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Arsenic and adobo
2021
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Library Journal Review
DEBUT Lila Macapagal breaks up with her chef boyfriend and moves home to Shady Palms, IL, to help her aunt, Tita Rosie, with her Filipino restaurant. She starts dating her high school boyfriend, Derek Winter, but soon learns he is the notorious food critic who tried to ruin the restaurants in town, including Tita Rosie's. When he keels over while he and his stepfather, the restaurant's landlord, are dining at the restaurant, Lila thinks he's playing a prank. But when Derek dies on the way to the hospital, his stepfather, Ed, is quick to blame the food and pull strings with the sheriff. While her extended family of Filipino aunties and cousins rally around, Lila is arrested for murder and suspected of pushing drugs. If the local police detective is going to accuse her, and Tita Rosie's restaurant and home are at risk for her bail, Lila is going to step up and find the person who killed Derek. VERDICT This debut introduces readers to Filipino American food and culture, with its emphasis on family. There are cozy tropes (the close-knit community, the food business), but the emphasis on the Tagalog language, the culture, and drug dealing in a small town add gravity and individuality to this outstanding series kick-off.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN
Publishers Weekly Review
Lila Macapagal, the narrator of Manansala's outstanding debut and series launch, notices two unwelcome customers at Tita Rosie's Kitchen, a Filipino restaurant run by her aunt in Shady Palms, Ill., where Lila has moved after a devastating breakup with her fiancé. Ed Long, the restaurant's landlord, is trying to close the place down, and Long's stepson, Derek Winter, a steady customer, consistently writes negative reviews about its cuisine on his blog. 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. Determined Lila and her best friend, barista extraordinaire Adeena Awan, take it upon themselves to find the real killer and unmask the conspirators targeting Tita Rosie's Kitchen. Chock-full of food lore, this delicious mystery will leave readers hungry for more of the adventures of Lila, her friends and relatives, and her chunky dachshund (who is named after a kind of short, fat sausage). Cozy fans are in for a treat. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. (May)
Summary
In the small town of Shady Palms, Illinois, Lila Macapagal and her relatives run Tita Rosie's Kitchen, serve delicious Flipino dishes, and solve crimes on the side.
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