, smart, and relatable, and usually female protagonists who solve these mysteries. They also look forward to the recipes which will be included.

 Food and recipes have obvious potential roles in story development. In addition to being obviously useful conveyors of murder, they function as narrative tools—offering clues, enriching character, and setting mood.

Whether they are central to the plot or subtly layered into the background, recipes provide warmth, humanity, and comfortable familiarity to soften and contrast with the death and deception that is intrinsic to the genre.

Cozy mysteries invite readers to participate in the “who done it” aspect of the novel. When they contain recipes, they add an interactive element that invites the readers to immerse themselves in an additional component of the story. Who hasn’t read a particularly tempting recipe and then paused to think “Maybe I should try that?”

Recipes in mystery novels are far more than decorative flourishes.

 In modern cozy mysteries—a subgenre that favors amateur sleuths, small towns, and a light tone—recipes often play a direct role in solving crimes.

The way in which recipes and food are used provide a powerful tool in defining the amateur sleuth. Ethnic background, socio-economic levels, work ethic, problem-solving abilities, and interaction with others are exhibited in a fashion that intrigues the reader and avoids the dreaded “information dump.”

Cozy mysteries are set in comfortable settings which are disrupted by shocking events. Food service routines, like a family dinner or an afternoon tea, anchor the peaceful background even as the characters’ lives are roiled and descend into chaos. Festivals and other community events emphasize the usual tenor of the setting which has been disturbed by crime.

Recipes can broadcast comfort with foods such as soups and stews, or hint at the more exotic and daring.

The culinary mystery boom is one of the most popular subgenres in today’s mystery world, and shows little sign of losing its popularity any time soon.

To see some of the best contemporary “Recipes for a Mystery,” visit mysteryloverskitchen.com.