AUTHOR JEANNETTE DE BEAUVOIR ON FOOD AND THE MYSTERY PROTAGONIST

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Jeannette de Beauvoir is a novelist specializing in mystery and historical fiction, and a published poet, who lives and works at the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Learn more about her and her books at her website.

Food and the Mystery Protagonist

I love to eat. I love great food, unusual food, comfort food. I’ve rarely met a mushroom or a cheese I didn’t immediately take to, and cooking is almost always a delight. (And when it’s not, it’s an adventure!)

 

So when I read a novel that refers to food, my ears perk up.

 

As mystery readers, we’ve all had moments of disappointment with certain stories. For some, it’s when a clue doesn’t pan out. For others, when a character isn’t fully defined. For me, disappointment comes when characters have lunch, or go out to dinner, or even fix a snack… and the author doesn’t tell us what they had to eat. Wait, come back! I want to know every juicy culinary detail!

 

As a mystery writer who loves food, I never leave any of those out, to the point where my editor once reminded me that the story wasn’t just about fine dining. (Though to be fair, that’s a story I’d love to write.) Since I situate my books in real places, I almost always use real establishments and their menus for my characters’ meals—which has, of course, an obvious advantage for the writer, who must naturally sample said meals for verisimilitude’s sake!

 

There’s a wonderful story, possibly apocryphal, about the romantic thriller writer Phyllis Whitney. It was said that she would decide where she next wanted to go on vacation… and then set her upcoming novel there. I personally think that’s a terrific idea; and I certainly employ it in terms of food. What Provincetown restaurant would I like to try next? Time to send my protagonist Sydney there to check it out!

 

And I do share every detail… from pan bagnat at the Race Point Inn to pastries at the Portuguese bakery; from sips of her favorite Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine to her boyfriend Ali’s usual fruit juices. (He’s Muslim and doesn’t drink alcohol.) Sydney exults in finding the best food around and sharing it with friends and visitors—and readers—alike, and I get to remember the taste of all the meals I describe. It’s a win for both of us.

 

One of Provincetown’s great restaurants, a true institution in town since 1979, and a Sydney favorite is The Lobster Pot. The restaurant published a cookbook back in the 1990s (which I still use today), and on one of the pages I found this: “What makes The Lobster Pot work? Perhaps it can be summed up in the two words that pretty much describe the whole Provincetown experience for so many people every summer: magic and love.”

 

Mystery novels by their very nature take us to dark places, where the context of our stories include envy, greed, and hatred. It’s the nature of the genre, and it performs an important function, that of giving us a space where justice really does exist, where the world can actually be a fair place. But we still need balance to that darkness, and I think those words sum up the extras that mystery novelists add to the darkness. Magic and love. 

 

And for me, both of those have always involved… food!

 

The Honeymoon Homicides: A Provincetown Mystery

Sydney Riley Series, Book 10

 

Sydney Riley and her longtime boyfriend Ali have finally tied the knot—but an uninvited corpse crashes the reception. Undaunted, she and her brand-new husband leave for their honeymoon in the dunes of Cape Cod’s National Seashore. But even in this deserted location, Sydney uncovers clues that might have a bearing on the wedding fiasco—and put Ali’s life in danger. Can she find the murderer(s) before Ali is harmed, or will a week in the dunes be her only memory of their married life? 

 

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--WHEN MYSTERY AUTHOR MARILYN MEREDITH WRITES WHILE HUNGRY

Marilyn Meredith is the author of more than forty published books including the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, and writing as F. M. Meredith, the Rocky Bluff P.D. series. Learn more about her and her books at her website and blog.

Including Food in my Mysteries

One thing that always bugs me when I’m reading a book is when the characters eat and nothing is said about what they ate, especially if they are eating in a restaurant. Lately, I did read a really good mystery where the heroine always ate the same thing. It worked because it was an important part of the story.

 

I enjoy reading about good food almost as much as I like eating really delicious meals either at home or in a restaurant. One thing I’ve learned is some of the best eating can be found in a small, locally owned place, often ethnic of some sort. 

 

And it follows, that I also enjoy writing about food. 

 

In my latest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery, The Trash Harem, Tempe and her husband travel to the city of Temecula to help a friend, Jonathan Reynolds, who is the only suspect in a murder case. The friend and his wife host Tempe and Hutch while they are there. The wife, Samantha, is a great cook and of course I felt compelled to write about the meals she served, and there a lot.

 

Looking back, I can’t help but wonder if I was hungry when I sat down at the computer to write this tale. 

 

When Tempe and Hutch arrive at the Reynolds’ home, their first meal is lunch which consisted of a salad of crisp greens, chilled asparagus spears, tomatoes, green onions, black olives, mushrooms, garbanzo beans, and artichoke hearts, served with sliced sourdough bread and olive oil and vinegar for dipping. (Old Town Temecula, a shop is famous for their various olive oils and vinegars.)

 

Neighbors who might also be murder suspects are invited to dinner to meet Tempe and Hutch. Samantha has prepared Beef Burgundy to eat over rice, Chicken Alfredo with noodles, and crème brûlée for dessert.

 

One evening the two couples dine at a small restaurant in Old Town and enjoy clam chowder abd fish and chips, while Tempe chooses lobster tacos.

 

The Reynolds and their guests are invited to dinner at a winery restaurant by the son of the murder victim who orders the most expensive item on the menu a Bouillabaisse. The others enjoy Beef Bourguignon and Coq Au Vin.

