Review: Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #1)
written by Mia P. Manansala
narrated by Danice Cabanela

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/f

Blurb:
The first book in a new culinary cozy series full of sharp humor and delectable dishes—one that might just be killer….

When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. She’s tasked with saving her Tita Rosie’s failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking aunties who shower her with love and judgment. But when a notoriously nasty food critic (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead moments after a confrontation with Lila, her life quickly swerves from a Nora Ephron romp to an Agatha Christie case.

With the cops treating her like she’s the one and only suspect, and the shady landlord looking to finally kick the Macapagal family out and resell the storefront, Lila’s left with no choice but to conduct her own investigation. Armed with the nosy auntie network, her barista best bud, and her trusted Dachshund, Longanisa, Lila takes on this tasty, twisted case and soon finds her own neck on the chopping block…

My Review

A cozy mystery Youtuber recommended this series and it sounded like the type of cozy mystery I would enjoy and I decided to pick it up. I listened to a sample and decided to get this one in audio and I am glad I did as the narration really added to the story. Arsenic and Adobo follows Lila as she return to her hometown to help her aunt run her Filipino restaurant. Then her ex boyfriend who has been writing scathing reviews for the restaurant for months dies while eating at the restuarant and Lila and her aunt become suspects in the murder investigation.

I really liked this book. I liked learning a bit about Filipino culture and food while reading this one. I wish I could try some of the food they make in this book as it all sounded delicious. I also liked reading about Lila who is struggling a bit with what she wants and finding her way. I thought her relationship with her family was well written and felt realistic, they are clearly close and she cares a lot about them, but they also clash. I thought the author depicted the tensions between them in a realistic way and it was interesting to read about. I also liked seeing Lila interact with her best friend and seeing how close they are even tough they also had some conflict and tensions to sort through.

The mystery was a good one. It feels pretty straightforward at first, but more layers get uncovered and I liked seeing how it all progressed throughout the story. I couldn’t stand the detective and even though I knew he was just doing his job, he sure could’ve done so in a less rude manner. Especially in the first part of the book I found him very annoying and didn’t like how accusatory he was. The second half has a bit less of his character luckily.

It made sense that Lila started to investigate and I liked how a lot of that involved eating at other restaurants, there is a lot of her eating delicious food at the places she visits. The ending was well done and I liked how it all got wrapped up, although it felt a tad rushed. I had managed to guess the murderer correctly, but that’s mostly because I knew of something that would happen in book 2 and that helped me piece things together. I did not know what the motive was, so that was still a surprise to me. There were some interesting twists and reveals at the end.

I enjoyed reading about Lila and following her along in this book. She felt a bit lost at times with having to return to her hometown and not really wanting to be there. Her decision toward the end did feel a bit sudden and I would’ve liked a few more hints in that direction, but it did make sense and I look forward to seeing how things go in the second book. I thought Lila felt realistic and while she could sometimes act impulsive and get into arguments at times, I thought she felt realistic and it usually made sense why she acted a certain way. There’s a bit of romance as well with two possible love itnerest, I like the dentist the most of the two and hope she ends up with him as I liked reading about them interacting.

I listened to this one in audio. This was a new to me narrator and I really enjoyed listening to this one. The narrator did the different voices and accents well. The accents sounded well done to me, but I am not sure what they should sound like, so not fully sure if they are. I liked how every character had their own voice and I am glad I listened to this one as it added to the story for me.

To summarize: I liked this food themed cozy. I liked learning a bit about Filipino food and culture through this book and there is a lot of delicious sounding food. I thought main character Lila felt realistic and I liked reading about her. She obviously cared for her family and friends, but also clashed with them sometimes and there is some conflict as well. I thought it felt realistic. There’s a bit of romance as well with two possible love interest and the dentist is the one I like best for Lila. The mystery was a good one, seemingly straightforward at first, but with plenty of twists and turns along the way. I managed to guess the murderer, but hadn’t figured out the motive. The ending was well done with the reveals, but I would’ve liked a bit more as it felt a tad rushed. The narration was well done and the different voices and accents added to the book for me. I look forward to continuing the series.

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.