A sweet book telling different customers food memories as the chef tries to recreate them. Certainly made me want to try more Japanese food. Each story focussed on one fish and its successful recreation.

Excellent read five stars I loved this was such a cozy read I love translated stories and this was perfect!

When I started reading this I did find it a bit slow. I think I was expecting restaurant owners who were detectives on the side rather than chefs trying to recreate food. Note to self read the blurb properly. Once I was clear about the story it all started to make sense. Set in Kyoto where Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, a former police officer, run the Kamogawa Diner where they help customers create dishes that have special memories for them although not always good ones.

There were quite a few dishes/ingredients that I had to google as I’d never heard of them before but that wasn’t really the important thing. What is important is how certain food provide links to past memories and future happiness. Six separate stories that follow the same format of meeting the restauranteurs and discussing the food then a return visit to sample the recreated dish.

A very cozy and quick read it was quite emotional in places, I found the case of the grandfather with dementia very moving. A charming little book about life, memories and loss and the way that food is so important in helping come to terms with the past. It is a little repetitive in that each story follows the same format but there are subtle nuances in each story. A gentle book and I enjoyed it and yes this one really does have a cat in it!

‘Excuse me. I’m looking for a restaurant round here. The Kamogawa Diner, I think it’s called.’

For fans of ‘Before the Coffee Gets Cold’, I recommend Kashiwai’s debut. With cosy detective vibes and a plethora of unctuous descriptions of food, this is the perfect cosy Autumn read.

Do you have a dish that constantly plays on your mind? Does it, perhaps, link to a nostalgic, painful or joyous event from your past? These are the questions that father and daughter duo aim to provide answers for. Down a nondescript alley in Kyoto, Koishi and her father Nagare serve exquisite dishes and, if you know the right questions to ask, a service tracking down dishes from yesteryear.

Very reminiscent of ‘Before the Coffee Gets Cold’, Kashiwai splits this delightful novel into sections, each focusing on a different customer’s request. Many are heartwarming in nature, from the widow longing to taste his late wife’s noodle dish to a businessman looking to recreate a mackerel sushi made for him when he was a young and lonely boy. Each chapter is presented neatly; problem, resolution and some sort of moral musing on life and the human condition. Oh, and with a ton of mouthwatering food descriptions thrown in, too.

Whilst I think this made a great light and cosy read, the chapters weren’t quite punchy enough for me to like this as much as the novel it’s compared to. The stories are sweet and brought a smile to my face, but they were all over a little quickly, and wrapped up a little too neatly. Perhaps this has something to do with the translation, or perhaps I’m looking for depth in a novel that isn’t designed to provide that - all I know is that, for me, this was a tasty offering, but not a meal I’ll be remembering for years to come.

Only gave four stars because of my disappointment that the book ended when it did. I wanted to hear more about the characters’ stories and find out how they ended.
The book evoked amazing thoughts of Japan and its amazing food. I quickly grew to love the two main characters and was intrigued by those in supporting roles.
I chose this book because I was intrigued to read something different and I wasn’t disappointed.

I loved this book. I loved the concept, the characters, the setting and the food. The idea of sourcing and recreating memorable meals exactly as they were creates such scope for imagination. The father and daughter who run the secret restaurant set the scene for a gentle yet entertaining story.
Thank you to both the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A book similar in format to the “Before the coffee gets cold” series. It is a number of short stories linked together by the protagonists wanting to recreate a certain food or taste from their memories. Sadly, as I know little about Japanese food the descriptions of the food were lost on me, but for a connoisseur I believe they would be interesting. I could appreciate how the food and ingredients were valued and the best was always important. The clients would come to the cafe, feel it would not provide them with their answers, eat a wonderful taster menu and then tell the start of their story. They would then come back some time later, be offered the food of their dreams with some extra anecdotes about how the taste had been recreated and some of the background to what had happened in the lives of the people concerned. This format works well.

There is something gentle or maybe slower about the book and so if you are looking for a fast moving melodrama this is not the book for you. It is well described without too much description and it is about people’s lives and memories. The clients invariably leave the diner with the reader feeling positive about their next steps in life. An enjoyable foray into another culture.

Although I usually really like these types of Japanese books, I couldn't connect much with this one.

