Arsenic and Adobo, published on May 4, 2021, is the first book in a series of mysteries by Mia P. Manansala, collectively titled "A Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery". I love mysteries and whodunits but in the past few years, Ive grown weary of all the violence and anxiety that accompany a lot of true crime or murder mysteries. (I may have come to find out who committed the murder, but I left with a recipe for ube crinkle cookies.) . Lila Macapagal, smarting from a breakup in Chicago, returns home to tiny Shady Palms, Illinois, to help save her aunt Tita Rosies Filipino restaurant. The first in the Tita Rosie's Kitchen mystery series, it's about a young woman named Lila Macapagal whose life feels rather like a romantic comedy. I needed to figure out who killed Derek Winter. (Seriously, the way Detective Park behaves the whole investigation is pretty sus. Grate the lemon zest directly into the bowl and add the crystallized ginger, if using. It is highly toxic in its inorganic form. Great job! Deciding that her only option is to investigate the murder herself, she and her best friend, Adeena, set out to prove her innocence. Drug addiction. Lila asks the same questions over and over again, and despite us being handed an important piece of information at the 29% mark, she cant figure out how to work it into the case even though the reader is able to figure it out right away. She is working on the second novel in her Chicago Street Crime series while living on the far south side. Just Another Obstacle: A Review of "The Fell". Lila lets her get away, and Edwin's murder is pinned on the comatose Kevin, Nancy Long, kills her husband after finding out that he attempted to kill her only son. Maybe thats the point.) <3, If there's one thing Filipino people are good at, it's showing up for other Filipinos' achievements. Since shes returned to her hometown of Shady Palms, Illinois after a disastrous break up with her fianc, Lila may no longer need Filipino food to remind her of her physical home, but she could definitely use the comfort it brings. Would it kill you to say something nice for a change? At which point, Derek face-plants into his foodand dies. When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. You know how in some stories, a character will die and theres no real mourning, or any emotional fallout for the family and friends? (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. I originally pictured it as a turo-turo-style restaurant, but it didnt feel right for the setting. 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. Being a cozy mystery, ARSENIC AND ADOBO is definitely not a mystery/thriller cut from the same cloth as books like SHARP OBJECTS by Gillian Flynn or AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie its not nearly as rigorous in its accuracy (in terms of legal proceedings) or in establishing scenarios that feel grounded in reality; there were multiple points where I was left thinking, In what world would this actually happen?. Manansala includes recipes at the end of the book, and my sweet tooth will love testing out Lilas Ube Crinkles! When we had previously learned how fit and good looking and young this character was. Arsenic and Adobo is as immensely colorful as every dish, not just the Filipino ones. People are exposed to elevated levels of inorganic arsenic through drinking contaminated water, using contaminated water in food preparation and irrigation of food crops . 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. Required fields are marked *. A RUSA Award-winning novel! She believes he is spreading lies about her aunts caf in his blog, and it has something to do with their years-ago breakup. The restaurants situation is only made worse when Derek Winter, a food critic and Lilas ex-boyfriend from high school, drops dead while dining there, shutting the restaurant down until it can be inspected and making Lila the lead suspect in a homicide investigation. View all 2 comments. Ive heard it described as a cozy mystery and thats exactly what it is, a perfectly cozy puzzle to solve. Derek was a notorious food critic in town who wrote harsh restaurant reviews of many restaurants, so Lila sets out to talk to restaurant owners he burned during his writing career. When Lilas ex-boyfriend drops dead during his meal with his stepfather, the restaurants landlord, Lila becomes the prime suspect. ARSENIC AND ADOBO is a cozy mystery by a Filipino-American author. Or maybe, wash dishes, dry, then repeat at a different restaurant. TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. 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. To save herself from taking the fall for Dereks murder and keep Tita Rosies Kitchen in business, Lila sets out to find the killer herself. A top-class cozy infused with dry wit and charming characters who draw you in and leave you wanting more, please. The second book, Homicide And Halo-Halo, was published on February 8, 2022. Have you ever been to a Filipino bakery? Synopsis: The first book in a new culinary cozy series full of sharp humor and delectable dishesone that might just be killer.. Thanks for the thorough review! GENERAL & DOMESTIC THRILLER, by Showboat Medical Examiner Margot Heavner makes it clear that, breaking with her departments earlier practice (The Bone Collection, 2016, etc. While the pursuit of justice has long been one of her watchwords, she fully acknowledges that there, After the tumultuous, often horrifying events of the past few months, Detective Sergeant Jessica Niemi is glad to finally be at peace with her co-workers in the Helsinki Police Violent Crimes Unit, and especially with her demanding new boss, Superintendent Hellu Lappi. When I made them in my own kitchen, I tweaked them to my particular taste, and how I remember my dads food tasting. She's tasked with saving her Tita Rosie's failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking . It would not be true to life if I didnt include these people in my work. 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. This would never happen; a cop would never tell a lead suspect that theyre being watched. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Sylvie Munro is on the cusp of attaining everything shes ever wanted. So to be able to correspond in an email interview was a rare opportunity to unravel the, Eye-catching views, sights, and attractions are vital to tourism. The main character has a great personality and easily catches your adoration and interest. Categories: The mystery is somewhat repetitive, though I confess I didnt recognize the culprit working behind the scenes until nearly the end. Im trying to work up the courage to make kare-kare since its my favorite, but since my husband doesnt care for it, I mostly just get it from the local turo-turo restaurant. My dad did the vast majority of the cooking when I lived at home, but our kitchen was too small for me to watch him and learn his recipes. Insinuating that he asked for it. I think Manansala has a lot of potential and has proven herself to be a clearly gifted storyteller, and Ill most likely pick up the next book in the series, crossing my fingers that her plotlines become more grounded in reality while looking forward to reading descriptions of lumpia and suman. Foodies, Crime Novel Lovers, and Filipino Americans, rejoice. Combine 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp ground ginger, tsp cinnamon, and tsp cayenne. Lila isnot great at detecting. It is a deeply complex novel about a young woman who stands up for herself by finding the person that murdered her ex-boyfriend with arsenic, a potent chemical. My best friends are Cambodian, Korean and Puerto Rican Americans. RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2020. She performs locally. Mia P. Manansala. At the same point she realizes how poisoned and ultimately killed Derek, Lila starts to question who killed Mr. Long, who she was also familiar with. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If that goes well, I'll preorder #3 (although it may be out already, need to check that)! RELEASE DATE: Sept. 22, 2020. Derek Winter may have been Lila's ex, but she thought he was at most a nuisance until she learned that he was involved in a drug ring and a restaurant health-inspecting scam. Go to Appearance > Customize > Subscribe Pop-up to set this up. This was especially puzzling to me because the author clearly tried to make sure she had a diverse group of characters (yay representation! You tell me that, I know I did my job well, Lilianna Manahan, On Sunday night, the 29th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards saw some of the biggest stars in the entertainment industry flaunt their fashionable, Moschino: say the name and its almost impossible not to conjure up images of flamboyant excess, unbridled creativity, and an unapologetic embrace of, Lao Lianben is an elusive artist. 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. 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