Recipes for Love and Murder, a sincere, charming South African debut, should ruin a lot of diets; its many irresistible recipes are the creation of Tannie Maria, a gentle-souled widow who believes that good food can solve problems bigger than hunger. . . . Tannie Maria’s painful experiences of domestic abuse — an element in the crime she’s reluctantly looking into — give Andrew’s novel a credibility and depth that nicely ballast its many heartwarming moments, and even now I wish I were writing this with a plate of Karoo Farm Bread at hand.” — USA Today
“A delightful debut, tender and funny. The mystery takes on the worldwide problem of abused women while revealing both the beauties and problems of South Africa. And the recipes will make you want to drop everything and start cooking.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“If you, too, were entranced by Precious Ramotswe, the Botswanan protagonist of Alexander McCall Smith's best-selling sleuth series, get ready for Tannie Maria van Harten. In Recipes for Love and Murder, the delectable debut novel by South African Sally Andrews, Tannie Maria—like Precious—has a heart made of marshmallow and a nose for crime solving. But the most powerful weapons in Tannie Maria's arsenal may be her delicately flavored curries, her homemade apricot jams, and her perfect buttermilk chocolate cake, which she uses to disarm friend and foe alike. Mouth-watering descriptions of food and landscapes delivered in an Afrikaans patois produce a distinctly new kind of tea cozy, one just right for curling up on a cold winter afternoon while daydreaming about the heat of the African sun.” — O, the Oprah Magazine
“Sure, Sherlock Holmes can solve a mind-bending mystery before breakfast, but can he cook the perfect buttermilk chocolate cake? Meet Tannie (‘Auntie’) Maria, a 50-something South African advice columnist with a talent for sleuthing and a penchant for cooking glorious Afrikaans specialties. Possessing more than a little moxie, she stars in this charming new mystery series from debut novelist Sally Andrew. Fans of Alexander McCall Smith are sure to adore Tannie Maria's adventures for years to come.” — Paste Magazine
“Mouth-watering descriptions of food and landscapes delivered in an Afrikaans patois produce a distinctly new kind of tea cozy, one just right for curling up on a cold winter afternoon while daydreaming about the heat of the African sun.” — O, the Oprah Magazine
09/21/2015
Even cozy fans who are foodies may be disappointed by Andrew’s derivative first novel, the launch of a series set in South Africa. Tannie Maria, who has survived an abusive husband, channels her passion for food into a regular column for her local paper, combining recipes with romantic advice. Soon after an anonymous correspondent writes of her own domestic abuse, the woman, Martine van Schalkwyk, a supermarket bookkeeper, is found dead near a pond on the farm where she lives with her husband, Dirk. Feeling guilty, Maria decides to play amateur detective, and in the process she falls for the hunky and available officer in charge of the case, Det. Lt. Henk Kannemeyer. Maria, who frequently talks to her food, lacks the compassionate insight of Mma Ramotswe of No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency fame, and her observations about the world are often less than profound (“maybe life is like a river that can’t be stopped, always winding toward or away from death and love”). (Nov.)
★ 10/01/2015
The dry rolling hills of South Africa's Klein Karoo region serve as the striking backdrop for this winning debut culinary cozy. Middle-aged widow Maria van Harten (known as "Tannie Maria" in the traditional local term of respect) writes a local newspaper advice column that offers wisdom to the desperate and lovelorn via mouth-watering recipes. (In a typical example, a young woman is given sex advice couched in terms of instructions for making chocolate-covered bananas.) When an abused woman who sought her counsel turns up dead, Tannie Maria is reminded of her own terrifying experience with domestic assault. Armed with her wits, the help of a handsome police detective, and killer milk tart, Maria sets out to crack the case and soothe her lonely heart. VERDICT Take a pinch of Alexander McCall Smith, a dash of Diane Mott Davidson, and add a smidge of the wild veld and you'll get a taste for this lekker story (that's "delicious" in Afrikaans). While the tone is heartfelt, Andrew doesn't shy away from the realities of spousal abuse or the shadow of South Africa's tumultuous history. With a fascinating setting, engaging characters, and a full complement of drool-worthy recipes, this is sure to leave readers craving more. [See Prepub Alert, 6/1/15.]—Annabelle Mortensen, Skokie P.L., IL
Narrator Sandra Prinsloo is perfect as Tannie Maria, a middle-aged Afrikaans advice columnist at the “Klein Karoo Gazette.” Tannie Maria is enjoying a quiet life of cooking and eating—her two favorite reasons to be alive—when a letter pleading for help leads her into a murder investigation. Prinsloo is excellent at portraying the story’s many diverse characters and perfectly captures the serious scenes as well as the comedic ones. The South African/Afrikaans words and accent are a delight to listen to, although listeners may strain to fully understand in places. The glossary included in the original book would have been a nice addition to the audio version. The audiobook is completed by a reading of Tannie Maria’s recipes, which all sound delicious. M.M.G. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
★ 2015-08-17
A South African woman cooks out of love while hoping for the real thing. Tannie Maria's mother was Afrikaans, her father English, and her late husband an abuser whose passing she does not mourn. She lives with her five chickens on a small property in the Klein Karoo and writes a recipe column for the Klein Karoo Gazette until her friend and editor, Hattie Christie, tells her that the head office wants an advice column and there's no room for both the new feature and her recipes. The good news is that Tannie Maria can write the new column. Since the only thing she knows about love concerns cooking, she combines the two in "Tannie Maria's Love Advice and Recipe Column" and achieves a smashing success. One of the first letters she receives is from Martine van Schalkwyk, whose equally abusive husband has recently shot the ducks she received as a gift from a female friend. The columnist sends advice and a recipe, but neither prevents Martine's death. Tannie Maria and Jessie Mostert, the ambitious young investigative journalist for the Gazette, decide to investigate, to the consternation of Detective Lt. Henk Kannemeyer, a widower who takes a shine to Tannie Maria but wishes she would stick to cooking. Although Tannie Maria, Jessie, and Anna Pretorius, Martine's grieving friend, all think Dirk van Schalkwyk killed his wife, the police arrest Anna, whose fingerprints are on the murder weapon. Anna and Dirk, each convinced the other is the murderer, nearly kill each other, but Tannie Maria and Jessie think otherwise. A delightful debut, tender and funny. The mystery takes on the worldwide problem of abused women while revealing both the beauties and problems of South Africa. And the recipes will make you want to drop everything and start cooking.
