Mango, Mambo, and Murder

Cuban-American cooking show star Miriam Quiñones-Smith becomes a seasoned sleuth in Raquel V. Reyes's Caribbean Kitchen Mystery debut, a savory treat for fans of Joanne Fluke and Jenn McKinlay.

Food anthropologist Miriam Quiñones-Smith's move from New York to Coral Shores, Miami, puts her academic career on hold to stay at home with her young son. Adding to her funk is an opinionated mother-in-law and a husband rekindling a friendship with his ex. Gracias to her best friend, Alma, she gets a short-term job as a Caribbean cooking expert on a Spanish-language morning TV show. But when the newly minted star attends a Women's Club luncheon, a socialite sitting at her table suddenly falls face-first into the chicken salad, never to nibble again.

When a second woman dies soon after, suspicions coalesce around a controversial Cuban herbalist, Dr. Fuentes--especially after the morning show's host collapses while interviewing him. Detective Pullman is not happy to find Miriam at every turn. After he catches her breaking into the doctor's apothecary, he enlists her help as eyes and ears to the places he can't access, namely the Spanish-speaking community and the tawny Coral Shores social scene.

As the ingredients to the deadly scheme begin blending together, Miriam is on the verge of learning how and why the women died. But her snooping may turn out to be a recipe for her own murder.

Author: Raquel V. Reyes
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Published: 10/12/2021
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.80w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781643857848


Award: Agatha Awards - Nominee


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2021
Publishers Weekly 08/09/2021
Library Journal 10/01/2021 pg. 62

About the Author
Raquel V. Reyes was raised in oppositional cultures. Her early childhood was not unlike an I Love Lucy rerun with a heavy-accented, handsome Cuban father and a red-headed Southern mother whose smile brightened the room. A short story fan all her life, Raquel's stories are in several anthologies, including Mystery Most Theatrical, In the Midnight Hour, and Trouble No More. Raquel's soul food is croquetas with a Jupiña chaser. She lives in Miami, where she watches the waters for mermaids and leviathan.