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Fiction about Hobbies
Antiques
Deborah Crombie, And Justice There
Is None. Mystery
The death of an antique dealer’s wife in London’s Notting Hill may
be related to a past murder.
Peter Dickinson, Some Deaths before Dying. Mystery
A pistol shown on the Antiques Roadshow is the key to past events
that a bedridden woman must recall so she can die as she chooses.
Susan Fiffer, Killer Stuff. Mystery
A woman borrows her neighbor’s SUV to go to garage sales, but when
she returns it she finds her neighbor dead. First in a series on
antiques.
Tibor Fischer, The Collector Collector.
An antique bowl that is aware of the events that occur around it
falls into the hands of an art appraiser who can understand its
stories.
Jonathan Gash, A Rag, a Bone and a Hank of Hair. Mystery
Antiques dealer Lovejoy is trawling the markets from Camden Passage
to Portobello Road when he discovers that a fellow dealer is dead.
Part of a series on antiques.
Tobias Hill, The Love of Stones.
In an epic story spanning six centuries, a jewel dealer traces the
history of a legendary brooch.
Tamar Myers, Larceny and Old Lace. PB Mystery
Abigail Timberlake, owner of the Den of Antiquity, investigates
the death of a fellow antiques dealer who was killed with a priceless
lace bellpull. First in a series on antiques.
Elizabeth Peters, Borrower of the Night. Mystery
Art historian Vicky Bliss explores a medieval German castle seeking
a 16th century woodcarving. First in a series on antiques.
Nora Roberts, Hidden Riches.
An antiques dealer buys a box of miscellaneous items and finds herself
targeted by a killer.
Todd Shimoda, The Fourth Treasure.
A neuroscience student discovers a link to her past when she finds
a legendary inkstone among the possessions of a calligraphy master.
Jessica Stirling, The Drums of Time.
In London after World War I, a Jewish woman inherits a share in
an antiques shop and must contend with her family’s demands, her
partners’ prejudices, and the love of two very different men.
Lea Wait, Shadows at the Fair. Mystery
An antique prints dealer assists police at the Spring Antique Fair
after several fellow dealers die in suspicious ways. First in a
series on antiques.
Cooking
Karen Allison, How I Gave My Heart to the Restaurant
Business.
A couple pursue their dream of opening a New York restaurant but
find their personal lives consumed.
Thomas Averill, Secrets of the Tsil Café.
A young man grows up in the shadow of his parents, rival chefs who
create Old World and New World cuisines.
M. C. Beaton, Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death.
Mystery
Eager to make friends in her new village, Agatha enters a quiche
in a contest and is alarmed when it kills a judge.
Anthony Bourdain, A Bone in the Throat.
A chef takes a job at his mobster uncle’s restaurant in Little Italy
and finds himself a partner in crime.
Diane Mott Davidson, Chopping Spree. Mystery
Colorado caterer Goldy Bear is hired by an old friend for the opening
of his Aspen mall, but he ends up stabbed with one of her carving
knives. Part of a series about cooking.
Laura Esquivel, Like Water for Chocolate.
A woman who is forbidden to marry the man she loves because she
must care for her mother releases her emotions through cooking.
Fannie Flagg, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café.
In 1930s Alabama, a woman saves another from an abusive man and
the pair open a roadside café that’s open to all.
Joanne Harris, Chocolat.
A woman and her daughter arrive in a small French town and open
a shop filled with tempting chocolates during Lent.
Peter King, Roux the Day. Mystery
The Gourmet Detective scours New Orleans for a missing cookbook
and turns up a corpse. Part of a series about cooking.
John Lanchester, The Debt to Pleasure.
The memoirs of an English chef whose discourses on the events of
his life are prompted by memories of food and meals.
Nancy Pickard, The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders.
Mystery
When a dinner guest is supposedly poisoned by Eugenia Potter’s famous
chili, she must act quickly to stop more deaths. Part of a series
on cooking first written by Virginia Rich.
Lily Prior, La Cucina.
A Sicilian woman whose lover is killed retreats to the kitchen for
solace, but later meets an English-man researching Italian cuisine
who teaches her to love again.
Phyllis Richman, The Butter Did It. Mystery
A restaurant critic investigates the suspicious death of a chef
she once loved. Part of a series about cooking.
Lou Jane Temple, Death Is Semisweet. Mystery
A chef is on the case when someone shoots down a blimp advertising
a chocolate company’s 50th anniversary. Part of a series about cooking.
Quilting
& Sewing
Lois Battle, The Florabama Ladies Auxiliary and Sewing Circle.
After her husband files for bankruptcy, a woman takes a job as the
coordinator of a program for displaced housewives at a community college.
Jennifer Chiaverini, The Quilter’s Apprentice.
The tale of two women, one young and one old, who learn to mend their
lives as they work on quilts. First in a series about quilting.
Sandra Cisneros, Caramelo.
A Mexican-American girl inherits a handmade shawl from her grandmother
and is reminded of her ancestors and where she came from.
Sandra Dallas, The Persian Pickle Club.
During the Depression in Kansas, a woman from the city joins a farm
wives’ quilting circle and tries to uncover a secret they’ve all been
keeping. Earlene Fowler, Fool’s Puzzle.
Mystery
The curator of a folk art museum discovers an artist’s dead body
on the eve of a quilt exhibit opening. First in a series on quilting.
Whitney Otto, How to Make an American Quilt.
Meeting at their quilting circle every week, the women in a small
town share their personal stories, beginning a tradition that covers
half a century.
Books
& Reading
Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier
and Clay.
A Czech artist who needs money to bring his family out of Nazi-occupied
Prague collaborates with his American cousin to create a comic book
hero called The Escapist.
Sijie Dai, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress.
Two city boys sent to a remote mountain village during the Cultural
Revolution discover a forbidden cache of Western literature that
changes their lives.
John Dunning, Booked to Die. Mystery
A Denver homicide detective opens a bookshop and follows a trail
of rare books to catch a killer. First in a series on rare books.
Jane Green, Bookends.
A woman leaves a secure job to open a book shop but problems arise
when an old friend from college reappears in her life.
Julie Kaewert, Unsolicited. Mystery
Trying to save both his family publishing company and his life,
a man searches for a missing author whose novel about kidnapped
WWII orphans has led to death threats. First in a series about publishing.
Ross King, Ex-Libris.
A bookseller in 17th century London is hired by a lady to track
down a missing book that contains secrets that someone is willing
to kill for.
Marianne Macdonald, Death’s Autograph. Mystery
A book signed by Shakespeare brings murder and mayhem into the life
of a London book dealer. First in a series on rare books.
Judith Van Gieson, The Stolen Blue. Mystery
A New Mexico librarian tracks a thief who stole part of a priceless
book collection from her truck. Part of a series on libraries.
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