A fun debut novel by Mia P. Manansala, Arsenic and Adobo is a cozy mystery that’s sure to please readers who want to enjoy a quick read. The page-turning book follows Lila Macapagal, a 20something Filipino-American woman, who moves back to the fictional hometown of Shady Palms, Illinois. Lila works in her family’s Filipino restaurant with her titas, clinging to a lifeline that is just keeping the restaurant afloat. Lila is implicated in the murder of her ex-boyfriend who dies at the restaurant mid-bite and must find out who the real killer is before her and her family are ruined. The diverse cast of characters in this tale make for a page-turner that you won’t want to put down. The mystery aspect is stellar without guessing too early on who the killer is. While the dialogue is ripe with cliché sayings, the story does touch on issues of racism, sexism, and the importance of family in immigrant cultures. A stellar story, Arsenic and Adobo deserves a chance from readers who simply want to curl up with a good book with a light, but solid sleuthing story.

This book had so many things I love. Family restaurants with great descriptions of food, family relationships, friendships and so much more. I loved the central mystery and it was exactly the kind of book I want to get lost in for an afternoon.

SUMMARY: After a bad breakup, Lila is back in her hometown and trying to keep her family’s restaurant afloat. But when Lila’s Ex drops dead face first into one of her desserts, Lila has to try to solve the crime before she—and her family—go down for his murder!

I thought this book was cute and fun and perfect for fans of Finlay Donovan is Killing It—which, if Bookstagram is anything to go by, is all y’all. It’s everything you look for in a cozy mystery: silly antics and loads of crime that feels disproportionately low stakes for the situation (were it to occur in real life).
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Check it out if you like:
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🍽 Light-hearted mysteries
🍽 Diverse characters
🍽 Low-key romance
🍽 In-depth foodie coverage
🍽 Book 1 of a new series
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Another thing I appreciated were the different relationships Lila had with the people in her life. Breaking out of her small town and its complex familial relationships, I appreciated how difficult it would be for her to return, feeling like she hadn’t “made it” yet and how strange it would be to rebuild some of those friendships after such a long pause.

Also, am I the only goof that read the title/description and assumed the protagonist was from Mexico/Central America? Whelp, her family’s country of origin is the Philippines, an area also colonized (and subsequently influenced by) Spain—but still. I was way off, but it did make me want to learn more about Filipino culture! Side note: throughout the book she mentions her ube (purple yam) crinkle cookies, and if you’re interested, Trader Joe’s has ube tea cookies right now that would make a perfect book snack!
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Thank you to Mia Manansala, Berkeley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. This was also a May BOTM pick if you’re a subscriber!

Really and truly excellent. Highly recommend for diverse readers and cozy mystery fans. Loved this one.

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Well hello my new favorite cozy mystery series!

I'm constantly surrounded by family, extended family and 'aunties' who aren't blood relatives, but are part of the wallpaper here, so it was like coming home when reading this.

THE FOOD. OMG the food! Adobo is my absolute favorite (chicken adobo over fresh rice? HEAVEN!) so the title already hooked me. The multiple descriptions of Filipino food not only made my stomach grumble, but also had me itching to cook.

For me, the mystery wasn't a hardcore mind bender (I don't want to sound like a know-it-all, but I read A LOT of mind boggling mysteries so this is an easy puzzle for me). There are a decent amount of characters, red herrings, and what I see is the possibility of a love triangle (or possible square?) in future books!

The second book, HOMICIDE AND HALO-HALO is available for preorder now!

This was the first cozy mystery I've read and I really did enjoy it. It was light and fun, but with a side of murder. I will definitely be reading more from this author!

This actually might be my first cozy mystery (do Famous Five books count as cozy mysteries?!) so I don’t know if it’s the book or the genre that didn’t work for me.

Lola just had a bad breakup and moved back to her small hometown to help her aunt with the family Filipino restaurant. Things have been bad for the restaurant because a local food critic (and Lola’s ex) keeps writing bad reviews for it. But one day he drops dead while Lola is serving him, and Lola becomes the main suspect. Lola has to solve this mystery to prove that she’s innocent.

I loved all the food descriptions in the book. It wasn’t just about Filipino food, but a lot of other different cuisines which made me want to go to a restaurant and order as much food as possible. The mystery part wasn’t too ‘mysterious’, but it wasn’t blatantly obvious either. I just think that the book could have been edited out to be wayyyy shorter than it is. Also, it might be me, but I recently read Dial A for Aunties and Hana Khan Carries on and this book seemed like a combination of both with nosy aunties and saving the restaurant part. So the topics in the book seemed repetitive for me, but this is definitely a me issue. Other than that, the friendships in the book were cool and supporting characters were well-sculpted. I just wish there was more to this book.

