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Peter King
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Eat, Drink and Be Buried (The Gourmet Detective Mysteries) Kindle Edition

by Peter King (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 out of 5 stars 49 ratings
When a jousting match at a medieval fair turns into old-fashioned murder, the Gourmet Detective sets out to unmask the killer.
 At Sir Gerald’s medieval festival, the castle is authentic, the jousting is rousing, and the wenches are the sauciest in the land. The only thing missing is decent food. And so Sir Gerald calls in London’s gourmet detective, an expert food finder, whose specialties include locating rare ingredients, designing historically accurate menus, and solving the occasional murder. And all three skills will be tested if he is to escape the age of chivalry alive. After the day’s first joust, the winning knight falls to the ground, poisoned. Someone is trying to exterminate the gentry of this ersatz fiefdom, and it will take a sure palate and a strong stomach to find out who. To save his own head, the detective must contend with flooding dungeons, stray arrows, and a cast of dwarf knights—all while struggling to design a menu fit for a king.
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  1. Book 6 of 8
    The Gourmet Detective Mysteries
  2. Print length
    229 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
  5. Publication date
    September 25, 2012
  6. File size
    4.3 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A surfeit of menu descriptions, both medieval and modern, an overloaded plot and a large cast of characters can't disguise the essential thinness of this sixth book in King's Gourmet Detective series (after 2000's A Healthy Place to Die). King's nameless "food-finder" narrator is hired to prepare medieval banquets for guests who pay to watch jousting, deer hunting and even a battle at Harlington Castle, a 16th-century English manor house now staging "Medieval Days" pageants. The novel opens with a vivid joust in which one participant appears to be beheaded. Soon after one combatant dies of poisoning, the food-finder once again turns private detective. At the behest of Lord Gerald Harlington, he spends several long days at the manor and in London, investigating too many Harlington family members and food purveyors, all of whom are suspect. Among the more memorable are an insufferably snobbish Harlington cousin, Neville Woodward; Gontier, the castle's resentful chef; and Sir Gerald's flirtatious daughters, Angela and Felicity. Unfortunately, rather than develop his characters, the author tends simply to repeat their roles and identities. A rousing final scene in the castle's dungeon takes us back to the Middle Ages, where this convoluted adventure began. Like other books in the series, this one has an appealing jacket design, which may fool some readers into thinking they're getting more than the literary equivalent of fast food.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The Gourmet Detective (he scouts out rare food ingredients), hired to advise some British aristocrats on meals at their medieval-themed castle, winds up as the prime suspect in a murder by poison. Naturally, he then sleuths in order to place blame where it belongs. Wit, charm, and humor add spice to the latest in the series.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0096M147Q
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ MysteriousPress.com/Open Road; 1st edition (September 25, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 25, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4.3 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 229 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 49 ratings

About the author

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Peter King

Peter King

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Peter King (b. 1922) is an English author of mystery fiction, a Cordon Bleu–trained chef, and a retired metallurgist. He has operated a tungsten mine, prospected for minerals around the globe, and led the design team for the rocket engines that carried the Apollo astronauts to the moon. When he retired in 1991, he wrote his first novel, The Gourmet Detective, the first in a cozy mystery series about a chef turned sleuth who solves mysteries in the kitchen. He lives in Sarasota, Florida, where he continues to write mysteries.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
49 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • lulu
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Medieval Hit
    Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    So many history points I did not know. So many food combinations to try in my kitchen. One does not read King for his great mysteries but for the food, music, wine, history, & the common poisons you didn't even realize are in your kitchen. Loved the medieval banquets. Great fun for people who would like to travel but cannot afford to. ***L
    One person found this helpful
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  • J. P. Kimmel
    4.0 out of 5 stars second chance
    Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    After reading Hangmans Corner by Peter King i cant say i was too keen on his writing. Even so i thought i'd give this a try and was pleasantly surprised. The Gourmet detective is a very likable character as were the co-players in the book. The book moves along nicely although occasionally he goes over the top with his knowledge of food preparation. The ending is a true mystery who done it with a few red herrings thrown in.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • L. or K. Snyder
    4.0 out of 5 stars good series
    Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This was an enjoyable read. I'll be watching for new additions to this series. I like the descriptions of how he cooks!
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  • JIW
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great mystery read!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    GReat culinary mystery adventure going across Europe! Great Fun. nice to have a story that doesn't rely on bedroom to tell a great story! Love the food descriptions.
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  • Carol anthony
    5.0 out of 5 stars It was based on a Hallmark movie so it should be great
    Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Just received
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  • Bill Baker
    5.0 out of 5 stars A delicious meal in itself
    Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2013
    If you love food - and who doesn't? - if you love to try new dishes, go to new and different restaurants as well as your old favorites, if you love to think and talk about food, then you should meet the Gourmet Detective as he helps Hurlington Castle recreate medieval feasts for their guests, and incidentally stumbles across the murder of one of its jousting participants.

