This is the premise of Filipino American author Mia P. Manansalas Arsenic and Adobo (Berkley Prime Crime, New York, 2021, 316 pages), an utterly charming detective novel with an unusual setting and unusual characters. 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. Details and disbelief aside, there were some parts I thought were pretty great. Food is a love language. 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 Rosie's reopened. Season of Love, with Helena Greer and Sam Brody, 550. RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021. it was definitely a ton of fun, thanks ashmita . MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | This is a delightfully spicy take on banana bread, and it really does go perfectly with a nice cup of tea, especially ginger if you have it. 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. Mia P. Manansala The mystery is somewhat repetitive, though I confess I didnt recognize the culprit working behind the scenes until nearly the end. also this is 100% without question going to be my lola's fave read of 2021. blessings all around and my heart is so very full! 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. 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. View all 2 comments. It is an immensely popular subgenre brimming with colorful small towns. Arsenic and Adobo. 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. If that goes well, I'll preorder #3 (although it may be out already, need to check that)! Manansala is the perfect person to write this book. ?Mia P. Manansala manages to create a murder mystery where nothing is too horrifying and you know everything will be okay in the end. Its even worse when hot, silver-fox Detective Park accuses Lila of Dereks murder. You might also enjoy Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chen and A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette. Also, it will make you very hungry for Filipino foodand then it delivers with recipes in the back! (LogOut/ This was really cute, and I loved the family in this book and learning more about the Filipino culture and the food, but I dont know if cozy mysteries are my thing. Many of his subjects have Latin American roots and all the stories in the collection take place on the border of Mexico and Texas. Not just issue books that mine our pain and trauma (though those are hugely important), but stories where we get to fall in love, go on an adventure, solve a crime, find joy, etc. 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. But while ARSENIC AND ADOBO has moments that allow its small-town setting to shine and work in its favor, this book could be frustratingly inaccurate in its depictions of legal proceedings and crime investigation. But Lila? That. RELEASE DATE: Sept. 22, 2020. In the tradition of Agatha Christie, Mia Manansalas 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. I really want to thank my sensitivity reader, a homeland Filipino reader, who not only helped me realize I needed to include that Authors Note but also provided me with the resources to share. The landlords son, Derek, dies in the restaurant after eating a dessert served by Lila. 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. In addition to the clever mystery, I was also really taken with the wonderful characterizations in this #OwnVoices debut. SomehowI still dont quite know how? <3, If there's one thing Filipino people are good at, it's showing up for other Filipinos' achievements. At one point near the end, a tertiary character makes a decision that absolutely baffled me in context, to the point where I thought Id missed a chapter, but it was toward the end, so it was one more shrug in a long, long line of them. Mia P. Manansala, Arsenic and Adobo. Spare by Prince Harry, with Melissa Blue, 548. Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis resigned, saying he felt it was his . Mia P. Manansala is a book coach and the author of ARSENIC AND ADOBO (Berkley 2021), the first in the Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series. Get help and learn more about the design. A top-class cozy infused with dry wit and charming characters who draw you in and leave you wanting more, please. I then went back to Manila for high school and college, after which, I came back to live in Chicago. The book is dedicated to my dad, who passed away at the end of 2018, she explains. The mounting evidence of ever more and ever worse skulduggery will pull Tempe deeper and deeper down what even she sees as a rabbit hole before she confronts a ringleader implicated in Drugs. ARSENIC AND ADOBO was a fun listen we give 3 stars. thank u :,) , This sounds fab!!!!! Oh my gulay, as Manansalas glossary indicates is Taglish for OMG: Lila could be in real trouble. With heartwarming characters and a mystery that kept me on my toes, this book was definitely entertaining. 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. While writing, she worked as an English language instructor at an international school before the pandemic shut it down, and she now works part-time at a library and as a book coach. Ive heard it described as a cozy mystery and thats exactly what it is, a perfectly cozy puzzle to solve. while dishing up a delicious soup. To avoid spoilers, Ill be vague, but there weremultiplecrimes that the police outright accused Lila of committing when, in reality, they never wouldve been able to charge (or even legitimately suspect!) The mystery itself pales in comparison to the scenes where Lila and her aunties are together. Born and raised in a Filipino immigrant family in Chicago, in a multigenerational home, she says, What I know of Filipino culture is based on the way my family operated and my experiences growing upI unfortunately wasnt part of a large Filipino community growing up, so everything Ive learned about our history, language, folklore, etc. Nominee for Best Mystery & Thriller (2021). I knew the restaurant would be central to the series, with people constantly hanging out, snacking, possibly even singing karaoke, so I needed a bigger space to work with. Magazine Subscribers (How to Find Your Reader Number), Winners of the 2022 Anthony Awards Are Revealed, Nominees for the Edgar Awards Are Revealed. Psychiatrist Ibrahim Arif and well-known political firebrand Ron Ritchie complete the group. ", Alone Together: A Review of Among the Hedges by Sara Mesa, The story is a simple frame, a moment in time, Dreamy in a Sinister Way: A Review of "Valleyesque". Elizabeth used to have an unspecified job, possibly as a spy, that has left her with a large network of helpful sources. 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. I needed to figure out who killed Derek Winter. New to SBTB? You might want to have a snack handy while reading my book), but would also touch on how food symbolizes so many different things to a community like ours. As usual, Derek cant find anything nice to say in between ravenous bites. And why on earth was Vodyanov carrying Tempes own contact information? Give this series a chance! 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. Butter boards, Last chance to join GCashs Lucky Load Promo for a chance to win 100K, Kanye West takes shots at Pete Davidson after Kim Kardashian breakup, Academy names new CEO after years of Oscars drama, reforms, Someday, Gay Marriages Will Become Unnecessary. I loved everything about this book, except for the mystery aspect of it, I just couldnt get invested. 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. I now live in the Chicago suburbs. Or maybe, wash dishes, dry, then repeat at a different restaurant. Yeah. It is highly toxic in its inorganic form. In a book titled Arsenic and Adobo, expect food. The small size of the setting makes it believable that all the suspects know each other. (, There is usually at least one very knowledgeable and nosy (and of course, very reliable!) 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. Available at Fully Booked, Omniana.com.ph and Amazon. She attended Northeastern University in Chicago and majored in English. Helping out in her Illinois familys Filipino restaurant backfires when a young woman is accused of the murder of a restaurant reviewer who happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Besides Lilas own extended Filipino clan, the cast features Pakistani Muslim and Korean main characters in addition to a truly multicultural supporting cast. 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. Freaked out by All the Murder in the house, she decides tostay at Lilas familys home. The perfect rainy day read . When he ends the meal facedown in his food, Lila admonishes him for being melodramatic. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "ae50ccd3b91edae78040aecf1cacc80a" );document.getElementById("b5ad4eba3d").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. There are several instances in this book during which I literally annotated, This would never happen, including: Lilas emotional reactions to the murders and crimes in this book were also strange enough that I, and several other Goodreads reviewers I found (JenandAddie), took note of them. A light, fun, humorous cozy mystery featuring descriptions of yummy Filipino dishes and warm family moments. 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. Notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail. Trouble signing in? This book hits the exact right spot, in my opinion. It was exciting to have a mainstream book that reflected the culture in which I was raised. Food was how she found her place in the world. It features a glossary for the Filipino terms and recipes for everything from Lilas Ube Crinkles, to, fittingly enough, Tita Rosies Chicken Adobo. Put mixture in a prepared loaf pan and sprinkle top with instant salabat mix, if using. This care and attention made clear that, to our protagonist, Lila Macapagal, Filipino food is more than just sustenance. 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