I will update the review with a link to our blog closer to publication date.
I'd like to thank the publisher Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review

Here’s a new fun fall read! Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking by Raquel V. Reyes. In this cozy mystery, Mariam, who is a cooking show star, finds a dead body in her yard. The individual was kicked out of the fall festival the night before. While trying to figure out what happened, Marian is in charge of planning The Woman’s Club gala. While visiting the club where the gala will be held, Miriam overhears an argument between the chef and the club’s manager. Then the chef is found dead at the bottom of the stairs. Was he pushed or was it an accident? In addition, there are two individuals who may have been poisoned. Are the two murders and the poisonings related? Mariam tries to figure it out.

Besides being a great mystery, this story is full of comical story lines which include an unpleasant mother-in-law, a cute kid and other quirky characters which will create a few laughs for the reader! I hope to read more about Mariam and her friends in the future!

Although I enjoyed the first book in the series, this one did not keep my attention. I found all of the Spanish 'spoken' in this book really stopped the flow of the story.

I am grateful to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read #CalypsoCorpsesandCooking by Raquel V. Reyes. I was intrigued by the unique premise and the lovely cover.
However, I was unable to get into this book. I found it to be overly detailed and tedious. Making things worse was the frequent use of another language, in this case, Spanish, which I normally have no problem with, which threw me off as there was often no translation or context provided to help the non-Spanish speaker understand what was being said.
I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it was not for me and I was unable to finish it.

In book 2 of the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series, thanks to her dreadful mother in law, Miriam has been put in charge of the Women’s Club’s annual Fall Festival gala.

The event becomes the least of her worries when a body is found by a tombstone Halloween decoration. Who would have wanted this person dead and why?

— I really enjoyed this book! It was a cozy mystery that is perfect for going into fall! It was different from my typical thrillers and romances, but was a fun read. The setting was great and I loved the addition of the recipes!

Thank you NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my unbiased, honest review.

Murder in Miami gets *spicy* in this sensational follow-up to MANGO, MAMBO, AND MURDER. Miriam is a fantastic sleuth, amazing mother, supportive wife, sensational cook, and all-around kick-ass character.

It's fall festival and Halloween season in Coral Shores, Miami. Miriam Quiñones-Smith and her husband Robert have booths at the school Fall Festival. The event is disrupted by Lois, the irate mother of Juliet, the main antagonist in the first book. A few days later, Miriam's first Halloween trick or treat at home is marred by the discovery of an unconscious Lois in her front yard. Who attacked Lois & why did they place her near Miriam's house? Then Miriam gets the surprising news that she is pregnant. Miriam's stress levels go up when her nasty mother-in-law Marjory puts her in charge of the Women's Club annual gala taking place in 2 weeks. With the help of Miriam's girlfriends, they decide on a fun theme with Caribbean food trucks and a calypso band. Their enthusiasm is dimmed when they see the country club chef fall to his death. Was his death an accident? More poisonings occur and Miriam ends up witnessing another murder while searching for ingredients in the country club kitchen. This was another good entry in the Caribbean Kitchen mystery series. I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books. All opinions are my own.

This is the second Caribbean cooking mystery. This is fun unique cozy series with great charcters, cooking fun foods and a intriquing sleuth. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own. I love the setting of Florida with the culture and food the author so beautifully infuses into this series.

In this second in series our protagnist Miriam has her hands full with fall festivals, her horrible Mother In Law to contend with and dealing with a corpse. Fall festivities are underway in Coral Shores, Miami. Miriam Quiñones-Smith is a food show star who finds a corpse in her yard. The body is the woman that was kicked out of the school’s Fall Festival the day before and had arguments with several people. Why she was killed in Miriams yard is a mystery Miriam must solve to clear her own name. Miriam is also in charge of the Women's Club Gala per order of her obnixious Mother In Law who she finally tells off in this book. Miriam wants to create a Caribbean theme but her Mother In Law is against anything cultural. They exchange words when Miriam has had enough of the woman. Miriam then witnesses a argument between the chef and event manager . The chef is then found dead . Miriam is on the case with suspects abound and clues adding up to murder for possibly more then one suspect with the two murders.

This is a fun series with wonderful foodie aspect and likable charcters. I enjoy returnining to this series and hope it will continue.

Miriam, a Latina food ethnographer with a cooking show, her husband Robert, and their young son, Manny have recently moved back to Miami. Miriam’s reconnecting with family and old friends and making new ones as her son settles into a new preschool. The author shows a sense of warmth and connection among Miriam’s circle that feels authentic.

