Albert Smith’s Culinary Capers Books In Order

Publication Order of Albert Smith's Culinary Capers Books

One year after the passing of his wife, a retired police superintendent Albert decides to fulfill his wife’s wish by learning how to cook. He plans on doing it his way by traveling around and getting skills in preparing various dishes. Albert has a lot of dishes to explore throughout the journey. Everywhere he goes, there turns out to be a body or two, and he lets his dog Rex help hunt the culprit.

Pork Pie Pandemonium is Albert Smith’s Culinary Capers series debut. Albert, the retired detective, had begun his happy retirement, but soon the wife passed away. His three children are all grown up, and police officers are worried about his health, especially his memory loss.

Albert decides to acquire a police dog, which a school rejects due to its behavior and attitude. He designed him a reflective jacket with the mark ‘assistant Dog’ so that it could accompany him in areas where normal dogs are restricted.

He also prepared himself to tour the country to do sampling and learn to make famous British culinary even when his children disapproved of it. Alberts’s first stop is Melton Mowbray, where he was visiting Agnew’s pork Pie emporium to earn skills on how to prepare a perfect pork pie. He hopes to get the right skills to make tasty treats and delicious pies.

Things take a different turn when a thumb is discovered on one of the meats piles the class members were supposed to use to make the pies. He finds a clue to a crime when he thinks of getting skills. As the owner is in hospital after getting appendix surgery, her teenage daughter, Donna, is running the Agnew’s. She believes it’s one of the latest pranks pulled by owners of the Simmons pork pie across the alleyway.

For a long, Simmons has wanted to illegally acquire Agnew’s business and honor. However, it doesn’t make sense since Donna and Simon’s son Toby has been dating for a while now.

His dog Rex Harrison was an ex-police dog disowned due to its bad attitude. Rex can’t understand why humans find it hard to solve the mystery. He already has the answer, as he can smell it in front of their noses.

Albert feels terrible for Donna, considering she might be held responsible for the thumb. He plans on investigating and helping the teenage daughter as the shop is set to be closed. Might the jealous pork pie shop across the street be responsible? Is something more sinister going on?

Everything that began as fun is getting more deadly with time, and they have to work out what the dog knows soon enough, or it could take a different turn. They have to identify the owner of the thumb before taking any other step. It is even more, easier because it has a unique tattoo on it. Rex, Albert, and Donna visit the tattoo parlors, trying to identify the thumb’s owner.

Rex had learned some skills at the police academy before getting kicked out. He alerts them when he smells drugs and tries hard enough to signal them. However, they don’t notice his signal. Rex even communicated to Albert about the source of the funny smells, drugs, and thumb and that it came from the nearby mechanic shop, but he didn’t understand.

They discover all kinds of things as they look deeper into the case, including a drug sting. Unfortunately, Rex and Albert attract the villain’s attention, and later his room at the B&B is firebombed.

Soon Donna and Albert learn that it belongs to a night guard at the Simmons. Pork Pie Pandemonium is a thrilling mystery set in modern England. Albert is a friendly and exciting character but can be stubborn at times as he insists on solving the mystery. The story has a sense of humor and suspense to keep the readers engaged. No graphic descriptions of violence or cussing, so readers who are not fans of violence shouldn’t shy away.

The novel combines the interest and suspense of who did it with the humanity of senior living accompanied by a faithful and dedicated dog. Rex shares his thoughts with the reader even when Albert can’t hear or understand them. He gets the chance to dialogue during the story, but unfortunately, his words only stay in his head since no one can listen to him except the other dogs.

Bakewell Tart Bludgeoning

Albert Smith is still on his culinary trip in Britain with his snarky ex-police dog Rex Harrison. His son Randall is with him; as they travel on the second round, they find and learn how to cook different foods famous in various parts of the country.

It’s a great idea for fathers and sons to join cooking classes to learn how to make a Bakewell dessert. It’s a common topic in local conversation, and according to a certain local lady working at the B&B, it’s an offense if you are found calling the Bakewell desert by the wrong name.

On their first day at Bakewell, they find out that one of the landladies o their B&B has been involved in a grisly accident. Lucky for them, they manage to get through the police barrier only to find more tragedy inside the B&B.

Denying to believe in coincidence, Albert and Rex prepare to discover why her accident is the second terrible event in two days. It appears something is baking in Bakewell, and it’s not the ingredients of the famous dessert.

As a retired detective, Albert naturally starts collecting clues together as his instincts feel something sinister is going on. However, his son, a chief inspector, feels there is no link between the two events.

What follows is incoherent as things get darker, and the dog appears to be the only one who can figure them out. The duo must work faster as trouble increases before someone else suffers the accident. Soon they find that the landlady’s twin sister is keeping a secret. As Rex works overtime, it’s evident that there are chances they might hunt down the people responsible. However, that might be the beginning of the real troubles. It’s fun watching how Rex’s silent messages to his humans aren’t understood.