If this could be rated in mangos I would give it four mangos! The story has plenty of twists and turns with background on family and foods in regards to where the story line was set. It was a fun and refreshing new book series and I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

This was such a nail biter of a page turner. A great read. I loved the book. The plot was very well written and I cannot wait for another book. This was from a new to me author.

Three things I love about this book are Miriam the quirky MC, interesting story and mouth watering foods. Yummy..
I also enjoyed the interaction between MC and other supporting characters.

But as reader who not understand Spanish, I found the storytelling style kinda challenging. But the mystery is interesting and the plot run with good. I would love to recommend this book for my fellow book friends.

Thank you for Netgalley to provide me with this ARC to exchange with a honest review.

An entertaining and engrossing read from a new to me author. To put it simply this is a cozy mystery which is perfect for those cup of tea, reading by the fire or out on the beach, under the sun easy read moments.
Quirky but feisty characters, a tightly knitted plot and a solid mystery which unraveled in a timely fashion. The characters are beautifully described and the settings help invoke the feeling of hot, airless days just waiting for something to happen. I would definitely like to read more from this author.

Miriam has just moved with her husband and little boy to her husband’s hometown—a well-heeled Miami suburb. As a Latina of Cuban descent in a mostly white area, and with a racist and overbearing mother-in-law, she feels a little out of place. Luckily, her old friend Alma is there to smooth the way. When Alma is wrongly accused of murder, Miriam springs into action to clear her friend’s name. Along the way she makes new friends, makes incredible sounding meals, and becomes a rising cooking star on a Spanish-language tv channel. The mix of English and Spanish was a fun chance to flex my rusty high school Spanish skills. This is a very welcome addition to a genre that has long centered white voices. Recommended for fans of Arsenic and Adobo.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my review. All opinions shared are 100% my own.


What a delightful cozy! I can’t wait to read more. It is very different than many cozies I have read, but it also hits many of the main points of “coziness” that I love and keeps me coming back to the genre. I liked the Spanish dialogue. I took four years in high school and college and have played around on keeping up my Spanish on Duolingo but I am nowhere near fluent. I was able to keep up with the Spanish dialogue fairly well though and the author provided enough contextual clues to figure out any of the more complex bits.


The main character, Miriam, and her best friend, Alma, were wonderful. Miriam is so sweet and very real. There are so many likable characters… and, of course, a nemesis or two, though thankfully, one of those got their comeuppance in this first book in the series (I will NOT miss that character going forward). AND, there’s a cat… and kittens… so you know that always adds bonus points in my book. I learned a lot about Cuban cuisine as well. I had to look up so many things and… YUM!


First installments often have clunky world-building but Ms. Reyes did a fantastic job of building all the various worlds in which Miriam finds herself. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.

3.5 Stars

Good food, great characters and a scintillating mystery, what's not to like?

If there's one thing I'd say; do not read this book while fasting because it'll definitely leave you with cravings. Raquel does a brilliant job in creating realistic and intriguing characters with personalities of their own. Although the book starts off confusing, it dives into the mystery in no time; which then helps fuel the curiosity.

Miriam is a multifaceted character who is set on righting the wrong but isn't afraid to cross some lines which makes her relatable and interesting. The writing style was at times confusing since it switched back and forth from Spanish (I have to brush up my language skills!) but flowed very well and was pretty easy to read and visualize.

Although the mystery started a while into the books, I loved reading the backstories of all the different characters and how Miriam interacted with each of them. I would have loved to see more of it.

The mystery is a central part but was quite obvious once we got reading. However, the book was too interesting to stop. I would have enjoyed more serious twists in the mystery but this book definitely made for a cozy read! The writing, plot, and characters no doubt, prove true to the books lively name!

Mango, Mambo and Murder
By Raquel V. Reyes

I enjoyed the Cuban-American point of view of this book, probably because it's so different from my Norwegian-German American upbringing.
I liked the characters and the story development inspite of a few implausibilities.

I look forward to more from this author.

This cozy was so much fun! Excellent characters, dialogue, and a very compelling mystery. As soon as I was finished, I started to look forward to whenever the next book in this series will be published.

