The Food Detective [Hardcover]

Judith Cutler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2006

When Josie Welford settles in an idyllic West Country village she honestly believes she can bury her past. She becomes the owner of the local pub, and becomes a thriving and welcome member of the community. That is until Inspector Nick Thomas, the man who put her husband in jail appears on the scene. But Nick has a new agenda and is no longer after Josie. In his new position as inspector for the Food Standards Agency, he convinces Josie to change her local suppliers, a far from popular move in the close-knit community. Almost immediately she finds herself ostracized. When the village vet disappears without a trace, Josie begins to wonder what the village and its erstwhile friendly occupants are the hiding? Reluctantly, she finds herself having to turn to Nick in order to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An unusual view of English life and an appealing heroine with a checkered past lift British author Cutler's latest culinary mystery, though some U.S. readers might wish they had a glossary for the West Country slang. Outsider Josie Welford, the new owner of the White Hart pub in Kings Duncombe ("an ugly hamlet in the back of beyond"), wants to improve the food and generally upgrade the place, but she fears the White Hart "would continue to be the exclusive preserve of old men with weak bladders and foul teeth." Soon after she changes local suppliers, she must contend with a series of peculiar incidents, including missing portaloos, troubles with staff, break-ins, unwanted deliveries and mixed-up telephone messages. With reluctance, the feisty, determined Josie turns for help to the new Food Standards inspector, former Det. Insp. Nick Thomas, who was responsible for putting her late husband in jail. Together they strive to uncover the mystery that lurks at the heart of the close-knit community. Cutler is also the author of the Sophie Rivers series (Dying Fall, etc.) and the Kate Power series (Power Shift, etc.)
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Review

Streetwise Josie is one of the rare women who can keep a secret for 20 years, has gumption and bravado. --Kirkus Reviews

"A rattling good read, splendidly entertaining" --Sherlock Magazine

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Allison & Busby (January 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074908328X
• ISBN-13: 978-0749083281
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,679,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars `The village doesn't always take to grockles.', January 23, 2009

By 

J. Cameron-Smith "Expect the Unexpected" (ACT, Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Food Detective (Hardcover)

Kings Duncombe is a village small enough for everyone to know everyone else's business, or so it seems, and insular enough to turn a blind eye to many transgressions. Josie Welford, the widow of one of Britain's most notorious criminals, hopes to make a fresh start in the village as the licensee of the local pub: the White Hart. Josie is more or less accepted because she has left the White Hart largely unchanged ... for now.

The status quo changes, though, when a former policeman from Josie's past makes an appearance. Nick is now an Inspector for the Food Standards Agency and causes Josie to wonder about the quality and provenance of the meat she is buying. As a consequence, Josie changes meat suppliers and this leads to a series of events which test Josie's determination and seem to turn the village upside down. Who is involved in what, and why?

Josie is perhaps an unlikely but likeable hero. A feisty woman who is 50+, can keep secrets and is fighting a weight problem while maintaining a keen interest in what is going on around her is someone that many readers could relate to. Josie is not perfect and not super human, but she is very observant and highly organised. It took me a few pages to get caught up in this novel, but once I did I read through to the end because I wanted to see how it would all end. Some aspects were predictable and others were not. Put it this way: I'm off to read the second novel to feature Josie Welford. It is called `The Chinese Takeout'.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars enjoyed every minute, December 16, 2005

By 

Charlaine Harris "Charlaine Harris" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Food Detective (Hardcover)

Josie Welford is a wonderful protagonist: tart, intelligent, realistic, and secretly kind. Her attempt to carve out a place for herself in the backwater of Kings Duncombe turns into a perilous trip through her own past, and triggers a complicated system of entanglements with unlikely people that will certainly shape her future.

Charlaine Harris