Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking is the second Caribbean Kitchen cozy mystery by Raquel V. Reyes. Released 8th Nov 2022 by Crooked Lane, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a fun cozy mystery full of food, culture, and (as the author herself refers to it) "Spanglish" phrases. The amateur sleuth is also a cultural anthropologist with a specialization in food culture and also the host of her own youtube channel and network cooking show. The plotting moves along at a good clip and I never found myself yanked out of the story by clunky dialogue or uneven writing. There is a fair amount of Spanish in the story, more than usual, but almost all of it is either easy to understand in context or explained by character responses.

The central characters are appealing, well rounded and largely female. Most of the male characters almost seem to be included as window dressing, but the central mystery and investigation carry the story quite well. There are a phenomenal number of food descriptions included and the author has an impressive grasp of ingredients and history for the relevant dishes and their importance to the different cultures who developed them. There's a lot of really interesting food history to be found. 

The climax, resolution, and denouement are self contained in this volume, so it works well as a standalone. The violence is mostly off-page and not extreme, given that it's a cozy mystery. The main character's mother-in-law is horribly racist and just plain mean, to the degree that she made it difficult to read the scenes in which she's featured (which is about 15% of the book). If MC Miriam's husband doesn't step up and do something about his mother, they'll be divorced and their kid Manny will be in therapy in 5 years. 

The book includes several delicious and intriguing recipes which are featured in the media scenes from her cooking show.

Four stars. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Thank you Netgalley and the author for letting me review this novel. Unfortunately, I struggled with this book due to the Spanish language and the slow pace of the book. Not the book for me.

⭐⭐ -- Cute cover on this one!

I quite enjoyed the first book in this series and was excited to dive into this one. Unfortunately, there was very little I liked about this one. For a book being set at Halloween, there was very little mention of the holiday. The pace was slow. The plot was all over the place. Where as the spanish didn't bother me in book one, in this one there was just too much without any translation or explanation. The plethora of pregnancy old wives tales. 🤦🏻‍♀️ The racist mother and Miriam's husbands lack of backbone to stand up to her. Miriam herself is annoying...I could go on, but why?

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I enjoyed this cozy little mystery that was a simple read. I did not read the first in the series, but this was not an issue as this is a stand alone story. This is a fun, cozy mystery and Mariam is an enjoyable character. There is Spanish language throughout the story, but I knew enough from several years of Spanish in High School to deduce what was being said. On the few I didn't know, I used the translation feature on my Kindle. I enjoyed the different recipes and actually took a screenshot of several to share with friends and family.

I do plan to read the 1st in the series at some point since I did enjoy this one.

This is a really fun series! I love the characters, the culture, the location all of it...well everything except the MOTHER IN LAW!! She was my vote for most atrocious character in a cozy!
This book takes place @ halloween, but would be great for anytime of year!
I recommend this book to any cozy mystery lover!
I received an arc of this book in exchange for a honest review. I would like to thank netgalley, the author Raquel V Reyes, and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book!
My review on YouTube shorts:
https://youtube.com/shorts/WVnZuags4n4

While the mystery in this one is decent, it's everything else about this series that is really compelling. Miriam's career is fascinating, and I enjoy her commitment to it and her knowledge. The characters are all excellent, and it's consistently interesting to watch her and her husband's worlds collide.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and gave it a five-star Goodreads review. Now, I’m doing it again because the second one is even better.

Miriam wakes up to find a woman’s body lying among the Halloween decorations in her front yard. Next, her nightmare of a mother-in-law unexpectedly dumps responsibility for organizing the Women’s Club Fall Festival Gala on Miriam, which results in yet another dead body, that of the new head chef at the Woman’s Club who had earlier been heard arguing with the club’s manager and was then found dead at the bottom of a staircase. Next, people are poisoned. The one thing all of these events have in common is that Miriam was present. But Miriam wouldn’t…Would she..? Well, no, she wouldn’t. I’ll leave it to you to figure out who did do it and why.

