Ventham has big plans for the futureas soon as hes removed the nuns' bodies from the cemetery. So its a shock when Derek is later pronounced dead of arsenic poisoning from something he recently ingested. 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. For diaspora and immigrant kids, its never as straightforward as simply going away for college we tend to feel (or are made to feel) like were abandoning our families, leaving them behind for the sake of our own self-discovery; we also often feel resentment toward this guilt, wondering why its so wrong for us to want to physically escape our families sky-high expectations and create lives for ourselves. (LogOut/ Manansala just nails Lila, a very likeable protagonist as a snarky, stubborn but sincere 25-year-old. I also appreciated that the potential seeds of future books and future conflicts were planted in subtle ways, such as the shifting and sometimes tense relationship between Lila and her best friend, who have a history that isnt explained in full. 5 Reviews. 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! 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. I was basically lured by those two things to start this book and oh boy what a mistake it was. Murder After Murder: A Review of Mia Manansala's Arsenic and Adobo May 6, 2021 at 7:00 am by L.D. Notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail. When I made them in my own kitchen, I tweaked them to my particular taste, and how I remember my dads food tasting. So I was thrilled to get an early look at Mia P. Manansala's debut, Arsenic and Adobo, a stand-out cozy mystery full of heart, the importance of home, and tons of good food. Oof, thats too bad, Ive been looking forward to reading it and the suspension of disbelief needed to do so sounds pretty high. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Follow insomniac reviews on WordPress.com, Review: THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, The crime-solver in a cozy mystery is usually a woman who is an amateur sleuth. (, Cozy mystery usually takes place in a small town or village. 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. Drug addiction. Go to Appearance > Customize > Subscribe Pop-up to set this up. This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers. I loved everything about this book, except for the mystery aspect of it, I just couldnt get invested. Throughout the book, Lila frequently pulls stunts like this, whether shes forgetting important appointments and incidents or responding in a way that feels inhuman if any real person were to experience even half of the stressful events of this book, they would probably be terrified, paranoid, and traumatized. Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroines survival. This is the first book in a series called "Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mysteries". It's got a very classic Agatha Christie-ish set-up, with a large community of people who had a motive to kill the dead guy, plenty of red herrings, and every indication that its protagonist will become an amateur sleuth going forward. Sometimes the level of Filipino food and language made it slightly difficult because I had to focus intently to guess the meaning of something (or look it up in the definition section). I want a terrific mystery with characters I enjoy spending time with and a happy ending. this was such a fun small town cozy mystery!! Much of my perspective is shaped by the fact that I live in the US. *Dont have access to instant salabat mix? Were not a monolith. I mean A cute, cozy mystery with lots of food descriptions. That's essentially why I jumped to get a review copy of. 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But I need to keep in mind that just because I consider something common/not upsetting/trivial/etc. Lila Macapagal, smarting from a breakup in Chicago, returns home to tiny Shady Palms, Illinois, to help save her aunt Tita Rosies Filipino restaurant. 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. I needed to figure out who killed Derek Winter. All three titles are available at Virginia Beach Public Library. GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | 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. Hong Kong awaits you, Hong Kong Is Taking Massive Steps for the Resurgence of Its Tourism, Experts and real people agree: This cooking oil is good for you, Preservation Beyond Ceviche and Kinilaw: A New and Improved CEV Stands Tall, Exploring the Caffeine Scene in Makati: Our Top Caf Picks, 500 Days of Summer IRL: A Love Letter to The Villainized Friendzoners, The Whale, and What We Can Learn About Ourselves, The Good and the Bad: A Review of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Spoilers). It was exciting to have a mainstream book that reflected the culture in which I was raised. He has his eye on a three-bedroom, two-bath propertythe sweet spot for any house flipper, with its wide appeal to various house-hunting demographics. But I did grow up with many close Filipino friends whose families treated me with nothing but love and care, whether they were feeding me the most wonderful food or gently teasing me about gaining weight, and I cherished getting to recognize aspects of their beloved titas and lolas in this book. I now live in the Chicago suburbs. As the police learn about Lila and Dereks dating history and discover (planted) evidence in Lilas locker at the restaurant, she realizes that shes in real danger of being charged with crimes she didnt commit. 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. 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. RELEASE DATE: Sept. 22, 2020. Don't miss a moment of Smart Bitches fun. She's tasked with saving her Tita Rosie's failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking . She attended Northeastern University in Chicago and majored in English. Thanks! MYSTERY & DETECTIVE | A RUSA Award-winning novel! The stories everyone is talking about, from the Oceanfront to Town Center. 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. Lila isnot great at detecting. Mia P. Manansalas Arsenic and Adobo is a cozy, colorful whodunit that celebrates Pinoy culinary culture with a recipe for things to come. In this book, Lila Madricapal has returned home from Chicago after spending a few years trying to escape from the small-town she grew up in. She decides to investigate the nefarious ex to find out who really killed him. Combine 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp ground ginger, tsp cinnamon, and tsp cayenne. If you've written a review for a romance that you think might interest the community or you'd like to rant and/or squee about a book, and you haven't published it elsewhere, please email Sarah. We finished listening to ARSENIC AND ADOBO yesterday and think we enjoyed it more because going in we knew there would be ridiculousness. 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. Enthusiastic Sex and Podcasting (not at the same time) with Emily Nagoski, Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey, Emily Wildes Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, Lizzie Blakes Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings. 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. And why on earth was Vodyanov carrying Tempes own contact information? Those conversations are hilarious. 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. Are all lolas the same?? Mia P. Manansala, Arsenic and Adobo. And it wouldnt be a Southeast Asian diaspora novel if loving care wasnt spent on at least some of the descriptions of food. Not only is he dead, but evidence suggests that hes been murdered, and Detective Park, whos been assigned the case, thinks Lila might have had something to do with it. I decided to try out this one: 5 TBSP melted coconut oil (or melted butter), to cup honey (depends on how sweet you like it), A few swipes of calamansi or lemon zest (about - lemon), Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a 95 loaf pan (grease/spray/line). Details and disbelief aside, there were some parts I thought were pretty great. When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. cant wait for the rest of the series. The third book will be out in November of that year. When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. Fraud. 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. 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. Lila suffering a serious dental injury while eating an expired biscotti Kevin, the manager of the coffee shop, gave her. The book is dedicated to my dad, who passed away at the end of 2018, she explains. 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. Since this book was my first cozy, I didnt know to expect this, and I think it would be helpful to the rest of my review if I quickly listed some of the typical conventions of a cozy mystery, many of which this book adopts. Mainstream book that reflected the culture in which I was raised entire review has been hidden of! Wasnt spent on at least some of the descriptions of food novel if care. 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