Mango, Mambo, and Murder

July 15, 2021
A food anthropologist discovers that even a bland repast can be deadly. Miriam Qui�ones-Smith finds herself at loose ends when she leaves her job teaching about Caribbean food culture in New York to relocate with her husband to Miami. Although she grew up in nearby Hialeah, snobby, sterile Coral Shores is nothing like the bustling Cuban enclave of her youth. Aside from her mother-in-law, Marjory, who misses no opportunity to put Miriam down for speaking to her son in Spanish, her only contact in her new home is her old schoolmate Alma Diaz, a busy realtor who focuses on events like the Women's Club luncheon, where she can network with prospective clients. Miriam finds Alma's lunch mates as unappealing as the food. They seem unmoved even when Sunny Weatherman keels over dead at their table without finishing her chicken salad. Suddenly Miriam faces three demands on her time. First, she's tapped for a series of guest appearances on UnMundo's cooking show, La Tacita. Second, she needs to find out why her husband, Robert, has become distant and evasive, coming home late enough to miss her spectacular sancocho stew. And third, she needs to investigate Sunny's death, especially once the police focus increasingly on Alma as their main suspect. Miriam is intrepid, sticking to her investigation as closely as she sticks to her plan to keep her son bilingual. Reyes' no-nonsense heroine livens up a mediocre mystery.

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August 9, 2021
Cuban American Miriam Quiñones-Smith, the spunky, resilient narrator of Reyes’s refreshing debut and series launch, wants nothing more than to finally finish her PhD in food anthropology. That prospect remains remote, however, since she moved from New York to Coral Shores, “a 1950s time-warped village within the city of Miami,” for her husband’s work and she decided to stay at home with her small son. Miriam is saved from the drudgery of her new life by an offer to contribute her Caribbean food expertise to a Spanish-language morning TV show. Things are starting to look up for Miriam, until a socialite drops dead at a women’s club lunch she attends. Another suspicious death follows. When Miriam’s best friend and partner-in-crime, Alma, is framed for one of what turn out to be murders, Miriam determines to find the truth. The judicious use of Spanish phrases helps bring the reader closer to these well-defined characters and their vibrant social scene. Mouthwatering recipes round out the volume. Hopefully, Miriam and friends will be back soon. Agent: Saritza Hernández, Andrea Brown Literary.

Starred review from October 1, 2021

DEBUT Miriam Quinones-Smith's heart isn't into the move to Coral Springs, FL, a 1950s time-warped village within Miami. She hoped to be a professor, teaching food anthropology in New York City. Instead, she's a stay-at-home mother with her delightful son Manuelito. Her husband is off to work, golf, or maybe even an affair with his former girlfriend. Her mother-in-law disapproves of Miriam because she's Cuban American. Her best friend Alma is her savior, dragging her to networking events including the Women's Club Luncheon. There, Sunny Weatherman face-plants into the chicken salad. Everyone attributes her death to extreme diet and exercise fads. But Miriam noticed she mixed something into her drink before dying. When a yoga instructor also dies, and Alma is arrested, Miriam turns amateur sleuth. She's no longer bored. Instead, she's juggling a TV segment about Caribbean food for a Spanish network, taking care of her son, and prying into society life in Coral Springs to help the investigating police detective. VERDICT The character-driven debut introduces a fresh protagonist, a Cuban American woman trying to maintain her culinary heritage and Spanish language while attempting to find friends and a killer.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

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