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Cooking Media Tie-in

Recipes for Murder

66 Dishes That Celebrate the Mysteries of Agatha Christie

by (author) Karen Pierce

Publisher
WW Norton
Initial publish date
Aug 2023
Category
Media Tie-In, English, Scottish & Welsh, History
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781682687789
    Publish Date
    Aug 2023
    List Price
    $25.95

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Where to buy it

Description

Drink and dine with recipes inspired by the best-selling novelist of all time.

Poisons, knives, and bullets riddle the stories of Agatha Christie, but so does food, which she uses to invoke settings, to develop characters, and, of course, to commit murder. This to-die-for cookbook offers recipes written by the author for one accessible, easy-to-follow dish or drink for each of Christie’s 66 mysteries. Recipes include Fish and Chips at the Seven Dials Club, Literary Luncheon Meringues, Oysters Rockefeller on the Orient Express, Sixpence Blackbird Pie, Orange Marmalade from Gossington Hall, and more. Along the way, you’ll learn how to make an exquisite omelet, how to roast a leg of lamb properly, and how to serve perfectly timed steak frites. Framing these dishes are insightful essays and headnotes that detail the history of the recipes, their context in Christie’s life and times, and the roles they play in the source works. Based on extensive research and investigation, all dishes appear traditional to their respective eras, so steak fried for 1923 but marinated and grilled for 1964. Completing the collection, thematic menus assemble recipes for a Halloween murder mystery gathering, a “Christie for Christmas,” a book club buffet, and other occasions, making it a filling tribute to the grand dame of detective fiction.

RECIPES FOR MURDER has not been prepared, approved, or licensed by Agatha Christie Limited, RLJ Entertainment, or any individual or entity associated with Agatha Christie or her successors.

About the author

Contributor Notes

Karen Pierce, a detective-fiction devotee, food lover, and Agatha Christie superfan, has attended and volunteered at several Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Conventions and has taken pilgrimages to Torquay and Greenway House, Christie’s hometown and home. Pierce lives in Toronto, Canada.

Editorial Reviews

It’s no mystery that Recipes for Murder perfectly pairs delicious dishes, mouthwatering wines, and fascinating culinary history. We can’t wait to execute a few of these classic recipes, such as the Grilled Steak at the Golden Palm with an excellent bottle of Malbec. —Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen, award-winning authors of Red Wine and White Wine

A fresh and fascinating angle. Recipes for Murder is the first cookbook I’d call a page turner. So much more than a cookbook, it’s a source of meticulous research, scholarly insight, and infectious enthusiasm. It will be used for many years to come to nourish body and mind. —Kemper Donovan, host of the All about Agatha podcast

An intriguingly new look at the world of Agatha Christie and a fascinating way of discovering social history—via the kitchen! It’s the perfect read for lovers of food and lovers of crime fiction, and, in the manner of all good chefs and all good writers, it blends the two skillfully. Highly recommended.—Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, award-winning author of The Mystery of Princess Louise and A Victorian Christmas

The mystery is solved! Not who dun it but how to make it: lobster soufflé, Windsor soup, the Jolly Roger cocktail, and all the other treats from around the globe and up and down the social scale in recipes inspired by Agatha Christie’s books.—Rhoda Koenig, author of The New Devil’s Dictionary: A New Version of the Cynical Classic

This enthralling enchiridion explicates a cornucopia of idoneous recipes as they appertain to the oeuvre of Agatha Christie. Undeniably unputdownable!”—Jason Travis Ott, author of Grandiloquent Words: A Pictoric Lexicon of Ostrobogulous Locutions

Spoiler alert: Karen Pierce did it. With the investigative prowess and charm of Christie’s finest sleuths, Pierce sheds a new and delicious light on the author's work in an impressive collection that everyone should savor.—Robb Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author and pop culturalist

As a fellow Agatha Christie scholar and avid fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the encyclopaedic attention to detail in this book. I never realised quite how much Christie mentioned food or mealtimes to set the scene, progress the story, or define a particular character’s quirks. The dishes within these pages are informative, enjoyable, and easy to execute in one’s own kitchen, meaning that Recipes For Murder is not only food for the body but also the mind and the soul. —Carla Valentine, author of The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Agatha Christie