Miriam is a great character and it’s refreshing to find a series with a highly intelligent - Miriam has a PhD in food anthropology - and eminently relatable Hispanic protagonist. Reyes is adept at creating characters who are realistic. For example, who among us has not either had a horrible mother-in-law or known someone who does? And anyone who has ever been a Mom to young children can relate to Miriam’s role as a mother.

Much of the story involves food, specifically Caribbean food, which is Miriam’s speciality but you don’t have to be a foodie to love this series because there’s a lot more than just food involved in the plots. This was a very enjoyable book and I look forward to reading the next in the series.

Release Date: October 27 2022

📖📖

Fall festivities are underway in Coral Shores, Miami. Cuban-American cooking-show host Miriam Quiñones-Smith wakes up to find a corpse in her front yard. The body by the fake tombstone is the woman that was kicked out of the school's Fall Festival the day before. Miriam's luck does not improve. Her passive-aggressive mother-in-law puts her in charge of the Women's Club annual gala. But this year, it's not canapes and waltzes. Miriam and her girlfriends-squad opt for fun and flavor. They want to spice it up with Caribbean food trucks and a calypso band. Add another death and two possible poisonings to the mix, and Miriam is worried the food truck fun is going to be a major crash. Can she steer this party home while solving the murder and mayhem plaguing Coral Shores?

This is the second book in the series. They spoiled the first book entirely including who the culprit was so if I wanted to read the first one I would already know the plot and the whodunnit. Miriam also speaks ALOT of Spanish, which is nice…if you know what she’s saying. I speak 0 Spanish so I feel like I missed out on things. This book (and probably series) is a skipper for me.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

#bookstagram #netgalleyreads #booknonrecommendation #CalypsoCorpsesandCooking #dreamscapemedia

A big thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the eARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is part of a series (#2) but reads well as a stand alone. I have not read the first. This was an enjoyable cozy mystery, with the addition of learning about new interesting foods (well at least for me). I almost wish I had a kitchen to try some of the recipes. I must say Miriam's mother in law is pretty horrific! Wow. 3.5 stars

Princess Fuzzypants here: I don’t know why it was hard to get into this book. I liked Miriam, her son, her kitty and her friends and extended family. I liked the mixture of Spanish into the text and the immersion into the Caribbean culture and food. I did not get as invested in the various murders for some reason. They just didn’t catch me the way some do where I am reading quickly to find out if my suspicions are correct. It was not that it was a bad mystery. It just did not grab me.

What did bother me was Robert, Miriam’s husband. They have been married long enough to have a four and a half year old with another on the way. They clearly love each other yet he allows his mother to say the most egregious things to his wife. She swallows the insults to keep peace until one day- blame hormones- she stands her ground and confronts the harridan. Then Robert has the gall to tell her it turned him on that she fought back. What a wuss! Even their kid knows that grandma is mean. For some it might have been a little thing but for me it was enough to blight the entire read.

For that reason I am going to knock my review down to four purrs but only one paw up.

I really enjoyed every part of this book! There are murder mysteries mixed with Caribbean cooking, and even dual languages mixed in. I don't speak Spanish, but the story leaves enough detail to get the basic understanding of what's being said. I haven't read the first book, but Reyes covers what has happened throughout the book. While I know know the ending of the first book, I'd still consider reading it, but read them in order if that's a deal-breaker for you. All in all, this is a fun mystery and worth the read!

Another great outing from Raquel Reyes. She writes so authentically about Miami, and as a long-time resident it's fun to see so much that I recognize. Miriam is a great character and Reyes does a good job of connecting her with the local police detective without resorting to the romance trope. Mouth-wateringly good!

