I know there are several authors doing these now but I've yet to try them. I love to cook ( and eat ) and I love to read so I figure they're a natural for me.

Anyone have any recommendations?

Dianne Mott Davidson is very popular, though I don't know how great they are, personally.  They always flew off my shelf. :)

I really enjoy the Goldy Bear series by Diane Mott Davidson.  The characters are great and there are wonderful recipes throughout the book as well.

Laura Childs-Tea Shop Mysteries

Joanne Fluke-Hannah Swensen Mysteries

JoAnna Carl-Chocoholic Mysteries

Sammi Carter-Candy Shop Mysteries

Nancy Fairbanks-Carolyn Blue (food writer) Mysteries

Lou Jane Temple-The Spice Box Mysteries & The Heaven Lee Mysteries

Peter King-Gourmet Detective Mysteries (no recipes)

Karen MacInerny-Gray Whale Inn Mysteries

Cleo Coyle-Coffe Shop Mysteries

Leslie Meyer-Lucy Stone Mysteries

Michelle Scott-Wine Lover's Mysteries

Some have better mysteries, some better writing, some better recipes...My favourite is Laura Childs.  I'm liking The Gray Whale Inn Mysteries as well, but that may be because I'm only on my second one.  I tend to burn out on a series after a bit. Or maybe the author does ; )

Oh, bless y'alls hearts! Thanks for the great suggestions! Now I've got lots more to add to the 4,287 books on my WL. ( Just kidding ).

The Cooking Class Mysteries by Miranda Bliss are really good.  None of them are available in the system right now, so if they interest you, you'll have to WL them.  :)

Ditto Miranda Bliss!  I read the first one and loved it!!

Here's a link to the food and drink section in www.stopyourrekillingme.com:     http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/JobCats/aj-food.html

Thanks, Rhonda & Amanda ;-)

Wow! what a great site ( the stop, you're killing me one ). Looks like I need to get off the computer and READ !!!

The Penn Dutch Inn series by Tamar Myers has recipes and is funny also.  Mary Dahiem's bed and breadfast series has recipes.

joanne fluke and diane mott davidson are my favorites right now

Cybtha Lawrence has a culinary mystery series, She's got two books called Chill Before Serving and Take Out City.

Wow!  I'd never heard of "culinary mysteries" before!  The closest I can come would be the China Bayles Herbal Mysteries.  I read one and it was pretty good.  Sort of a Southern flavor to them.

I really like Dianne Mott Davidson too.  The heroine is clever caterer who always happens to find herself in midst of a murder.  It's fun because she's a more realistic kind of character - mid 40s, fluffy.  I think I've read pretty much all of them. They are really enjoyable reads and there are yummy recipes scattered through out them. Be forwarded - Goldie always likes to bake when she's trying to sort out a mystery - so having baked goods in the house when reading the series isn't a bad idea :)

Jimmie Ruth Evans' trailer park series is awesome.  The main character, Wanda Nell, works at a diner called the Kountry Kitchen, and some recipes are included.  I don't know that I would classify it as a culinary series, but it fits the bill in a roundabout way and I loved all four books in the series so far.

Diane Mott Davidson are my favorite, but the others listed are all good.

This is not a series but a title:  Beat Until Stiff by Claire Johnson. It is about a murder that takes place inside the kitchen of a restaurant.

Another single book in the cooking/murder genre is "Debt to Pleasure" by John Lanchester.  It begins as a man writing an arch, intellectual treatise on food and recipes, then it gradually becomes apparent that he is especially well-versed in the foods that are poisonous. . .

Joanne Pence's Angie Amalfi books are fun, too.

The Madeline Bean Catering Mysteries by Jerrilyn Farmer

Cecile Lamalle has a culinary mystery series out. The first book is called An Appetite for Murder.