A couple of weeks ago, I had a mad craving for Chinese food. And it had to be Chinese—not Thai or Japanese or Indian. Chinese.
Now, I love Chinese food—as I do just about any kind of food, to be frank—but this was a real craving.
It was only when I was halfway through my lunch that I realized where my craving came from. I was reading—and enjoying—The White Mirror by Elsa Hart.
Hart’s excellent second novel looks at the politics and culture of China during the 1700s.
In my Associated Press review of The White Mirror, I wrote, “Hart’s precise research makes 18th century China seem fresh and relevant as she steeps The White Mirror with vivid scenery and believable characters. Hart manages to find the commonalities between centuries while keeping the sensibilities of historical China.”
This isn’t the first time my reading has merged into my meals. In fact, it happens quite often.
Naomi Hirahara’s Sayonara Slam had me rushing to my favorite sushi restaurant to bond, no doubt, with her character Mas Arai, an eightysomething Japanese-American gardener.
Elaine Viets’ Brain Storm had me wanting gooey butter cake, a specialty of St. Louis, where the novel is set. Of course, being from Missouri, I am quite familiar with this regional dessert.
Charles Todd’s The Shattered Tree had me thinking about the big English breakfasts I had several years ago at an inn near Salisbury, England.
Down the Darkest Street by Alex Segura encouraged me to have dinner at John Martin’s Pub in Coral Gables, Florida, one of the many Miami spots the author references in his Miami-based novel.
Boston cuisine played heavy in my mind while I read Ingrid Thoft’s Brutality and Pamela Wechsler’s Mission Hill, both of which take place there.
I was ready for some blue crab, crab cakes, and pit beef after reading Wilde Lake by Laura Lippman, even though none of those dishes are even mentioned in this Baltimore-based novel.
Linda Fairstein’s Killer Look had me longing for New York City and the wonderful restaurants set there. Of course, I feel that way every time I read one of Fairstein’s novels about Alex Cooper.
A recent interview with Joanne Fluke, which will appear in the winter issue of Mystery Scene, made me dream of pastries and those famous chocolate chip crunch cookies that are the specialty of her baker and sleuth Hannah Swensen. Fluke also brings those chocolate chip crunch cookies to each of her book signings for her fans. Another reason to attend one of her events—buy a book and enjoy a cookie.
Ace Atkins’ The Innocents had me longing for fried catfish and shrimp and grits, which I’ve enjoyed many times in Mississippi, where the author’s Quinn Colson novels are set. Again, food isn’t mentioned Atkins’ series—except when Quinn’s mother is cooking—but the subliminal message was there nevertheless.
And my food memories were strong when I read Jason Miller’s Red Dog, which takes place in the Little Egypt area of Illinois. This area includes Cairo, Illinois, which is located seven miles from my family farm and where I was born. Red Dog had me longing for Shemwell’s Barbeque, where my parents and I used to go a lot. I would love to have one of Shemwell’s bbq sandwiches with its hot bbq sauce.
So, readers, do you have food cravings when you read a mystery?
By the way, I just started the latest Randy Wayne White novel, Seduced, and I really want some orange juice. (If you read the novel, you’ll understand why.)