I absolutely loved everything about this book. From the characters to the cuisine. I love that although shady palms was such a small town it was so richly diverse. As a woman of color, I loved the way Lila took control of her own destiny instead of waiting for the law to fail her which happens more often than it should unfortunately. I do wish they loop on her love life would have been close so I would have more clarity on who she chooses but other than that, I enjoyed this very much. Quick and fun read with some cool investigative elements.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Arsenic and Adobo is an own voices, delicious mystery, and the first in a new cozy culinary series by Mia P. Manansala. Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the gifted copy!

If the cover isn’t enough to hook you, the food descriptions in this book are to die for! I love when characters are chefs or bakers, and this one combines mystery so it was right up my alley! The emphasis on family and Filipino culture was so important, and I loved the story! Mia Manansala includes an author’s note with content warnings and a glossary and pronunciation guide at the beginning of the book; I loved this! Every book should have one of these! I can’t wait for the next one in this series!

A little too firmly in the “cozy mystery” category for my personal preference, but think lots of readers will enjoy and appreciate this.

Arsenic and Adobo is the first in a new cozy mystery series by Mia P. Manansala. This book was a fantastic light read and I couldn’t put it down. I enjoyed all of the characters and the infusion of culture that was placed interwoven into the story. I loved that there was a pronunciation chart at the front of the book for reference to make sure I was pronouncing certain terms correctly. (We choose this book for our May book club so the pronunciation guide was very helpful for our discussion)
One of my favorite parts that made this book so unique were the recipes that became a part of the story as much as the plot line. The mystery itself had a nice twist at the end and I really enjoy that the romance subplots were not neatly wrapped up at the end of the book, similar to how they aren’t always wrapped up neatly in real life. I am looking forward to the next book in the series!

A good addition to the cozy mystery category. I loved the featured Filipino culture and enjoyed learning about the food and language. Lila and the aunties are spunky, saucy characters with the right amount of clever retorts and quick thinking. A great weekend read.

Arsenic and Adobo
Mia P. Manansala

I enjoyed this culinary cozy mystery by debut author Mia P Manansala, that is about Lila Macapagal who is back home in small town Shady Palms to help her Tita Rosie in the restaurant while nursing a broken heart after a bad break up. All of a sudden, Lila is an amateur sleuth trying to save herself and her family's business from falling apart as she has now become the primary suspect of a murder case. Derek her ex-boyfriend and culinary critic comes to the restaurant to have a meal and suddenly dies in her family's restaurant while trying one of Lila's decadent dessert. As Lila tries to determine who would have the motive, it seems that Derek has pissed far too many restaurant owners and as Lila gets closer to solving Derek's murder, more bodies turn up dead, and Lila afraid for her life.

I enjoyed reading this because for once there is an emphasis on the Filipino culture - the large and close knit family and extended family, the mouth watering food, and the Tagalog language interspersed throughout the dialogue and writing. As someone who grew up in the culture, I really appreciate having more people read and learn more about the rich and yummy Filipino heritage.

Read this one if you like a great murder mystery read with an amateur sleuth with strong representation of the Filipino food and culture.

Adobe and Arsenic written by Mia P. Manansala

This cozy mystery is so cute & fun! I mean of course, someone passing away is no joke, but you have to go into reading this knowing it’s meant to be humorous with light suspense – sort of like those murder mystery dinners (one of my favorite things to do btw).

Lila Macapagal is a 25-year-old Pinay who recently returned to her hometown to help her aunt (Tita Rosie) at the family restaurant. She also just left her cheating fiancé. The restaurant is dealing with a food critic who literally comes in everyday and eats everything but leaves nasty reviews….and it’s her ex-bf (no, not the cheating fiancé). Suddenly, he drops dead right in front of her after eating her latest creative dessert – now Lila is the only suspect and she’s in a race to figure out what really happened.

I was so frustrated with how the family and even Lila at times would treat their lawyer who was giving them solid advice. They kept ignoring him and getting in deeper trouble. But I realize this is a small town, not the big city where everyone is suspicious of everything. That’s the small town feel right?

I loved learning about Tagalog vocab, Filipino culture & the delectable Filipino dishes!! My absolute FAVORITE?! Lila’s chubby dachshund is named “Longanisa” – YES, the Filipino sweet sausage!

I certainly will be reading the 2nd one in the series. I am invested in Lila’s love interests & I bet it’ll be fleshed out more next novel.

This is a fun cozy mystery for anyone who loves food and wants a laugh! I loved learning about a different culture and cuisine and all of the characters were so vibrant. Perfect beach read.

