Fans pick 71 books like Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe

By Nan Lyons, Ivan Lyons,

Here are 71 books that Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe fans have personally recommended if you like Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

Matthew Masur Author Of Understanding and Teaching the Cold War

From my list on Cold War info that will keep you engaged.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a professor of history who specializes in the United States and the Cold War. A large part of my job involves choosing books that are informative, but that the students will actually want to read. That means I often select novels, memoirs, and works of history that have compelling figures or an entertaining narrative. After more than twenty years of teaching, I’ve assigned many different books in my classes. These are the ones that my students enjoyed the most. 

Matthew's book list on Cold War info that will keep you engaged

Matthew Masur Why did Matthew love this book?

I was immediately drawn to the suspense of this book. The novel begins at the Berlin Wall, where British intelligence agent Alec Leamas helplessly watches as East German guards murder his colleague.

As I followed the elaborate British plan to get revenge on an East German official, I had the nagging feeling that I was missing something. When I finally got to the end, I realized that I had been duped—much like many of the characters in the novel. 

By John le Carré,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked The Spy Who Came in From the Cold as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the New York Times bestselling author of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; Our Kind of Traitor; and The Night Manager, now a television series starring Tom Hiddleston.

The 50th-anniversary edition of the bestselling novel that launched John le Carre's career worldwide

In the shadow of the newly erected Berlin Wall, Alec Leamas watches as his last agent is shot dead by East German sentries. For Leamas, the head of Berlin Station, the Cold War is over. As he faces the prospect of retirement or worse-a desk job-Control offers him a unique opportunity for revenge. Assuming the guise of an embittered…


Book cover of The Big Sleep

Ray C Doyle Author Of Lara's Secret

From my list on mysteries with complicated plots and risky characters.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been writing for many years, and my main preference is political thrillers with criminal overtones. I first became interested in politics when I worked at several political conferences in the 60’s and 70’s. I have been involved in several criminal cases, including my own, and within my family, I have a nephew in the police force. For many years I have had the opportunity to mix with the upper tiers of society as well as the criminal classes and this has given me great insight into creating my characters and plots.

Ray's book list on mysteries with complicated plots and risky characters

Ray C Doyle Why did Ray love this book?

I love reading a thriller with a complex plot that has me trying to figure out who did what, where and when, and what or who may be connected in the main or subplot.

This was one of those books I had to read twice, not because I didn’t “get it” but because I admired the way Chandler weaved his characters around, like the actors in a Whitehall farce play. This is a book I kept turning back a few pages to keep up with the who, where, and when. Fantastic read.

By Raymond Chandler,

Why should I read it?

19 authors picked The Big Sleep as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Raymond Chandler's first three novels, published here in one volume, established his reputation as an unsurpassed master of hard-boiled detective fiction.

The Big Sleep, Chandler's first novel, introduces Philip Marlowe, a private detective inhabiting the seamy side of Los Angeles in the 1930s, as he takes on a case involving a paralysed California millionaire, two psychotic daughters, blackmail and murder.

In Farewell, My Lovely, Marlowe deals with the gambling circuit, a murder he stumbles upon, and three very beautiful but potentially deadly women.

In The High Window, Marlowe searches the California underworld for a priceless gold coin and finds himself…


Book cover of Dr. No

Ron Base Author Of Scandal at the Savoy: A Priscilla Tempest Mystery, Book 2

From my list on combining mystery and suspense into something magical.

Why am I passionate about this?

As readers may have gathered from the five books I’ve chosen, my childhood obsessions and passions have had an immense influence on my later writing life. Somewhat to my surprise, I must say. I’ve been a newspaper reporter, magazine writer, movie critic, and have written screenplays. But returning to novels, first with the Sanibel Sunset Detective series and lately with Death at the Savoy and Scandal at the Savoy, I am, in effect, reliving my childhood, using it to write these books. What a joy to be looking back as I move forward—and you always keep the plot moving forward!

Ron's book list on combining mystery and suspense into something magical

Ron Base Why did Ron love this book?

Dr. No was the sixth James Bond novel Fleming wrote but it was the first one I was finally able to read in paperback when I was about twelve years old.

It transfixed me. I had never read anything quite like it, transporting a boy trapped in small-town Ontario into a wider world of sophistication, sex, and violence.

I devoured the other Bond adventures as fast as I could get my hands on them. If any books made me hunger for faraway glamorous places, it was the Bond novels.

If you can’t imagine the influence Fleming’s worldly writing had on me, you have only to read one of the Priscilla Tempest mysteries.

By Ian Fleming,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Dr. No as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Dispatched by M to investigate the mysterious disappearance of MI6’s Jamaica station chief, Bond was expecting a holiday in the sun. But when he discovers a deadly centipede placed in his hotel room, the vacation is over.