The author creates such a vivid sense of place which includes so many glorious food descriptions that I was ready to lick the page!

Miriam is relatable as she tries to juggle motherhood and a career. Ugh and her passive-aggressive monster-in-law is the worst. I love how strong and determined Miriam is despite the constant microaggressions.

The mystery was twisty in the best possible way and kept me guessing to the end - which I absolutely loved.

Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking is for you if you enjoy culinary cozy mysteries, especially those with a Latinx flair.

While I loved the first book in this series (Mango, Mambo, and Murder), this one seemed disjointed at times, and the ending was abrupt. Miriam Quinones-Smith is the Cuban-American star of a cooking show in Miami, as well as a wife and mother. Her mother-in-law, who despises her because she's not white bread, signs her up to be in charge of the Women's Club gala and menu, so she's at the country club when the chef goes over the stair rail and is in critical condition. But, her neighborhood is just as dangerous as a neighbor is poisoned and a woman is found in bad shape on Miriam's lawn.

While the book is wonderful for its inclusiveness and background into various cultures, there's too much Spanish in the book for most cozy mystery readers. I do read some Spanish, and I'm fine with the parts that are in context. But, some of the sentences are not in context, and even when I looked them up, I didn't find definitions.

For those reasons, I don't find this book as well-written as the first in the series.

There's a lot of food talk and Spanish in this book. The food and Spanish is understandable given the main character and her work. As I mentioned, I believe, in my review of the first book that the amount of Spanish, which is even higher here, may make some readers unhappy. The author doesn't follow up by translating it as I've seen in some books using a foreign language in spots. As someone with a B.A. in Spanish, it's obviously not an issue for me. It's realistic.

I liked the storyline and seeing Miriam's professional and home life mixing. There's a nice blend with the anglo and latino elements. Looking forward to hopefully meeting her parents in a future book and reading how her parents and her in laws mix.

I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

*I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I have to say that I had very high hopes for this book as I absolutely LOVED the first one. But before I give my verdict, a short summary on the book.

It's Fall time in Coral Shores, Miami and the local festivals are on the way. Miriam Quiñones-Smith, a Cuban-American cooking star, one morning wakes up to find an unconscious woman on the fake tombstones in her front yard with the words "Help, Murder" written on the side of her house. Miriam gets more on her plate as her hateful Mother-in-law puts her in charge of the Women’s Club annual gala. Miriam's ideas are not what her MIL has in mind, but Miriam does what she wants, spice it up with Caribbean food trucks and a calypso band.

While making plans at the club, they hear an argument and the chef dives into his death. But was this an accident? And what does the body in her front yard have to do with everything? Miriam sees no other choice than to discover what is going on if she wants the gala to be a success.

Okay, so I had high hopes and....... They all came through!! I absolutely loved this book and this series has gone way up high in my favorites list. I would recommend reading book 1 before this one as some things lap over. They might be explained in this book, but for good order, best to read the first one first. I loved the characters, except for Miriam's MIL. The woman even makes me angry, she is so annoying! But I am also happy for Miriam's little surprise and I can't wait for a third book. The mystery was also good, it was a bit over the place so at first I had no idea if the murders were single or connected. But yeah, another great installment in this series!!

This was a fun escapist read that inspired me to cook and transported me from the hot and humid summer days that never seem to end. Enjoyed the characters, atmosphere, and writing style immensely and made it an easy recommendation.

In Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking by Raquel V. Reyes Miriam’s mother inlaw puts her in charge of the the Clubs annual gala and lands her in the middle of a murder. Now she has to figure out who the murder is before she becomes the next victim.

I'm loving this book more then the first book in the Caribbean Kitchen Mysteries. If you love Caribbean and Latin food this is a must read for you. You can tell that Reyes knows what she's talking about when it comes to this cuisine and has alot of passion for it. I had my phone next to me looking up so many new foods. I'm so craving a capuchino pastry and missing my mother inlaws cooking right now.

