Mango, Mambo, and Murder

A Caribbean Kitchen Mystery, Book 1

By: Raquel Reyes

Narrated by: Frankie Corzo

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.

©2021 Raquel Reyes (P)2021 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Food

The first thing I wanted was the food. I enjoyed the story. Miriam was a sleuth and a cook. I did not like the mother in law and the husband could've been more supportive and definitely should have discussed all major purchases with his wife. Juliette was hateful humanity. I liked how things turned out in the end.

Slow start, strong finish.

I enjoyed the storyline. It was hard to get into, but once I did, I was glad I stuck it out. This book was recommended to me by a cozy mystery reading friend, so I was optimistic going into it. If you are familiar with this genre then I don't think you will be disappointed. I enjoy cozy mysteries with food and/or drink themes so this was right up my alley.
I listened to this book and struggled with the narration at times. At first I thought maybe I would've enjoyed the book more of I read it instead of listening to the audiobook, but by the end the narrator had grown on me. The main struggle was the accent and Spanish speaking. I truly think if I had read it, it would've proved as too much of a distraction and I wouldn't have enjoyed the book as much. I understand the reasoning for it, but it was confusing early on for me.
All in all I would recommend this series and I'm about to begin the ARC for the second book in the series. I am curious to see what is next for the characters and mysteries will unfold.

Fun Read

Wish the book was longer, because I enjoyed it so much.
The different characters made it so entertaining. I really enjoyed learning about different foods and cultures.

Loved the Food!

Overall, I can connect with the main character. Our culture and experiences are very similar. The food sounds amazing and the book inspired me to cook. However, Manny's voice is so annoying. He's actually annoying. I would not have tolerated most of his attitude and actions, if he was my son. Sorry.

Nonsense

The first chapter was so nonsensical and ridiculous that I couldn’t continue. I’ll probably try to return it, but I believe it was a Daily Deal.

Know your audience and try to keep your political lean out of it

I really enjoyed the Latin family aspect of this story & the fact that it was set in S Florida. But adding political aspects that had nothing to do with the story line really turned me off. I will not be continuing this series.

Book falls with narration

The narrator killed the book in my opinion. All female characters have the same voice and all male characters have the same voice. And the main character sounds often kind of whiny

FUN, FLAVORFUL, FAST, AND FURIOUS!

This is an excellent first novel featuring the Caribbean culture, especially the cuisine, and cleverly told in occasional easy-to-understand bursts of Spanglish. I found this a welcome change in the female mystery genre and a worthy sendup of the MURDER SHE WROTE mysteries the heroine admires.

Loved this story

although the story is a little slow to start, I think it helped me get to know the character and her attachment to family. this wasn't high drama but the slow building of mystery and conclusion. I loved the narrator and all the Spanish. I couldn't understand all of it, but I could figure it out within context. I also loved the food. I hope there will be another book with these characters.

Awesome

Mango, Mambo and Murder is an awesome new cozy mystery. The story is entertaining and enjoyable with engaging characters and an entertaining plot. I look forward to the next book .