I have been reading several books that are of the "comfort" style and the truth is that I have really liked them. Like Before the Coffee Goes Cold, or Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, or What You Are Looking for Is in the Library, but with this particular book I couldn't connect at all and the stories felt a little dense at times.

The writing is good, the stories themselves are interesting and how everything is linked to food seems great to me, plus we learn a lot about Japanese culture and customs.

However, I am not going to say that it is a bad book because it is not. Maybe, in three or five years I will read it again and love it, because I think they are those types of books that are not enough to be read once.

Thanks Pan Macmillan for the ARC I read through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.25⭐️

If you enjoyed, before the coffee gets cold series, you will enjoy this. It was such a comforting, feel-good read that really highlighted the power of good food and the memories/feelings it can evoke.

Hidden in the streets of Kyoto you will find the Kamogawa Diner where an ex detective and his daughter can re create dishes that mean something to you and all you need to do is tell them what you can remember including how you felt and anything else relating to that memory of the dish.

The central conceit of this book is that there is a tiny diner in the Japanese city of Kyoto run by a father and daughter who create specialised dishes for people which will take them back to the past and allow them to relive memorable events.

Yes, it does sound a bit like Before the Coffee Gets Cold but it doesn’t quite have the deftness of touch of the Kawaguchi trilogy, although if you want to know more about Japanese food it might be an interesting introduction.

The weakness of the book is the repetitious nature of the plots where person turns up with recollection of wonderful meal, the daughter, Koishi, interviews person and father, Nagare, goes off travelling and coincidentally finds someone who knew the cook or has the old recipe. Then there’s a bit of father-daughter joshing and that’s it.

The book has been a bestseller in Japan but could struggle to be of interest to English readers.

‘Kamogawa Diner  –  Kamogawa Detective Agency  –  We Find Your Food. - advert, ‘Gourmet Monthly’”

My thanks to Pan Macmillan Mantle for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Kamogawa Food Detectives’ by Hisashi Kashiwai. It is translated from the Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood.

What a mouth-watering delight this little book was! I was so pleased to see that ‘The Kamogawa Food Detectives’ is the first book in a Japanese sleuthing series. It’s not crimes that are being solved in this delightful cosy mystery but lost dishes.

Located in a quiet backstreet in Kyoto is a very special restaurant. The Kamogawa Diner is run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare. Its customers are treated to wonderfully extravagant meals, though some customers stop by for another reason. 

The father-daughter duo have started advertising their services in Gourmet Monthly as 'food detectives'. Through ingenious investigations, they are capable of recreating dishes from their customers' pasts – dishes that may well hold the keys to unlocking their forgotten memories and possibly a path to a more contented future.

This is made up of what is essentially six linked short stories, each one focused on a customer’s request for a specific dish.

I definitely can see this book appealing to readers who enjoy the ‘Before the Coffee Gets Cold’ series. It is quite whimsical and proved a quick, easy read.

Overall, ‘The Kamogawa Food Detectives’ was a charming, cosy read. However, I will warn that the yummy descriptions of dishes can lead to tummy rumblings. I hope that the publishers will be making other books in the series available to English readers.

This book was difficult to rate. If on the one hand I didn't like the writing so much, on the other there were stories that really captivated me.

If I had to describe this book, I'd say it's "before the coffee gets cold" x "Hercule Poirot" (but in food detective mood). If you want a light book to read at the weekend, this is clearly the book for you.

Another thing I wish were different is that the cat Drowsy appeared more often. I'd like him to play a part in the story and, in this book at least, he doesn't.

I loved this book. At first I did not think I would as it seemed a really surreal concept and I was unsure but as the book unfolded it became clearer what the concept was and how it worked. I loved each story and each one had a separate chapter which kept the pace going. My favourite was still the very last story.
I highly recommend this book and hope there are more to come.

Great read for anyone who likes charming mysteries and food.

A lovely depiction of Japanese food, simple stories of detective work and some nice descriptions of Japan. Makes you want to visit.

A series of short episodic stories, perfect to whet the appetite!

This is such a lovely cosy read, a good book to dip into as the days shorten, but don't read it if you're the slightest bit hungry! I listened to the audiobook at night as well and fell asleep to the sound of my stomach growling!