 

The final get-together with all the suspects is a fancy luncheon that begins with a veggie tray and tomato bisque, followed by interesting sandwiches made with unusual breads, a variety of fillings such as thinly sliced chicken with cheddar cheese, avocado and bean sprouts, cucumbers and cream cheese, pimiento cheese and chives, and sliced boiled eggs with avocado. A cheese board, nuts, cookies and fresh blackberries and whipped cream are served while Tempe brings everyone up to date on her investigation, Agatha Christie style.

 

And of course, there were always beverages at these meals, sometimes freshly made lemonade, different fancy iced teas, and various wines.

 

I think I may be hungry when I’m writing, and going over all the food that I included in the book has made me hungry now,

 

My editor said she wouldn’t eat a lot of the food I wrote about. I’m just the opposite; I like to try anything edible. What about you? Do you like to read about food in the books you read? 

The Trash Harem

A Tempe Crabtree Mystery, Book 19

 

Deputy Tempe Crabtree has retired from her job in Bear Creek when friends, who once lived in Bear Creek and attended Pastor Hutch’s church, ask her to visit them in Temecula. The husband, Jonathan, is a suspect in what might be a murder case. The retirement community includes many interesting characters, any of whom might have had a better motive than Jonathan. There is also a connection to Erle Stanley Gardner as well as the Pechanga Old Oak. What is a trash harem? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--MYSTERY AUTHOR TRACEE DE HAHN TALKS ABOUT FOOD IN HER BOOKS

Fondue on the Menu

Mystery author Tracee de Hahn is preparing to sail to Europe this fall with her two Jack Russells…where her husband promises to be waiting with new dog toys! Before she leaves, she’s stopping by to talk about food in her books. Learn more about Tracee and her books at her website. 

Food is important to daily life but I don’t consciously think about it when I begin writing. Or at least I didn’t think I did. Looking back, food….. and beverage if we’re being honest – seep in. In my series set in Switzerland, Agnes Lüthi meets her difficult mother-in-law halfway over food. In A Well-Timed Murder, a baking frenzy is an indication of trouble ahead, while at the same time sharing one of the warm loaves strike an accord between the two women. A peanut allergy is also at the heart of A Well-Time Murder, which on reflection may say more about my interest in food than I’d admitted to myself!

My husband is Swiss and we lived there for several years, so I am familiar with the classic dishes of the country. Rösti, spaetzli, and tarts prepared with leeks or rhubarb feature prominently. And, of course, fondue. Food can say a great deal about a culture and fondue is no exception. This classic melted cheese dish is a collective endeavor with family and friends sitting around a shared pot. It speaks volumes about the agrarian history of the Swiss, and the lives of small communities or those living in high mountain pastures where cooking over an open fire, and dipping into a shared pot, were a necessity (Switzerland also has a strong history of soups).

The Swiss cow is famous worldwide and it’s no wonder that fondue is, in essence, melted cheese. My favorite is a half and half mix of two cheeses: Gruyeres and Vacherin. This classic Moitié-Moitié (half and half) is rich and flavorful. A clove of garlic is often wiped around the pot before melting the cheese and a dash of white wine, kirsch or dry sherry is incorporated at the end. You may either dip a cube of French bread into the pot or spoon the cheese over small boiled potatoes. Either way, add a dash of pepper for a final touch. (Even my Swiss husband agrees that American grocery stores now sell very good pre-packaged fondue mixes in their dairy department. An easy way to sample without having to do more than melt and serve.)

The typical accompaniment to fondue includes dried meats and salami, cornichons, and pickles. You may serve white wine, soft drinks or hot tea alongside the hot cheese, but never water, as the water doesn’t mix well with fondue in the stomach. Save the water for an hour afterwards! If you have room for dessert, try vanilla ice cream topped with vin cuit (wine cooked down until it is a thick syrup and available in specialty stores) and a crisp meringue.

Many American households have fondue pots, particularly after the concentrated effort made by the Swiss to market the product worldwide in the 1970s (all because of the Cheese Mafia….. truly).

Currently I’m working on a mystery set in Kentucky, where I grew up. A scan through my draft mentions the Hot Brown (open faced sandwich with ham and turkey, topped by a sliced tomato, cheese sauce and slices of bacon) and Kentucky Bourbon. I’ve taken my interest in food to a new level, giving my heroine a distillery as part of her inheritance!

Food and beverage not only clue a reader (and writer) into location, but they illuminate the lives of the characters. Are they silver and china or a leg of fried chicken wrapped in a napkin, people? Do they drink hot chocolate topped by three inches of real cream (and likely live in either Venice or Austria) or do they eye a bottle of bourbon when the sun goes down?

Despite the heat of summer, I think that later this week when we have a guest for dinner, he will find fondue on the menu. I’ll call it a tribute to my Swiss husband, but really it’s because now I think that would taste good!

A Well Timed Murder

Swiss-American police officer Agnes Lüthi is on leave in Lausanne, Switzerland, recovering from injuries she sustained in her last case, when an old colleague invites her to the world’s premier watch and jewelry trade show at the grand Messe Basel Exhibition Hall. Little does Agnes know, another friend of hers, Julien Vallotton, is at the same trade show, and he’s looking for Agnes. Julien Vallotton was friends with Guy Chavanon, a master of one of Switzerland’s oldest arts: watchmaking. Chavanon died a week ago, and his daughter doesn’t believe his death was accidental. Shortly before he died, Chavanon boasted that he’d discovered a new technique that would revolutionize the watchmaking industry, and she believes he may have been killed for it. Reluctantly, Agnes agrees to investigate his death. But the world of Swiss watchmaking is guarded and secretive, and before she realizes it, Agnes may be walking straight into the path of a killer.

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