Arsenic and Adobo - Mia P. Manansala - 4 Stars - Steeplechase - BWF

[Olivermagnus]

Arsenic and Adobo follows Lila Macapagal, who has come home to Shady Palms after a very bad breakup so she can figure out what to do with the rest of her life. In the meantime, she’s helping run the family restaurant, called Tita Rosie’s Kitchen, with her Tita Rosie and Lola Flor. It’s not the cafe she dreamed of putting up one day, but it’s still a good opportunity for her to figure out the next step in her life.

Unfortunately, her ex-boyfriend has recently become a restaurant critic and is doing his best to give bad reviews to Tita Rosie’s Kitchen. Lila tries not to go ballistic, but it's not easy. All of that changes when he dies right there in the family restaurant, after eating Lila’s food. With the restaurant shut down and the police believing she’s the prime suspect, Lila decides that it’s time to do some investigating of her own. After all, this is a cozy mystery!

This was a fairly complex mystery with some unexpected depth. There were plenty of characters and suspects to keep it interesting. Because no one liked the food critic, there were many people who could have easily done it.

I really enjoyed the small-town setting and the Filipino American representation. The food will be unique to most readers and sounded delicious. Luckily, there are recipes included in case you want to give one or two a try. The mystery is interesting and the characters’ banter is funny, but this book is clearly written by someone who has a passion for food, especially Filipino cuisine. If you're interested in fun, cozy, food related mystery series, give this one a try.

[NancyJ]

Sounds good! I have this in mind for the food tag too.

[KateNZ]

I agree this sounds good! I’m trying to cover different cultures with my reading this month - it would be great to have a Filipino option. I’ll see if the library has this.