The plot was engaging and the charaters entertaining. I love Miriam's best friend she is so over the top and brings comedy with every scene she was in. And her son is just adorible with his obsession with his cop cosin. The only thing that bothered me was the constant comment "my mermaid was hungry" ever time she ate something which happened practically every chapter. I would have been happy with her saying it 3 or 4 times instead. Other than that I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you Netgallery for the ARC

Miriam wakes up to find a corpse in her front yard by the fake tombstone put up for the Fall Festival.
This cozy mystery is book 2 of the Caribbean Kitchen Mysterty series, but the first one I read, and now that I have read this one, I will definitely go back to read the first one. It has plenty of red herrings that keep you guessing, great setting and great characters, and includes recipes.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Murder and food somehow, sometimes seem to go together at least in Miriam Quinones-Smith life anyway, but not because she goes looking for trouble, just the opposite; all she wants to do is be a good mother, enjoy hosting her own ethnic cooking show and settling into her new life in South Carolina with her husband.
Halloween seems to be full of fun, ghoulish goings on and mad dress-up costumes but when Halloween turns out to be all to ghastly with a ‘body’ turning up in her own back yard, Miriam begins to wonder why her, again!
The family is still in an uproar over the last murder investigation she was involved in and life is anything but pleasant within the confines of her husband’s family.
Having been almost bullied into helping out at the prestigious Women’s Country Club Gala by her overbearing mother-in-law, Miriam reluctantly attends the first meeting but before the meeting begins the head chef falls to his death from the staircase.
This sets off a train of events which wind throughout the daily life of Miriam, her friends and family which only get worse as their neighbour, who turns out to be the part owner of the Club is found poisoned in his own home.
But who is behind the murders, there does turn out to be more than one and attempted murders, is anyone’s guess as there seem to be links to the Mob, drugs, and family members with some serious scores to settle.
Meanwhile the Gala event has planned to include a wide range of ethnic food trucks, as with the head chef dead, life at the Country Club is anything but normal and as a very last minute rescue attempt the ’Foodie’ community of Coral Shores have come together to create a true Gala festival.
Woven in amongst an excellent plot line is a tilt at racism, which sadly is still alive and well today, a good smattering of Spanish, which while not helpful to none Spanish speaking peoples adds authenticity to the storyline and great cast of very believable characters all with their own stories to tell.
Calypso, Corpses and Cooking is a great cozy murder read which while the second book in the A Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series ties in nicely with Mango, Mambo, and Murder, Reynes first book, and sets the scene for mystery number three.

I liked this second installment a lot! In the first book, I was a bit annoyed at Miriam for not standing up for herself. She's much more confident and assertive in this second book. I loved seeing her stand her ground with both her own husband and her horrible mother-in-law.

This is a complicated plot with multiple crimes and (view spoiler) It was a lot to keep up with, but I felt like the author did a good job of bringing everything together.

I love reading a book set in a community with different cultural/neighborhood norms from my own. And Reyes does such a good job with twining in enough Spanish to make it feel authentic. There's always enough context to figure it out without her providing an actual translation. It just feels natural. Most books with snippets of other languages don't manage it nearly this gracefully.

Miriam is funny and vulnerable, and I can't wait to see where book 3 takes her.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley.

2.5 stars

This is the second book in the series and I haven't read the first book. I felt like I was coming into an established story and like I was playing catch-up. I wouldn't recommend it as a standalone. Do yourself a favour and start with book one.

At first I thought the inclusion of Spanish in the book was neat but eventually I found it to be frustrating as I don't speak Spanish and didn't want to take the time to translate phrases.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Crooked Lane Books!!!

Hello, Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley.

The file that came into my Kindle has all of the paragraphs without indentions. Thus, the reading process of this arc is not easy on the eyes or enjoyable.

Unfortunately, I found this poor formatting with several of the cozy mystery tiles from Crooked Lane books.

The only two that were formatted correctly and readable were A Christmas Candy Killing and A Good Day To Pie, both of which I loved. I will post reviews for those books later this Fall on my blog and include the links.

List of Crooked Lane Books that are incorrectly formatted are;

Death by Margins
Dead Men Don’t Decorate
The Game Is A Footnote
Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking
Streetcar Named Murder
Snuffed Out
Hidden in the Pines
Canter With A Killer

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book. Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking is the second book in the Caribbean Kitchen mystery series, and it picks up right where the first book left off, so I strongly recommend reading the first book in the series first.
Miriam Quinones-Smith is the mother of one, food anthropologist and has her own cooking show on local tv network. She has also habit of running into murders and is uncapable of leaving crime solving to the police. I like the realistic take on family life the book offers: it’s hard to combine family life, work and investigating. The main focus in the books is Miriam’s family life, work, friends and cooking. There’s a lot of Cuban and Caribbean culture and food as well as a bit of Spanish introduced in the book, which I like very much.
This series is excellent for all lovers of cosy crime and food.