On this island, all suspicious activity leads inexorably to Dr. Julius No, a reclusive megalomaniac with steel pincers for hands. To find out what the good doctor is hiding, 007 must enlist the aid of local fisherman Quarrel and alluring beachcomber Honeychile Rider. Together they will combat a local legend the natives call “the Dragon,” before Bond alone must face the most punishing…


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Book cover of Bottled Secrets of Rosewood

Bottled Secrets of Rosewood By Mary Kendall,

Miranda falls in love with her dream house but soon discovers it's an affair with complications. A lot of them. Rosewood is a centuries old, tumble-down, gambrel roofed charmer located in an isolated, coastal corner of Virginia referred to as "strange". Known for long-standing and antiquated customs, an almost indecipherable…

Book cover of Extreme Danger

Ron Base Author Of Scandal at the Savoy: A Priscilla Tempest Mystery, Book 2

From my list on combining mystery and suspense into something magical.

Why am I passionate about this?

As readers may have gathered from the five books I’ve chosen, my childhood obsessions and passions have had an immense influence on my later writing life. Somewhat to my surprise, I must say. I’ve been a newspaper reporter, magazine writer, movie critic, and have written screenplays. But returning to novels, first with the Sanibel Sunset Detective series and lately with Death at the Savoy and Scandal at the Savoy, I am, in effect, reliving my childhood, using it to write these books. What a joy to be looking back as I move forward—and you always keep the plot moving forward!

Ron's book list on combining mystery and suspense into something magical

Ron Base Why did Ron love this book?

Torn between the Hardy Boys novels and Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer mysteries, I’ve reluctantly gone with the Hardy Boys.

Both authors (although there were many pseudonymous writers of the Hardy Boys series) taught a fledging writer invaluable lessons about keeping the story moving forward while leaving the reader hanging from the edge of a cliff at the end of each chapter.

What I adored about Joe and Frank Hardy was the freedom they had as teenagers. They never seemed to have to go to high school, they drove their own car, they were never short of money, and they solved mysteries that their detective father never could.

My kind of guys!

By Franklin W. Dixon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Extreme Danger as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

ATAC BRIEFING FOR AGENTS FRANK AND JOE HARDY

MISSION: To find the mastermind behind a possible attack at the Big Air Games.
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA.
POTENTIAL VICTIMS: Top extreme athletes in the country. Thousands of spectators.
SUSPECTS: There may be a group of extremists working together. There may be just one.


Book cover of How to Eat A Cupcake

Delise Torres Author Of One Tough Cookie

From my list on foodie businesses that will leave you hungry.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a food scientist, I’ve always been interested in the processing of food and developing new recipes. Foodie fiction can take us into that process, showing us the behind-the-scenes of what it takes to run a foodie business and how to create dishes that people will love, even if you can only taste them through your imagination. And food and books just go together! Or am I the only one reading while eating?

Delise's book list on foodie businesses that will leave you hungry

Delise Torres Why did Delise love this book?

This is a cute story about friendship, family, and food.

Annie and Julie are childhood best friends who reconnect in adulthood and decide to start a cupcakery called Treat. I loved reading about the start of their business and the descriptions of the cupcakes. I also loved how the title was applied to the story in that each character ate cupcakes differently, which revealed an aspect of their personalities.

Both main characters were well-developed, and I enjoyed seeing how they dealt with their problems and how their perspectives changed over time. 

By Meg Donohue,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How to Eat A Cupcake as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"A sparkling, witty story about an unlikely, yet redemptive, friendship....Grab one of these for your best friend and read it together--preferably with a plate of Meyer Lemon cupcakes nearby."
--Katie Crouch, bestselling author of Girls in Trucks and Men and Dogs
"Beautifully written and quietly wise, Meg Donohue's How to Eat a Cupcake is an achingly honest portrayal of the many layers of friendship--a story so vividly told, you can (almost) taste the buttercream." (Sarah Jio, bestselling author of The Violets of March and The Bungalow )

Author Meg Donohue has cooked up an absolutely scrumptious debut novel, How to…


Book cover of Odd Thomas

Matt Armstrong Author Of In Like Lloyd

From my list on real life meets the fantastical.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been a fan of swords and sorcery, but Urban Fantasy brings those elements into a more relatable field, turning real-world locations into sandboxes filled with magic and monsters. I might love Aragorn as a character, but I can’t fully relate to him. Now, give me an “average” guy with real-world problems, running around a modern metropolis, slinging spells, and fighting monsters in dark alleys, and I’m right there with him. Urban Fantasy opens up the imagination to anything you want. Dragons in New York? Sure. Giants using the Eiffel Tower as a baseball bat? Why the hell not? Nothing is off-limits. It’s just pure, unadulterated fun.

