If you are expecting a crime novel, this might not be for you. But if you want a lovely story about a father and daughter who run a small restaurant that specialises in creating forgotten recipes, then this is your book!

Nagare, former police detective, and his daughter, Koishi, work together to discover and recreate dishes for customers who have managed to find them - this isn’t your usual well advertised eatery, but is only known by a handful of locals, and by those who manage to decrypt a one line advert in a food magazine. The descriptions of Kyoto and the dishes created are beautiful and I really loved how each chapter takes you through different dishes created for different customers.

This is a mouthwatering comfort read.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

For fans of Before The Coffee Gets Cold, this is a lovely little set of encounters taking place in a cafe that promises a unique menu.. They will recreate any nostalgic dish for you, as closely to how you experienced it as possible.

I thought this was so incredibly cosy and really highlighted how much our emotions flavour foods.

Written more like a collection of short stories than a novel. People come to find long lost dishes, which are from old memories, and we get the story that goes with them. Probably helps if you are familiar with Japanese food to get a full appreciation.

There is a small detective agency attached to a small diner named The Kamogawa Diner tucked in the backstreet of Kyoto Japan which carries out investigation on the client's request.The diner operated by a former police detective who works as the main chef recreates the recipes which are closely associated with the memories of the client.
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In each chapter, a new client approaches the agency with an earnest request.The dishes are closely associated with human emotions like love, pain, grief, regret and recognition.

Written in layman's language, this book is a foodie's heaven.Persuaded by curiosity and allured by the mention of intriguing ingredients, I found myself searching for these enticing dishes and reading about their history and recipe.Each story is unique in their own way.While reading one comes to understand the underlying thoughts behind ingredients sourced and food prepared from them.
It is a short and breezy read which fills the reader with a general knowledge of popular Japanese dishes like mackerel sushi, naptolian spaghetti, nabeyaki udon, tonkatsu and others.
This book beautifully portrays the tender human emotions intertwined with food and changing seasons against the background of beautiful Japan accompanied.
I would recommend this book to all the readers who would like to know Japanese people and Japan through their food.

The Kamogawa Food Detectives is an excellent story about a Japanese restaurant in Kyoto, which specialises in tracing food that particularly customers wish to taste as a meal again as they remember them.
There are five customers stories set out with the reasons why they want to trace that particular meal again.
A charming story with a remarkable father and daughter making up the Food Detective Agency.
Highly recommended

A short and sweet story of a hidden restaurant whose owner can track down and cook a meal from his customers’ memories. Each chapter has the same structure which is comforting and the mysteries aren’t really dwelt on, more the feelings from the food. It ends quite suddenly but has a charm.
Thanks to Netgalley for the copy in return for a review.

Such a sweet book, loved the characters and the sound of the food!

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

A sweet, well plotted and entertaining Japanese cozy mystery. Loved the style of writing, the setting and the solid plot.
A cute and entertaining story that made me learn something more about Japanese culture
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is a heartwarming book! It is sure to make you shed more than a few tears. The array of characters and the love between the father and daughter is sweet. The stories each new character brings into the restaurant are vibrant and colourful.

I loved this book, it made my heart so full and broke it simultaneously!

Cosy detective fiction that is written exactly like this is the ideal palette cleanser for all of the fantasy and horror I tend to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for this eARC!

Absolutely adored this book, gives all the emotions and honestly leaves you hunting for a good restaurant. Very excited to read more from this author.

Very sweet, gentle book that reminded me of the Before the coffee gets cold series. Nagare and his daughter Koishi run a "food detective" restaurant where customers ask for a dish to be recreated for them (from their childhood for example). Each chapter recounts a different customer's request.
Charming and fun.

The Kamogawa Food Detectives is a heart-warming cosy novel, very similar in style to other Japanese novels but with a unique approach to the execution.

The Kamogawa diner is mysterious and seemingly unremarkable from the outside, but for those determined enough to track it down, it is a gateway to memories long forgotten, a means of revisiting their past through a specific meal. Ex-policeman Nagare is the chef, a culinary genius it seems, and Koishi, his daughter, conducts the primary interviews with clients looking to rediscover a barely-remembered meal from their past. Together, they are the Kamogawa Food Detectives, and with virtually nothing to go on they investigate the lives of their clients to pinpoint the perfect combination of ingredients each time to bring their client exactly what they are searching for.