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala is one of my favorite cozy mysteries of the year. Lila Macapagal finds herself the prime suspect when an ex-boyfriend, a food critic, ends up dead after eating at her Tita Rosie's restaurant. The business had already been struggling, the landlord is ready to kick them out, and the dead man's cruel reviews had not helped any. Aided by her best friend and her nosy auntie network, Lia begins her own investigation into who would kill her ex and why.

I am so happy to see more cozy mysteries being published that feature people of color these days, this one featuring a Filipino-American and her family. I took to Lila right away. She was betrayed by an ex-boyfriend (not the food critic) and has returned to her hometown recover. She is smart and funny, and makes a pretty good amateur sleuth. She grows as a character over the course of the novel, something I really appreciated. I also liked that the author did not shy away from touching on racism and living between two different cultures. Obviously given this is a cozy mystery, these issues are not explored in great depth due to the type of book this is, but it is enough and, I believe, necessary. The author fits them very naturally into the story being told.

I enjoyed spending time with Lila, getting to know her friends and her aunties. She has a strong support network that obviously are very loyal to each other. The mystery itself was well-crafted, the characters and their relationships complex, and I loved the author's wit throughout. I look forward to reading more of this series in the future.

I am always so pleasantly surprised when it comes to cozy mysteries, so couple the cozy mystery with Filipino culture, food, and meddling aunties? Yes please! This is one of those books that you should NOT read on an empty stomach because you'll be salivating and disappointed.

This story starts with a bang when Lila Macapagal's food critic ex-boyfriend drops dead while after eating at her beloved family's restaurant. It's no secret that everyone knows that Lila and Derick were not on friendly terms thanks to the slander he writes against Tita Rosie's Kitchen, so it's no surprise when Lila ends up suspect number one. But Lila quickly learns she's out of her league when it appears that someone is trying to frame her for more than just murder.

This was such a fun whodunit, cozy mystery. I will say that the pacing of the book was a bit uneven for me, so I switched to the audiobook, which smoothed a lot of the awkward transitions for me.

I really enjoyed Lila as a character. Honestly, this book boasts a wide variety of characters and community that I love seeing in small neighborhoods that are pushing back against gentrification.

I think this was a really great debut, and I can't wait to see what else is next from this author.

A cozy mystery with death, a touch of romance, lots of Filipino culture, a strong sense of family and so much yummy food!⁣
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𝐀𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐛𝐨 was fun! The mystery was one I easily got into and I really enjoyed the family vibe and the snarky dialogue. The family aspect was one of my favorite parts of the book - all the gossiping, bickering and in your face, over the top involvement. It gave us some great comedic moments. I wished I could visit Tita Rosie’s restaurant and just take it all in. ⁣
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The mystery depended quite a bit on convenience but it fit with the whole cozy vibe of the book and Lila’s amateur sleuthing. I will definitely be in for more from this series and can easily say I will look forward to spending time with Lila, Tita Rosie, Grandma Lola Flor and the Trio of Aunties in the future.⁣
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3.5* rounded up for a debut author, excellent representation, and Longganisa.

I really enjoyed this! I found myself really looking forward to listening to this every time I got in my car...even if it made my stomach growl every time I turned it on. I have never had Filipino food before, but you can bet your butt I will be looking into where to get some after reading this! Admittedly, I had a few hang-ups but I do think this is an excellent addition to the cozy genre and I love the representation. I hope to pick up the other books in the series as they come out.

I LOVED this book so much! With the murder of Lila’s ex Derek’s being the center of the story, there is never a dull moment as the book is packed with mentioning of Filipino food, family, annoying yet well-meaning aunties and a love triangle!

I did have an inkling of the culprit behind the murder, but then was thrown off.. The author had me guessing until the very end. When I found out, I realized she sprinkled clues throughout the book, albeit very subtle ones! While the book does center around the murder/death of Derrek, I also loved that the author heavily focused on family - the complicated/messy ones that comes with family members, friends, and especially all the food!! I also couldn’t help but love that this book had a diverse cast, including two biracial (half Korean/half white) men!

Arsenic and Adobo takes place in a small town and it was interesting to learn that Lila felt suffocated and wanted to move away even though her family members and best friend lives in Shady Palms. Most of the characters in this book are Asian descent and I loved that the author wrote about the complicated choices second generations are often faced with: following our dreams or trying to live up to our family expectations.

If I had one complaint, it’s that the love triangle/ love square (??) isn’t explored enough! I’m sure we will find out more in the second book.

I LOVED this book. Friends, family, Filipino culture, lots of food and a love triangle (perhaps a love square?)!! What’s not to like?