Matt's book list on real life meets the fantastical

Matt Armstrong Why did Matt love this book?

Dean Koontz doesn’t need an introduction, nor does he need a shout-out, but this book stuck out to me in my younger days. While it may not fall into the same classifications as my previous recommendations, it may have been the first book I read about an average, not entirely special, person with a unique ability he doesn’t understand.

I read this book 20 years ago and still think about it often. The concept of seeing death and knowing when someone is about to die is just an intriguing—and terrifying—prospect. How do you deal with that? Especially knowing there’s nothing you can do to stop it? And then, what do you do when you start seeing Death everywhere? Do you fight it or run for the hills?

By Dean Koontz,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Odd Thomas as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Meet Odd Thomas, the unassuming young hero of Dean Koontz’s dazzling New York Times bestseller, a gallant sentinel at the crossroads of life and death who offers up his heart in these pages and will forever capture yours.

“The dead don’t talk. I don’t know why.” But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Sometimes the silent souls who seek out Odd want justice. Occasionally their otherworldly tips help him prevent a crime. But this time it’s different.

A stranger comes to Pico Mundo, accompanied by a horde…


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Book cover of Through Any Window

Through Any Window By Deb Richardson-Moore,

Riley Masterson has moved to Greenbrier, SC, anxious to escape the chaos that has overwhelmed her life.

Questioned in a murder in Alabama, she has spent eighteen months under suspicion by a sheriff’s office, unable to make an arrest. But things in gentrifying Greenbrier are not as they seem. As…

Book cover of Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine

Emmanuel Laroche Author Of Conversations Behind the Kitchen Door: 50 American Chefs Chart Today’s Food Culture

From my list on food lovers and anyone passionate about food culture.

Why am I passionate about this?

The passion I have for food was born during my childhood in France when I learned how to cook and bake with my mother, and it never faded away. I still continue to explore, and I have the chance to participate in more than sixty tastings a year. When traveling, I always prepare my trips by searching the web for unique restaurants, coffee roasters, breweries, and local bakeries. When I interview culinary leaders, I am curious about their innovation and their creative process. Chef Elizabeth Falkner wrote in my book foreword, “Emmanuel genuinely seems like he is trying to solve a puzzle, which is why his book is an important piece of writing.”

Emmanuel's book list on food lovers and anyone passionate about food culture

Emmanuel Laroche Why did Emmanuel love this book?

I had the chance to interview chef Edward Lee on my podcast ‘flavors unknown’ and to personally experience his passion for recent American food culture. The importance of immigrant cuisine in today’s food described in his book was a great influence on me when I was working on my book. He tackles the question of “authenticity” in immigrant cooking. He says that authentic is not the correct word. Immigrant food is “frozen in time,” reflecting the culinary moment when the immigrants left their homes. I love Edward Lee’s book as it captures the complexity of American cuisine.

By Edward Lee,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Buttermilk Graffiti as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

American food is the story of mash-ups. Immigrants arrive, cultures collide, and out of the push-pull come exciting new dishes and flavours. But for Edward Lee, who, like Anthony Bourdain or Gabrielle Hamilton, is as much a writer as he is a chef, that first surprising bite is just the beginning. What about the people behind the food? What about the traditions, the innovations, the memories?

A natural-born storyteller, Lee decided to hit the road and spent two years uncovering fascinating narratives from every corner of the US. There's a Cambodian couple in Lowell, Massachusetts, and their efforts to re-create…


Book cover of Alice's Book: How the Nazis Stole My Grandmother's Cookbook

John R. Cammidge Author Of Abandoned in Berlin: A True Story

From my list on describing restitution experiences after WW2.

Why am I passionate about this?

World War 2 has always interested me and my curiosity was strengthened a few years ago when my mother told me I was born illegitimate and my father had been the civil engineer building a nearby bomber airfield and a lodger with her parents. She was ashamed of what happened and lost contact with my father before I was born. Consequently, I wrote my first novel Unplanned. I then met the daughter of the Berlin mother in Abandoned in Berlin, and found it natural to pursue this story, given what I had discovered about my own upbringing. The effort has taught me to seek to forgive but never to forget.

John's book list on describing restitution experiences after WW2

John R. Cammidge Why did John love this book?

This is a story about the best-selling Viennese cookbook that was stolen by the Nazis and republished under someone else’s name during the War. The text and color photographs are identical, but the names of the authors are different. The original author, Alice Urbach, who was Jewish, had her book “Aryanized” for over 80 years, even though her hands are still featured in the illustrations. It shows how respectable businesses and individuals can continue to profit from the persecution of Jews long after the Holocaust ended. 