The book is made up of chapters or parts centring around a dish, behind each dish is a character who finds the elusive Kamogawa Food Detective Agency, in a small diner, the diner run by a retired detective, and the agency run by his daughter. For each customer who finds them, wanting to relive a part of their past through a particular dish they remember, Kioshi, the daughter, takes the details of the dish, the setting, and what they can remember, and her father, Nagare, does the legwork, culminating in the recreation of the dish and the customer discovering as they eat it, why it was so important to them in the first place.

As the customer eats the dish Nagare cooks, the food descriptions are vivid, the sourcing of the ingredients, descriptions of the cooking method, not necessarily enough for the readeer/listener to recreate the dish themselves, but it was certainly enough to make my mouth water, and make me want to try.

This is a short book, and easy to read or listen to in parts as the story behind each character and dish are self-contained, though Nagare and Kioshi's thread binds them together. The only thing I would have liked more of is more backstory or depth to Nagare and Kioshi, their relationship, the origins of the diner, and where they might be heading. We get to see the customer's stories and motivations unfold, but, while little details are revealed about the two proprietors here and there, sprinkled in, much like Drowsy the cat's appearances, we end the book still knowing very little about them. I wonder what their chosen dishes would be?

Poignant in places, touching, and lovingly told, I recommend this to anyone who loves Japanese fiction, Japanese food, food as memory, nostalgia, and bittersweet stories.

What a fabulous Book, Kaishi & her father Nagare run a hidden Restaurant in Kyoto from where they also run the Kamogawa Food Detective agency , they also have a cat called Drowsy ! People come to them to source Foods that stand out in their memories from Nabeyaki-Udon , Mackerel Sushi, to Nikujaga Stew. It is full of interesting characters, wonderful dishes that make me hunger for Japan & our family there. I hope this is the first of many about this wonderful establishment it a truly magical part of the world , I highly recommend it hence the five stars & I would happily given it more. #NetGalley, #Goodreads, #Amazon.co.uk, #FB, #Instagram,#<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/8a5b541512e66ae64954bdaab137035a5b2a89d2" width="80" height="80" alt="200 Book Reviews" title="200 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>.

A comforting read with some really lovely bittersweet stories. The fabulous descriptions of food made me very hungry and really wanting to visit my favourite Japanese restaurant very soon!

However the book overall with it's six separate cases was very formulaic and so repetitive it did begin to lose it's charm quite quickly.

A pleasant way to spend an afternoon nonetheless.

As my life continues to be a whirlwind of manic mayhem my reading of physical/kindle books is bordering on non existent... and I always get a sense of guilt when I'm not reading so I raided my Netgalley shelf (as it's been frighteningly neglected) for a short book that wouldn't seem such a daunting task....
....and that's when I found this gorgeous cosy read.

🎌Set in Japan, Koishi and her father Nagare run a purposely under the radar restaurant that doubles up as a Food detective agency where folk go to unlock troubles in their lives by tasking Nagare to recreate dishes from their past.

🍜The descriptions of the delicious dishes has been a fascinating part of the book for me, I know so little about Japanese cuisine...now I'm desperate to try some.

This little, cosy and intelligent story of mysteries is the perfect cure for anyone who wants a quick read or something to pull them out of a slump

Thanks to my glorious cat teddy for his amusing facial expression in my pic....a little nod to the lovely cat named Drowsy in the story

I loved the concept behind these stories. A simple one line advert in a food magazine leads clients to a strange looking restaurant in Kyoto where Koishi and her father, Nagare, try to recreate meals from the client’s memory. Each story has 2 parts, the initial meal in the restaurant and chat with Koishi and the return a fortnight later to sample the meal in question.
If you are a lover of Japanese food I’m sure this will delight your senses. I don’t know much about it so found all the references to the different foods and flavours a little trying to be honest. The stories themselves are lovely but they do get very repetitive. Even on the 3rd story the format begins to grate. Having said that I think this would make a lovely TV series. It would be nice to see detectives solving menus rather than murders.
This is a nice, well written and short book that I gladly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a review.

This was such a comforting, heartwarming tale. I loved the idea of finding a food that was linked to such a significant memory for the characters. I enjoyed reading their stories.

The descriptions of the food were mouthwatering! It made me so hungry for Japanese food. Sometimes I felt like the descriptions were a bit drawn out, but I could understand it as well because they were trying to help the reader visualise the food.