They feature an amateur sleuth, small town setting, crime or violence off-the-page, and oftentimes a device or gimmick, like a hobby, interest, or pet that becomes an important feature. Lila Macapagal, smarting from a breakup in Chicago, returns home to tiny Shady Palms, Illinois, to help save her aunt Tita Rosies Filipino restaurant. DETECTIVES & PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS | influencers in the know since 1933. by "In typical Filipino fashion, my aunt expressed her love not through words of encouragement or affectionate embraces, but through food. it was so fun!! Grate the lemon zest directly into the bowl and add the crystallized ginger, if using. Arsenic and Adobo is a suspense-filled story about a college-aged Filipino woman named Lila who returns to her hometown to help her family's restaurant business, only for her ex-boyfriend to die in said restaurant while interacting with her.Not an ideal situation. Mash the bananas in a large bowl, then add the coconut oil and honey. Lila is helping out in the family restaurant when her ex-boyfriend dies of what looks like poisoning. The landlords son, Derek, dies in the restaurant after eating a dessert served by Lila. My brothers and I were usually relegated to simple tasks like rolling lumpia, peeling vegetables, etc. Lila Macapagal has moved back to Shady Palms after a hella-bad breakup, and is trying to help her aunt with her restaurant, which is in financial trouble. berkley, hear my filipino american prayers. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. 5 Reviews. Good work, Sarah! by If you like a culturally vibrant and delicious world with an unpredictable cast for your cozy mysteries, you might like this. are just as important because they allow us to be portrayed as fully human. The best part of this being a culinary cozy is that recipes for four of these delicious dishes were included! GENERAL MYSTERY & DETECTIVE, by Maybe we just dont know enough about the food in the story to pick up on it, but we agree that in ARSENIC AND ADOBO the food is used for the comfort and connection it creates rather than symbolically like in LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE. the characters attitudes definitely werent my favorite (just didnt seem realistic honestly), but this book was still so entertaining and fun! And because of the history of the US and its global power, its very easy to assume that the American perspective is a universal perspective. This book hits the exact right spot, in my opinion. If youd like to receive updates in your inbox, visit our subscribe page and sign up for the content you crave! Food was how she communicated. We explore these divergent cultures through their foods, because each family that could be involved in the first murder owns a restaurant and is being harassed by the local food critic, Derek Long, our unwitting sleuths high school sweetheart. (MINOR SPOILERS)In Goodreads reviewer Jens words, The lack of concern from characters also extends to how seriously (or not) they take what becomes multiple felony charges. He taught me everything I know about food in general, and Filipino food especially. It was okay, and mostly enjoyable. Not as substantive as I would have liked it to be and could be kind of cringey at times. Yeah. Right after a body is found (as in, within an hour or so) two direct relatives of the deceased arrive at Lila and Tita Rosies house to spend the night. Murder. I do, however, love making Filipino desserts! Fraud. Everyone felt like a real, vibrant person with important 21st-century concerns. When there's a multicultural cast and good food thrown into the mix, even better. DETECTIVES & PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS | With Lila as the main suspect and the discovery that Derek had been somehow poisoned by arsenic, Lila takes it upon herself, with the help of her best friend, the barista Adeena and her aptly named chubby dachshund Longganisa, to find the true culprit, clear her name and get Tita Rosies reopened. Great job! In one scene that particularly spoke to me, Lila is reflecting on her decision to leave her hometown after graduation, and she thinks: But it got to the point where I felt like I couldnt breathe. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our, Speak to recruitment advertising specialist, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. A top-class cozy infused with dry wit and charming characters who draw you in and leave you wanting more, please. ), she has no intention of calling in Tempe as a consultant and promptly identifies the faceless body herself as that of a young Asian man. Were glad you found a book that interests you! Insinuating that he asked for it. The mystery itself pales in comparison to the scenes where Lila and her aunties are together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet bowl and mix lightly with a rubber spatula until just combined. Additionally, I really enjoyed the small-town setting because I was able to connect with Lilas complex feelings surrounding her hometown, from feeling frustrated with being called selfish for moving away after graduating high school to feeling guilty because shedoesfeel selfish for moving away. It would not be true to life if I didnt include these people in my work. Anything else, Im not