Murder on the Gravy Train
Worth buying if: You enjoy culinary detail and investigative banter centered on a restaurant critic.
Skip it if: You dislike plotlines anchored in food-world rivalries and dining scene minutiae.
Exact edition: Paperback · ISBN-13 9780061097836. The Amazon link uses this ISBN, so the product page should open to the edition shown here.
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Summary
When a prominent restaurant critic is poisoned after a damning review, food writer Phyllis Richman’s narrator pieces together clues from menus, kitchens, and bitter industry gossip in this 318-page culinary mystery published by HarperCollins in 2000.
Why this book now
Revisit Richman’s insider take on restaurant culture and criticism—an appetizingly timed read as debates over food journalism and dining ethics resurface.
30-second preview
Two quick cards, fifteen seconds each.
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Best for readers who...
Good fit if you want...
- You enjoy culinary detail and investigative banter centered on a restaurant critic.
- You appreciate HarperCollins-era mysteries with newsroom and kitchen backstage scenes.
- You dislike plotlines anchored in food-world rivalries and dining scene minutiae.
- You prefer procedural police work over amateur sleuths drawn from journalism.
- You only want something with very current references and examples.
Decided it fits?
Exact edition: Paperback · ISBN-13 9780061097836
Worth buying if: You enjoy culinary detail and investigative banter centered on a restaurant critic.
Skip it if: You dislike plotlines anchored in food-world rivalries and dining scene minutiae.
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.
Reader guide
Cues to help you decide faster.
Reading commitment
Balanced Moderate time
At 318 pages, expect a mid-length cozy mystery pace with steady clue-revealing chapters and recurring restaurant set pieces—suitable for several evenings of focused reading.
UPB reader activity
Growing interest
Early reader interest is building around this title on UPB.
What stands out here
This HarperCollins 2000 edition preserves Phyllis Richman’s voice as a food critic-turned-narrator and emphasizes the book’s scenes of reviews, kitchens, and editorial politics.
Best way to approach it
Read with attention to menu details, critic quotes, and gossip threads—keeping track of named restaurants and reviews will reward the mystery’s payoff.
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Paperback: ISBN-13 9780061097836
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.