    Was the murder accidental? Or was it meant for the son of the lord of the castle? Was the arrow meant for the lord's daughter? Was the bullet meant for the lord's step daughter?

    The Gourmet Detective seeks to solve the castle's murders and attempted murders as he finds solutions to the Castle Hurlington's new medieval menus, and along the way we read about food, murders and near murders while being tempted by Peter King's skillful suspense and humor.

    This is a fun read full of good food, good humor, and a murder and a few near murders - a delicious meal in itself.
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  • JAScribbles
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Cozy Mystery for Foodies
    Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2013
    This review refers to the 2012 release of Eat, Drink and Be Buried (The Gourmet Detective Mysteries) through Open Road Media.

    What a fun little cozy mystery. If you are a food buff, and like a bit of English history in your stories, then I suggest you give this book a try.

    I received a review copy through NetGalley and the publisher.

    The unnamed lead, The Gourmet Detective, is at Harlington Castle in Hertfordshire to help rewrite the menus. The castle is the location for daily medieval reenactments. The food has strayed a bit from authentic offerings and the culinary expert is there to make suggestions...until someone gets poisoned and then his purpose turns to finding the killer.

    There is a lot of food talk in this story and I enjoyed all of it. At times it seemed a little heavy-handed, but in the end I discovered much of it was for the purposes of building on and later solving the mystery.

    I found reading this ebook on my Kindle very helpful. I frequently used the dictionary function to explain old terms and odd food dishes. Perfect.

    Peter King originally released this title in 2001 and it is the sixth book in the series. You do not need to read the other five in order to enjoy Eat, Drink, and Be Buried.

    A good cozy - especially if you are a foodie or into culinary topics.
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  • Cissa
    2.0 out of 5 stars Ignorance runs rampant
    Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2013
    This series is a guilty pleasure of mine. I LOVE the descriptions of food! In so many novels "they ate lunch"- but- WHAT did they eat? Wasd it good? etc. *I* want to know this!

    And the GD novels do tend to detail the meals, so that's a plus.

    On the other hand- King- the author- is supposed to be an experienced chef and food historian, and there is little sign of either in this series.

    In this one- while he backs down from including anachronistic potatoes in the final "Authentic" feast- he DOES include them in the first 85% of the novel. And that's just wrong. While he virtuously backed down from that in the final feast- he did not bother to re-write the bulk of the book to take this into account. Really- a soup with potatoes AND tomatoes is medieval????

    And then... at one point he discussed mead brewing. Oh, my. I am not at all sure WTF they were brewing, but it sure wasn't any mead I'd recognize! First of all, not nearly enough honey for the volume. Secondly- it ferments for ONE DAY before it's ready? REALLY???? I've brewed mead, and it is SLOW to ferment; one ought to plan on at least a year before it's drinkable. Hell, even a mead ale takes 6-8 weeks! The only thing close to what this was is called (I think) "sima"- IIRC, it's Finnish (definitely Scandinavian), made with a very dilute honey/water solution, and fermented for 3 days or so (not one) with bread yeast. It is light and slightly fizzy, and quite refreshing- it's for midsummer.

    However, in context this is not the kind of mead they were making; the sima is very light, and Our Hero rejected mead as a beverage for the authentic feast because it was too heavy. The only thing I can think of lighter than sima is seltzer water.

    Our Hero is again catnip to the ladies, even though there's no real reason why the ladies should be so entranced.

    I will probably keep reading this series for5 the great description of food... but if that's not your thing, don't bother.
    One person found this helpful
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