Food, Drink, and the Female Sleuth

FOOD, DRINK, AND THE FEMALE SLEUTH by The Sisters Wells
IUniverse - 2001
ISBN: 0595179762 - Paperback
Analyzing the female amateur sleuth in fiction

Reviewed by Nancy Mehl, MyShelf.com
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Patricia Wells Lunneborg, a retired professor of psychology, and her sister, Roberta Wells Ryan, a retired writer-editor, have put together a fascinating book that tracks the relationship of food in the lives of some the most popular female sleuths in the literary world.

Nevada Barr, Margaret Chittenden, Susan Dunlap, Patricia Cornwell, Janet Evanovich, Earlene Fowler, Sue Grafton, Carolyn Hart, Laura Lippman, Margaret Maron, Marcia Muller, Sara Paretsky, Nancy Pickard, and Dana Stabenow are just a few of the women writers featured in this intriguing collection.

For readers, this is an interesting look into the personalities of characters whose dining tendencies range from the sophisticated - to one step beyond eating out of the trash can! If you've never read a Sue Grafton novel, come and meet PI Kinsey Millhone - over skim milk and Cheerios - eaten while standing over the kitchen sink.

For writers, this book should be a permanent fixture - right next to their thesaurus. FOOD, DRINK, AND THE FEMALE SLEUTH is a perfect example of the art of developing complex characters. Our food choices, along with the way we eat, can speak volumes about us. The detective who won't cook, shunning healthy food for junk food, shows us she is reckless and down to earth. A protagonist whose cupboards are bare is obviously driven in areas beyond her kitchen.

There are lots of fun examples detailing the personal eating habits of famous female sleuths in this jam-packed book. I guarantee that anyone who loves food, loves to read, or has ever had a question about character development, will find FOOD, DRINK, AND THE FEMALE SLEUTH an absolute treasure!