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The Menu of Happiness
The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Related to this series)
- Author
- Hisashi Kashiwai
- Narrator
- Hanako Footman
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Publish Date
- 9 October 2025
- Run Time
- 5 hours 10 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Fiction in translation, Crime and mystery: private investigator / amateur detectives, Crime and mystery: cosy mystery, Crime and mystery: women sleuths / detectives, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Narrative theme: interior life / psychological fiction, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss, Narrative theme: sense of place, National and regional cuisine / Cuisine of specific cultures or peoples
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What to expect
Beautifully read by Hanako Footman, actress and narrator of Four Seasons in Japan by Nick Bradley and Butter by Asako Yuzuki.
The Menu of Happiness, translated from Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood, is the third book in the bestselling, delightful Japanese sleuthing series for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold.
Welcome to the Kamogawa Diner, where every meal is a mystery ready to be solved. This unique establishment is run by a father–daughter duo who offer more than just mouth-watering meals. They act as ‘food detectives’, delving into the past to produce nostalgia-infused dishes for their hungry clientele.
Among the patrons is a once-renowned pianist whose promising career was marred by a self-inflicted injury. She longs to taste the yakisoba shared with the only man she ever truly loved. The diner also welcomes a man haunted by shadows of regret. His mind races back to the gyoza served by the parents of a lover he once jilted, as he seeks understanding and, perhaps, forgiveness.
The Kamogawa Diner doesn’t just serve food – it revives the essence of forgotten recipes and rejuvenates cherished memories. Each dish is a portal to the past, serving not just sustenance but solace and reconnection through the miracle of delicious food. The Menu of Happiness follows on from The Kamogawa Food Detectives and The Restaurant of Lost Recipes.
‘Feel-good and foodie themes collide in this follow-up to The Kamogawa Food Detectives’ - The Times
The Menu of Happiness was a Japanese bestseller when it published w/c 04/01/2016
Critics Review
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Feel-good and foodie themes collide in this follow-up to The Kamogawa Food Detectives
The Times on The Restaurant of Lost Recipes
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Kashiwai is among a certain coterie of Japanese writers to have perfected a globally successful literary formula: create a cafe-esque setting with beloved staff who deliver plenty of empathic kindness to customers whose visits inspire standalone narratives . . . Deliciousness lingers
Booklist on The Restaurant of Lost Recipes
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This cosy book delights in Japanese cuisine
Kirkus on The Restaurant of Lost Recipes
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A treasure-trove of positivity and charm
Prima on The Restaurant of Lost Recipes
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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In addition to tantalizing recipes, the narrative is driven by the desire to recapture lost love, reconcile with a parent or relive one’s youth. Ingredients and items are lovingly detailed . . . The equivalent of delightful comfort food
Library Journal on The Restaurant of Lost Recipes
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Like sights and sounds, tastes are also deeply connected to one’s memories. The depictions of the beautiful scenery of Kyoto and its native dishes, which are like the original landscape of Japan, warmed my heart
Genki Kawamura, author of If Cats Disappeared from the World, on The Kamogawa Food Detectives
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Author Hisashi Kashiwai shows a tremendous amount of empathy for his characters as well as a gentle humour. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll open a delivery app
Apple Books
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Hisashi Kashiwai
- Narrator
- Hanako Footman
- Duration
- 5 hours 10 minutes
- Release Date
- 9 October 2025
- ISBN
- 9781035060757
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Genre
- Fiction in translation, Crime and mystery: private investigator / amateur detectives, Crime and mystery: cosy mystery, Crime and mystery: women sleuths / detectives, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Narrative theme: interior life / psychological fiction, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss, Narrative theme: sense of place, National and regional cuisine / Cuisine of specific cultures or peoples
Synopsis
Beautifully read by Hanako Footman, actress and narrator of Four Seasons in Japan by Nick Bradley and Butter by Asako Yuzuki.The Menu of Happiness, translated from Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood, is the third book in the bestselling, delightful Japanese sleuthing series for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold.Welcome to the Kamogawa Diner, where every meal is a mystery ready to be solved. This unique establishment is run by a father–daughter duo who offer more than just mouth-watering meals. They act as ‘food detectives’, delving into the past to produce nostalgia-infused dishes for their hungry clientele.Among the patrons is a once-renowned pianist whose promising career was marred by a self-inflicted injury. She longs to taste the yakisoba shared with the only man she ever truly loved. The diner also welcomes a man haunted by shadows of regret. His mind races back to the gyoza served by the parents of a lover he once jilted, as he seeks understanding and, perhaps, forgiveness.The Kamogawa Diner doesn’t just serve food – it revives the essence of forgotten recipes and rejuvenates cherished memories. Each dish is a portal to the past, serving not just sustenance but solace and reconnection through the miracle of delicious food. The Menu of Happiness follows on from The Kamogawa Food Detectives and The Restaurant of Lost Recipes.‘Feel-good and foodie themes collide in this follow-up to The Kamogawa Food Detectives’ - The TimesThe Menu of Happiness was a Japanese bestseller when it published w/c 04/01/2016
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