I found this a quite remarkable story that has only recently been published in English. It demonstrates the extremes to which the Nazis went to stamp out anything that was Jewish. Only in 2021 were the rights returned to the original author posthumously.

By Karina Urbach, Jamie Bulloch (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Alice's Book as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Unputdownable . . . Urbach has also retold the tragic Holocaust story in quite unforgettable lines" A.N. Wilson

"This fascinating book, by Alice's granddaughter Karina Urbach, shines a spotlight on this lesser-known aspect of Nazi looting" The Times

"A gripping piece of 20th-century family history but also something much more original: a rare insight into the 'Aryanisation' of Jewish-authored books during the Nazi regime" Financial Times

What happened to the books that were too valuable to burn?

Alice Urbach had her own cooking school in Vienna, but in 1938 she was forced to flee to England, like so many others.…


Book cover of Burn the Place: A Memoir

Carol Dunbar Author Of The Net Beneath Us

From my list on badass women living in rural wilderness.

Why am I passionate about this?

Twenty-one years ago, I moved off the grid. As a city-dweller who didn't even go camping, I'd never considered myself a country woman, but I felt called to the woods. I wanted to learn practical skills like how to split wood and bake bread, and I wanted to reduce my carbon footprint. Now, because of our lifestyle, we don't run microwaves, toasters, or dishwashers, and it’s been 20 years since I’ve had a clothes dryer. Living this way has changed me. My relationship with the environment has evolved over the years, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop learning about the different ways experiences in nature can help us humans to grow.

Carol's book list on badass women living in rural wilderness

Carol Dunbar Why did Carol love this book?

When I first heard about the Michelin-starred chef living in the remote upper peninsula of Michigan who forages and cooks for city-slicker guests, I was totally inspired. When I read her memoir, I became a diehard fan.

Regan is a fierce and evocative writer who boldly explores the wild terrains of Indiana farmland, inner-city kitchens, national forests, and gender identity. This is my one nonfiction recommendation because it goes satisfyingly deep into Regan’s struggles with how to belong.

By Iliana Regan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Burn the Place as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2019 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

A singular, powerfully expressive debut memoir that traces one chef's struggle to find her place and what happens once she does.

Burn the Place is a galvanizing memoir that chronicles Iliana Regan's journey from foraging on the family farm to running her Michelin-starred restaurant, Elizabeth. Her story is raw like that first bite of wild onion, alive with startling imagery, and told with uncommon emotional power.

Regan grew up the youngest of four headstrong girls on a small farm in Northwest Indiana. While gathering raspberries as a toddler, Regan preternaturally understood to pick…


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Book cover of Deadly Sommer

Deadly Sommer By Nicholas Harvey,

Readers who enjoy police procedurals with an offbeat main character and fascinating locations will love this thriller.

One missing girl. Two lives on the line. Four treacherous challenges.

Nora Sommer's first case for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service is one she'll never forget... if she survives. When the daughter…

Book cover of Hadley Beckett's Next Dish

Andrea Christenson Author Of How Sweet It Is: A Deep Haven Novel

From my list on when you’re in the mood for food.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an aspiring foodie and a huge lover of books with a great food subplot (or main plot!). I’ve been known to read cookbooks for fun and probably the most thumbed book in our house is my copy of The Joy of Cooking. I’m a firm believer in reading books at the lunch table and that no book should be read without a cup of coffee and a cookie (at the minimum) near one’s elbow. Hopefully you find these books to be as drool-worthy as I did!

Andrea's book list on when you’re in the mood for food

Andrea Christenson Why did Andrea love this book?

This fun and heartwarming rom-com by Bethany Turner features a pair of chefs on a cooking show.

An enemies-to-lovers trope where food is the third party in the relationship? Yes, please! I will binge-watch Chopped, The Great British Baking Show, and America’s Test Kitchen all day long. Bethany Turner gave me those vibes and more with this delightful dish.

By Bethany Turner,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Hadley Beckett's Next Dish as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Celebrity chef Maxwell Cavanagh is known for many things: his multiple Michelin stars, his top-rated Culinary Channel show To the Max, and most of all his horrible temper. Hadley Beckett, host of the Culinary Channel's other top-rated show, At Home with Hadley, is beloved for her Southern charm and for making her viewers feel like family.

When Max experiences a very public temper tantrum, he's sent packing to get his life in order. When he returns, career in shambles, his only chance to get back on TV and in the public's good graces is to work alongside Hadley.

As these…


Book cover of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
Book cover of The Big Sleep
Book cover of Dr. No

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