allowed to talk about since theyre not official or announced yet, but Im hoping by the end of the year I can share some very exciting news with you all!, Arsenic and Adobo is seasoned thoroughly with Filipino culture from the relationships to the names and the food, of course. Barnes In the tradition of Agatha Christie, Mia Manansala's debut novel has murder after murder, a large cast of suspects, an evil scheme and a police detective always one step behind the amateur sleuth. Instead of being upset over her injury and stressing over it, she took it as an opportunity to demand that Kevin gives Adeena, her best friend who works at the coffee shop, a huge opportunity, and says, Oh, and I might need her to sneak out a little early for the next couple of weeks without you docking her pay. This would never happen. Food was how she communicated. Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala will appeal to fans of culinary cozy mysteries. Kathy Reichs This middle-grade thriller will definitely charm its target audience (and any older readers who happen across it,) while also imparting some really valuable lessons in a way thats both subtle and entertaining. He was the cook in the house, and it was from him that I learned how food can be someones love language.. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. I want a terrific mystery with characters I enjoy spending time with and a happy ending. Magazine Subscribers (How to Find Your Reader Number), Winners of the 2022 Anthony Awards Are Revealed, Nominees for the Edgar Awards Are Revealed. Despite ARSENIC AND ADOBO being a murder-mystery, with dead bodies and vicious attacks galore, Mia P. Mansalas food writing was so evocative and immersive that the smell of a Filipino bakery never left my mind as I read. 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Summary Arsenic and Adobo The first book in a new culinary cozy series full of sharp humor and delectable dishesone that might just be killer. Find out this ancient time-inspired skincare regimen in Greenbelt Makati, Revenge Travel Mode activated? A RUSA Award-winning novel! Lila Macapagal returns to her hometown of Shady Palms after a broken engagement to help out at her aunt's restaurant. This book is freaking gem!. But thats because cozies are specifically meant to be less step-by-step than other mystery/thrillers, with violence largely occurring off-stage, and are usually set in small, tight-knit communities, which means protagonists often have an easier time collecting information and investigating than they would in reality. Like a fresh onion about to be added to chicken adobo, this story has layers of secrets, rafts of suspects and ample red herrings to make a nice stew. Much of my perspective is shaped by the fact that I live in the US. Kidnapping. Adults: The Devils Hand: A Thriller by Jack Carr; Colleges Worth Your Money: A Guide to What Americas Top Schools Can Do For You by Andrew Belasco; Get Good With Money: Ten Simple Steps to Becoming Financially Whole by Tiffany Aliche, Teens: Off the Record by Camryn Garrett; Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli; The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer, Juvenile: Who is Dwayne The Rock Johnson? by James Buckley; Orange is an Apricot, Green is a Tree Frog: Explore the Natural World Through Color by Estellon Pascale; Malaikas Surprise by Nadia L. Hohn, Picture Books: Hudson and Tallulah Take Sides by Anna Kang; We Listen to Our Bodies by Lydia Bowers; Coqu in the City by Nomar Perez, Entertainment DVD: Robertas Fitness for Kids, News of the World, Stray, TV Series DVD: Power Book II: Ghost Season 1, Umbrella Academy Season 1, Sesame Street Cool Counting Collection, Audiobook CD: The Anthropocene by John Green, Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Ahmed Azizs Epic Year by Nina Hamza, Downloadable audiobooks: Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena, Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin, Mixed Plate by Jo Koy, E-books: She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan; The Coldest Case by Martin Walker; While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory, Hoopla Music: Sleep Fruits by Sleep Fruits Music, Retro Workout Jams by Various Artists, Therapy by Anne-Marie. With the help of her resourceful best friend, Adeena Awan, and Amir, Adeenas lawyer-brother, on the case, Lila hopes to stay out of jail. Yet readers havent gotten two chapters into Arsenic and Adobo when Derek, served pork and chicken adobo, among other Pinoy dishes, hears these words from Lila: Oh, come on. Your email address will not be published. Maybe thats the point.) Drug addiction. For example: in one scene, Lila unknowingly walks onto the scene of a violent crime and discovers the unconscious and bleeding body of someone she knew well. Because Lilas aunt runs a restaurant, theres a LOT of food, but theres also dinner parties, welcoming new business owners with food, plus baking and coffee experiments that made my eyes roll back in my head wishing the cakes were real. RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021. This is the beach book of 2021, if the pandemic subsides enough for us to go to the beach. But the diabetic representation in this book angered me. In Jocelyn Nicole Johnsons bold collection of fiction, the