I’ve had my eye on The Kamogawa Food Detectives for a while because it seems like the cosy, heartwarming genre of Japanese fiction I like – books like What You’re Looking For is in the Library and There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job come to mind as similar titles.

And if you’ve read those books, you’ve probably got a good idea of what The Kamogawa Food Detectives is going to be like. Heartwarming, mostly standalone stories that are tied together with one theme. In this case, the theme is: missing food. The Kamogawa diner is run by a father-daughter duo, and because Nagare Kamogawa used to be a detective, they offer another service: hunting down dishes from the past. In this book, six people come asking for help to find a dish that they almost forgot. The dishes are:

• Nabeyaki-Udon
• Beef Stew
• Mackerel Sushi
• Tonkatsu
• Napolitan Spaghetti
• Nikujaga

Honestly, I would love to eat a full course based on all these dishes! The Kamogawa Food Detectives really excel in describing the food and I was craving Japanese cuisine the whole time that I was reading this.

Another aspect of the book that I really enjoyed was how the backstory was woven in. While I am curious about all the characters and what happens now that they’ve found their dish, what I really, really want to read more of is Nagare and his daughter Koishi. We know a bit about them, like how Nagare used to be a policeman and how his wife has passed away, but I would like to know more about Koishi’s relationship with Hiroshi, one of their regulars, what happened to Nagare’s wife/Koishi’s mother, and how they started the diner/detective agency. Basically, I would like to know more; the little hints we get about them are just too tantalising.

Basically, if you are looking for something heartwarming and easy to read, and you happen to like Japanese fiction but are, like me, kind of late to trends, definitely give this a go! This would also be a great palate cleanser between heavier reads as well.