After a while I got hungry and went to the kitchen. There was nothing to eat. I drank another beer and looked again, and found half a loaf of whole wheat bread behind the beer in the back of the refrigerator... — Robert B. Parker (Mortal Stakes)
There is a long history of Detectives and food. Now I am not speaking of the caterer turned detective thing, but rather the traditional detective. Sherlock Holmes had Mrs. Hudson bringing him trays of Food. Mrs. Maigret making meals. Miss Marple having tea. Philip Marlowe drinking whiskey, or making coffee without a filter (milk only in the morning). Poirot and Hastings sharing a meal.
The Apex may have been Nero Wolfe, the 300 pound Gourmand who employed Fritz Brenner as his personal chef. I actually have cookbooks based on Maigret and Wolfe.
But to me, it's Spenser. He is a great, intuitive cook, but reading his adventures is also a history of Restaurants in Boston. From the Locke-Ober and the Ritz, to Biba, The East Coast Grill and Blue Ginger.
I just finished The Professional. It will be the last one Robert B. Parker was alive to finish. He died Jan 18. There are more works in the pipeline, but it won't be the same.
Farewell Spenser, and Susan and Hawk and Quirk and Belson and Farrell and Vinnie . . . . .
Very few of my books are about who stole the Maltese Falcon. — Robert B. Parker
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