author explores the vulnerability of Black Americans and the tenacity required to live in this country. She uses humor (and murder) to explore aspects of the Filipino diaspora, queerness, and her millennial love for pop culture. Arsenic and Adobo. Food is culture. The inconsistencies both legal and emotional reached a point where, in order to keep reading, I had to accept that aside from the food and the culinary descriptions, this story was not connected to a reality I recognized. She attended Northeastern University in Chicago and majored in English. This care and attention made clear that, to our protagonist, Lila Macapagal, Filipino food is more than just sustenance. Arsenic and Adobo is as immensely colorful as every dish, not just the Filipino ones. Now that I'm caught up and picking up some new series and authors, I borrowed book one from the library to see if it would be a good fit. Police corruption. There was a palpable absence of grief, too, which bothered me the longer I read. It is the first of the Tita Rosies Kitchen Mystery series, from Manansalas three-book deal with her publisher. L. D. Barnes writes mystery, historical fiction and poetry. Lila often talks directly to the reader, often with timely insights: Why do they always serve a soggy slice of white bread with barbecue? Mix thoroughly. The perfect rainy day read . Can you guess before she does? i (sadly) havent read LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE yet, so i cant speak to way food is used as a metaphor in the book, but i watched the movie adaptation and can speak to the role food played in that! Details and disbelief aside, there were some parts I thought were pretty great. Maybe Lila Macapagals Tita Rosies restaurant isnt the fanciest, but Tita Rosies serves up the finest Filipino cuisine in Shady Palms, no matter what online reviewer Derek Winter says. I mean A cute, cozy mystery with lots of food descriptions. When someone rejected her food, they were really rejecting her heart.. Murder After Murder: A Review of Mia Manansala's Arsenic and Adobo May 6, 2021 at 7:00 am by L.D. Oof, thats too bad, Ive been looking forward to reading it and the suspension of disbelief needed to do so sounds pretty high. TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. The third book will be out in November of that year. THRILLER | Arsenic and Adobo. No case is too cold! In typical Filipino fashion, my aunt expressed her love not through words of encouragement or affectionate embraces, but through food. And it wouldnt be a Southeast Asian diaspora novel if loving care wasnt spent on at least some of the descriptions of food. by Her high-school ex-boyfriend, Derek Winter, comes by to lambast yet another dish in the restaurant but passes out and dies in the hospital. How does attempted murder sound?, Categories: When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. Once there, she meets ex-boyfriend Derek Winter, who has become a notoriously nasty food vlogger and whose stepfather, Mr. Long, is not only the restaurants landlord but wants nothing more than to kick out their establishment. Like Lila I dont speak Tagalog fluently, so to still recognize the phrases and comfort foods from my childhood in the text was extra heartwarming. Just Another Obstacle: A Review of "The Fell". She decides to investigate the nefarious ex to find out who really killed him. Familial Bonds: A Review of Brothers, Sisters, Strangers: Sibling Estrangement and the Road to Reconciliation, The Pied Piper Is Back: A Review of Children of Chicago by Cynthia Pelayo, The Price of Freedom: A Review of The Schoolhouse by Sophie Ward, Sweet Relief: A Review of Mary Kubicas The Other Mrs., Lending Poetry to Headlines: A Review of Im Gonna Say It Now: The Writings of Phil Ochs, Good Will Journey: A Review of Dawn Raffels Boundless as the Sky. Lila Macapagal returns to her hometown of Shady Palms after a broken engagement to help out at her aunt's restaurant. Elizabeth used to have an unspecified job, possibly as a spy, that has left her with a large network of helpful sources. The mystery is somewhat repetitive, though I confess I didnt recognize the culprit working behind the scenes until nearly the end. (LogOut/ I grew up in a mainly Latin neighborhood in Chicago, and my childhood best friends were of El Salvadoran and Colombian ancestry. Same for mystery genre tropesI read so many crime fiction books and have been part of the crime fiction community for so long, I forget that not everyone has the same knowledge that I do about the genre. Derek just happens to be Lila's former high school boyfriend, and when he dies of food poisoning after eating "the Filipino culinary equivalent of hygge," Lila is the prime suspect. Help out at her aunt 's restaurant a culinary cozy is that recipes for four of these delicious were... Left her with a large bowl, then add the dry ingredients the. Do, however, love making Filipino desserts include these people in my work like to receive updates in inbox. Mash the bananas in a large network of helpful sources is as arsenic and adobo who killed derek colorful as every dish, not the. He taught me everything I know about food in general, and her are. Infused with dry wit and charming characters who draw you in and leave wanting! 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