The novel reads almost like a collection of short stories, but linked by their origin in the diner, and the means by which their stories are revealed, their souls soothed by delicious food and friendly company, each customer in turn reveals important personal details pertaining to why they are here, at the diner, at this time. They are all searching for something, and through very clever detective work and exquisite cooking, they are all served with passion.

This is a soothing and comforting read, exploring themes of love, loss and family, and how memory can be important but sometimes, not altogether reliable. If you enjoyed Before The Coffee Gets Cold and/or What You are Looking for is in the Library then I highly recommend giving this a go.

I loved this book! A gorgeous story which made me very hungry. I read this in one sitting as I was transported into this world. Brilliant!

5 Stars - A cozy slice-of-life centered around the memories of food

I am always very happy to read translations of Japanese book and being someone who loves to cook and eat Japanese I was absolutely thrilled to receive an e-ARC for "The Kamogawa Food Detectives" by Kashiwai Hisashi.
The title might be a bit misleading as there is no actual police investigation involved, instead this book is about a team of father (who is actually a retired police officer) and daughter who run a restaurant named Kamogawa Shokudou and also offer an investigation service: people who remember some food or dish from a long time ago but just don't know any longer what exactly it tasted like or where they ate it can ask Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare to do some investigating and recreate said dish.

The book is split up into chapters that revolve around the story of one particular customer and the dish they are trying to find again. They are all following the same formula: the client finds the restaurant after some struggles since it is very unassuming from the outside, they enter, get served the set meal of the day (which always consists of some utterly mouth-watering dishes), then they tell Koishi (the daughter) all they can still remember about their dish and afterwards Koisihi gives her notes to her father Nagare who then goes on to research and recreate that dish within the span of one week. Then the client is asked to come back to the restaurant and eat the recreated dish (which is of course always spot on) and Nagare tells them how he managed to figure it all out.

This episodic way of storytelling makes for very, very cozy reading and also made me really crave some of the dishes, particularly the Spaghetti Napolitan and the Nabeyaki Udon. It may be unsurprising that this was also converted into a Dorama which I also need to watch!
Also, this book manages to do something that is quite easy to find in Japanese stories: there is a lighthearted approach to the storytelling with plenty of quirkiness which is then paired with a profound and kind insight into human nature.

This translation reads very natural and I really do hope that the book is successful on the international market so that we get translations of the sequels (of which there are plenty). I could read those stories forever!

This comes highly recommended for anyone who is into cozy stories centered on food and the impact special dishes can have in people's lives, no need to know Japanese culture or food very well - although it won't hurt.

I have received an advance review copy via NetGalley from the publisher and voluntarily provide my honest opinion. Thank you very much!

This book was a very easy, no stress cozy read for the autumn and winter months. It has a very simple plot which did leave me wanting in places - I wanted to see the detective actually at work, rather than each chapter jumping from request to solution - but overall a very light read. I especially enjoyed the food descriptions and there were so many wholesome moments throughout which made me smile!

A lovely story with great detail. My first Japanese style read and I did not understand many of the references but enjoyed it none the less as the describing detail helps it be understood.

I love Japan and its culture including literature and food so this was exactly what I expected: a sweet and emotional tale of how food connects people and lingers in our memories. It’s very Japanese in tone- by which I mean quite ‘fussy’ by European and American standards- so if you don’t like the way are explained in enormous detail, you might not enjoy.

I really enj0yed the Kamogawa Food Detectives and would agree that those who enjoy the Before the Coffee Gets Cold, but also I would say if you enjoyed What You Are Looking for Is In The Library then this book should also massively appeal.

The story follow a father-daughter duo Koishi and Nagare, who run a special restaurant where not only can you have a delicious meal, they also solve food-related mysteries, re-finding the recipe for their customers as a means of giving closure to the past.

The Kamogawa Food Detectives a very sweet book about a small trio who run a detective agency at their diner. People come to them with requests to recreate a special meal they used to have but for which they have never been able to quite find the perfect recipe.

As you follow the book, which reads more like a collection of short stories with the recurring detectives, there are heartwarming moments of hope and healing for those in need. It's a special little book that will touch hearts and make a perfect gift at this time of year (I'm giving it to my grandma!)