Mango, Mambo, and Murder is the debut of the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series set in Coral Shores, Miami and featuring food anthropologist, Miriam Quinones-Smith. Miriam and husband Robert have just moved back to Robert's home town of Coral Shores from New York and Miriam is having a hard time adjusting. Robert's mother Marjory makes no bones about the fact that she doesn't like Miriam, she's not good enough for her favorite son, so the only two people that Miriam can rely on are her four year old toddler Manny and best friend from high school, Alma.

When two local ladies suddenly die, Detective Frank Pullman is quick to point the finger at Alma, claiming that she's a major cocaine dealer and has been selling a bad product. But, Miriam knows that her friend is not responsible so she sets out to find the real reason behind the women's deaths.

I enjoyed getting to know Miriam and watching her develop a backbone, it wasn't too hard to figure out whodunit, and some of the recipes that are mentioned sound delicious. Fair warning that the dialogue switches back and forth from Spanish to English quite frequently, and if you are like me with absolutely NO understanding of the Spanish language it can be a little frustrating at times. Overall, a good way to spend an afternoon.

I received an advanced copy of Mango, Mambo, and Murder from NetGalley via Crooked Lane Books. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

Raquel Reyes's Caribbean Kitchen Mystery debut, Mango, Mambo, and Murder, is a delicious, spicy treat. Cuban-American Miriam Quinones-Smith has just moved back to Miami so her white husband can take a new job. Miriam’s excited about being back in Miami as she can reconnect with family, see more of her bestie, Alma. And as a food anthropologist, she needs to figure out her career next steps.

What’s not so amazing about moving back is it’s to Coral Shores, a mostly white enclave of privilege. This means being closer to her prejudiced mother-in-law who won’t even call her grandson by his given name of Manuel and is constantly critical of Miriam’s parenting choices and belittles Miriam and her heritage. Lots of microaggressions on display.

Things get even worse when a young woman dies and Alma’s taken into custody on murder charges. Plus Miriam’s worried that Robert’s having an affair with a former flame - one of that his mother approves of.

So Much to love about this book! It’s a delicious slice of life look at Miami. Lots of tasty tidbits about the variety of Latinx cultures - customs, religion and of course, so many fabulous descriptions of the food! From local markets to high-end restaurants plus the amazing food that Miriam prepares - it all sounded mouthwateringly delicious.

The author created well-rounded and interesting characters. I cared about Alma not just because she was Miriam’s best friend, but because we were given a look into a tragic event in her past.

Miriam was so likable and relatable as a young mother trying to balance her career and family, trying to keep her culture and make sure it was part of her son’s life while still navigating the white world her husband was from.

Such a skillful writer with a knack for fantastic descriptions, a great sense of place, vibrant and colorful character creation, and a great mystery! I’m eager to read the second book!

"Mango, Mambo, and Murder" is the story of Miriam Quinoñes-Smith, a PhD in culinary anthropology who has just moved to the Miami area from her New York City home with her husband and son. Author Raquel V. Reyes does a fantastic job of drawing the characters so that you feel like you know them and the story is very compelling (though a bit obvious). She also tackles tough topics like racism and microaggressions. Overall, the story focused on more personal drama than most cozy mysteries but that just made it a stronger story. I love the touch of adding recipes at the end.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was such a fun book! At first, it felt as if the mystery took a while to get going, as Sunny dies and then there is next to no mention of it until close to page 70. I felt that even though this book has plenty of aspects that are largely unrelated to the central mystery, it helped us know Miriam even better and really get to be invested in how she and those she cared about were doing.

Miriam's new cooking show, The Caribbean Kitchen, was so cool! Everything she made sounded so delicious! Some of these recipes are included in the back of the book, which you don't want to miss.

I really enjoyed how much of the dialogue is in Spanish. It was a great addition! Don't be worried if you aren't fluent in Spanish, I'm certainly not and was able to understand everything, as the vocabulary and verb tenses are quite simple. It was also very interesting to see her experience with having just moved to Miami and having to deal with her frustrating mother-in-law, especially the way she insisted Manny speak English.

I'd certainly recommend this book to anyone who loves or might be interested in cozy mysteries! The mystery was very interesting and the book was absolutely lovely! Some scenes truly had me laughing out loud!

First in a new series the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery

Miriam Quinones-Smith moves from New York to Coral Shores, Miami and it’s difficult enough without having to deal with her Son’s toddler tantrums and her husband’s midlife crisis. Her friend Alam offers her a job as on-air cooking expert on a Spanish language morning Tv show.