I struggled with this book due to the Spanish and not knowing what the words meant. Other books that use another language (not English) usually tell you what the word means in English or you can figure it out. Those that know Spanish I'm sure would enjoy seeing it used in a book. Also, I struggled with the flow of the book - it started strong and then fizzled and things were started but didn't seem to have any follow through. Not a book for me unfortunately.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. I already left a review on Goodreads. But I was very very disappointed in this Novel. Right away it turns into a liberal feminist propaganda. Pass for me

Miriam Quiñones-Smith is a TV chef in Miami with a fair amount of problems, not the least of which is a dead body that turns up in her front yard.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the free Advanced Reader’s Copy. I will first start by saying that I love that this cozy mystery has a Latina as the main character. I have lived in Spain for over 30 years. In addition, I have close family friends who are of Cuban descent. Seeing that representation was cool.
There is a fair amount of Spanish used in the text, which I thought was well handled for the most part. I do object to the use of a certain word, which I do not find appropriate for a cozy mystery. However, perhaps it is not as strong in Florida as it is in Spain.
I was very surprised as to how much the first mystery in this series was referenced. I had not read the first book but now since I know who the killer is, I do not feel the need to go back and read the first book. There was not just a single reference to the killer in the first chapters, but details of the first crime was mentioned several times.
There are several things about the portrayal of the characters that grated on me. The mother in law was vile and racist. I didn’t really like Miriam. I didn’t like how she forced her young son to speak to her only in Spanish. As the mother of a bilingual family, I have always viewed that as wrong.
I did enjoy all the food descriptions and the settings. In addition, the descriptions of the Halloween season were well done.
I am sorry to say that I can only give this book two stars.

I was more than happy to catch with Mirian and the gang as I love the colourful&inclusive atmosphere.
This mystery is even better than the first and kept me guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, love the characters, and can't wait to read the next book.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

First time I've read any thing by thus author and I enjoyed it alot, the family drama, the history of the food , twists and turns to keep you guessing, plus other thing that won me over was that funny, engaging, and clever though out the story.

This follow-up to Mango, Mambo and Murder does not disappoint!

We are back in the somewhat snobby enclave of Coral Shores in Miami, and Miriam is still trying to figure out how to raise her young son in the Cuban culture of her family, while fending off the encroaching Anglicism of her obnoxious, solidly racist mother-in-law. She is also still running her cable food shows and taking on the challenge of updating the boring annual gala of her mother'-in-law's social club. It's getting close to Hallowe'en, the mysterious circumstances (and bodies) are piling up, the Russian mafia may be involved, and Miriam might just be pregnant!

Lots of returning characters liven up this story, like Miriam's amazing best friend, Jorge the dance instructor/fabulous drag queen and Miriam's extended family. There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing (the drone really had me trying to figure things out!), there's loads of great food (Miriam has a background as a food anthropologist) and I very much enjoy the opportunity to strengthen my Spanish skills reading this series, as Miriam often thinks in Spanish, and also speaks it to her son.

Because this is a cozy, it would be a great addition to a high school English class, looking to diversify its texts, or to add to a mystery-themed literature circle activity. This was a solid 4 - 5 star read for me. Thanks to NetGalley and CrookedLane books for the e-galley. #NetGalley #CrookedLane

I read the first book so I could follow what is going on. But it would be helpful since I dont speak Spanish to have a translation following the Spanish words. Otherwise, it was a cozy read I enjoyed it very much. Looking forward I assume in the next installment Miriam the food critic and her show she will have the baby and we will find out what she has a boy a girl or like she keeps saying jokingly a mermaid!!!!

I haven't read the first book in this series, though I would love to but I don't feel like I am missing part of the story. This is such a fun,high energy book.
With Fall vibes emanating from each page we have our main character Miriam Quiñones-Smith a star of the Miami. Cuban-American cooking show.
I loved the authentic feel for the area with many passages of the book being in Spanish and descriptions of the foods native to the area.
Being that there is a food anthropologist we get a well researched history of native foods (especially fruits) and information about different cultures.
Thanks to her mother in law, Miriam is busy planning the Country Club’s annual gala, of course her mother in law hadn't asked her just volunteered her for it. If this isn't enough to keep this anthropologist busy she also wakes up to find a body in her yard and is sleuthing to solve another murder.
I loved this Foodie cozy mystery with it's vibrant take on Cuban culture and food.

Pub Date: 11 Oct 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.