Name: Take-Out
ISBN: 9781947993426

Rob Hart

"A collection of '16 winning food-themed tales' (Publishers Weekly) all revolving around culinary crimes, from the acclaimed author of the Ash McKenna series." --

And Other Tales of Culinary Crime

Take-Out

Alexia Cambaling

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Take-Out has plenty of short stories most of which involve food in one form or another. These stories also involve crime of different kinds. There's theft, murder, mob shakedowns, attempted prison escapes, crime families, etc. I found most of them to be interesting and I did enjoy the crime aspect. The stories can be a bit of a hit or miss however and mileage can vary. 

Personally, my favorite was Creampuff which was about a patisserie bouncer who was rather strict and serious about his job but was found endearing by many. I thought that it was a touching story despite the ending and I liked how the owners treated this bouncer's steadfastness and loyalty.

Another story I enjoyed but was considerably shorter was Bhut Jolokia which was about a woman who was sick of getting her lunch stolen by the lunch bully and doesn't quite get the ending she expected.

A story which surprisingly made me laugh was Learning Experience. I could admire the chef's hustle and how he managed to con gullible customers into believing they're eating human meat when it's really jamon iberico.

Overall, there's quite a varied number of stories here and everyone's bound to find something they like. I personally enjoyed it for the most part and can recommend it to anyone who likes short stories and crime fiction.

Take-Out And Other Tales of Culinary Crime