When she attends a women’s club luncheon and a socialite fall face first into her chicken salad never to eat again, and than another women dies after suspicions coalesce around a Cuban Herbalist, Dr. Fuentes and the morning show’s host collapses while interviewing him.
But when the Detective Pullman learns that the socialite’s death was from a drug overdose and a tip leads him to Alma as the culprit.

The Detective asks Miriam to put her culinary knowledge of Coral Shore’s Caribbean culture to use to help catch the killer and clear Alma’s name. While her husband is talking to his Ex-girlfriend, Juliet, Miriam is talking to the neighbors to get answers on all manners of herbs.

As the deadly scheme comes together, Miriam is on the verge of putting it all together but her snooping could mean the end of the line for her.

I loved getting to know the culture in this book and how Miriam went about solving the murder. i
I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

I like this series the mysteries are good and the bilingual parts are great something I hadn't seen before

I thoroughly enjoy this wonderful entry to a new cozy series with a Caribbean flair, which was set in Coral Shore, Miami. I have never been to Miami but this was some great armchair travel as I felt like I was right there!

I enjoyed the Cuban-American aspect to this. I don't speak spanish, so I did find some of the Spanish dialogue hard to follow when there wasn't an English translation. However, most of the context was clear so this didn't bother me. Plus coming from a bilingual family (of another language) it actually reminded me of being around my grandparents, so that was a nice nostalgic moment.

There is a fun mystery with socialite ending up dead. More bodies follow in this fun foodie mystery. I really enjoyed the twists and turns this author dreamed up and found myself flipping the pages to see what would happen next. Vibrant characters, a fun location, mouth-watering food and a challenging mother-in-law make this a wonderful cozy mystery.

I really enjoyed this cosy mystery with a Cuban flair. Our protagonist is a food anthropologist who loves to cook. The cooking descriptions and Spanish dialogue were hard for me to relate to, but the mystery was intriguing and the characters were fun. The relationship between Miriam and her mother in law was tense and believable. This series is off to a great start!

Mango Mambo Murder by Raquel V. Reyes was an advanced reader copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Miriam has been asked to participate in a short cooking demo. At a woman's meeting, a lady passes out in her food, while sitting next to Miriam. Then she dies.
I enjoyed the story but really wish my Spanish was better. I loved the recipes and plan on trying a few.

I was completely surprised to find that a large portion of this book is Cuban Spanish conversation. Some if it is repeated in English, but nearly 3/4 is not. This didn't bother me. I understand a little Spanish (thank you, Sesame Street and other sources), and I have an app to translate standard Spanish to English. I mention it first, because it was a little overwhelming in the beginning, but just like listening to someone speak with an accent, I settled into the flow.

The story is primarily about a young mother, Miriam, who is pressured to move to Florida for her husband's new job--a good opportunity--and new experiences for her son. The glaring negative is her husband's mother, who snubs, ignores, and snipes at her for not being "the chosen" spouse for her favorite son.

Everything is going as well as can be expected, considering Miriam's circumstances, until she is dragged to a snooty club function and a woman dies next to her. Not too suspicious. She just moved in. Until someone else dies...and Miriam is there.

The main back story was much more interesting to me than the mystery. Although the investigation was fairly complex, there was a little too much back and forth where the writer seemed a bit bored, so it was lifeless routine in a spot or two. I suppose the characters thought so too, but being so observant, I expected a little more.

Miriam's friends were fun characters who pushed her to open up and be more like herself, and her son was sweet and obedient.

What I liked most was that Miriam didn't sit at home and act like a victim when she felt left out and forgotten, and she either confronted the people who treated her badly, or found a way to work around their behavior. She developed as a person, and she looked for ways to help others despite all of the "madness," going on around her.

I would like to read a second book if this is a series, and I hope to see a change in Miriam's marriage.

I did solve the mystery before the main characters. Fortunately, I have the advantage of many more mystery resources than Jessica Fletcher on her tv series; and as I think she would say herself, "Reading a few good mysteries never hurt anyone, and it just might help."

This was a fun book with definitely more mystery chops than most cozies. I enjoyed the bilingual aspect as well.