Manansala, is the first novel in the Tita Rose’s Kitchen Mystery. We earn a small commission if you purchase the book through this link.Īrsenic and Adobo, written by Mia P. The only thing that lost this a star is that I wasn’t super interested in the little love triangle going on between Lila, her lawyer, and the local dentist.*This post contains affiliate links. The murder victim was a well known food critic, which takes Lila through the gamut of Asian cuisine, to Mexican cuisine, to good old American barbecue. Yet it was still diverse enough to have an interesting cast of characters. The town had all the benefits of a small town- Lila knows everyone, and everyone knows her. That’s because Lila’s town is described as both small and incredibly diverse, which lends the setting a vividness you don’t often get in small town mysteries. If for some reason I really didn’t want to cook chicken adobo there were plenty of other cuisine’s to choose from. I loved Lila’s big family, from the nosy group of aunts to her tell-it-like-it-is Lola. A Small Town Mystery with Big Town Diversity

It didn’t detract at all from the story, but it did take me a minute to realize adobo was referring to something else. It then cooks on the stovetop.īecause of my confusion, I went into this expecting the main character to be maybe Puerto Rican or Dominican (I probably should have read the blurb a little more closely).

In this book, adobo is referring to the Philippine cooking technique that involves marinating meat in some kitchen basics. I had mistakenly thought that the adobo in the title was referring to the seasoning, which I use often in my own cooking. I had this question when I first started reading this book. Full of humor, delicious food (full recipes included in the backmatter) and intrigue, this new mystery series made for a nice break in my usual doom and gloom book pile. With the help of her best friend and her gaggle of nosy aunts, Lila begins to investigate the suspicious death and try to clear her name. When a notoriously mean food critic drops dead while having lunch at the restaurant, everyone is under suspicion. Her Tita Rosa’s aunt is failing and she just went through a messy breakup. In this debut, Lila has recently moved back to her hometown. Check them out here!Īrsenic and Adobo is the first in a new cozy mystery series.

At $14.99 a month, it’s much cheaper than your average brand new hardcover. In case you don’t know, Book of the Month is a subscription book club that allows subscribers to choose from 5 monthly picks, which are delivered straight to your door. This was my very first Book of the Month pick.

Arsenic and adobo review