I really liked this book! The characters were fantastic!! This is a must read book! Need to pick this book up today!!

Title: Calypso, Corpses and Cooking
Author:Raquel v. Reyes
Rating: 4.75
Blurb:

Fall festivities are underway in Coral Shores, Miami. Cuban-American cooking show star 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. While making plans at the country club, they hear a volatile argument between the new head chef and the club’s manager. Not long after, the chef swan dives to his death at the bottom of the grand staircase.

Was it an accident? Or was it Beverly, the sous chef, who is furious after being passed over for the job? Or maybe it was his ex-girlfriend, Anastasia?

Add two possible poisonings to the mix and Miriam is worried the food truck fun is going to be a major crash. As the clock ticks down and the body count goes up, Miriam’s life is put in jeopardy. Will she connect the dots or die in the deep freeze? Foodies and mystery lovers alike will savor the denouement as the truth is laid bare in this simmering stew of rage, retribution, and murder.

This book is the second in a series and I can tell you that I am looking forward to reading more in this fun, cozy mystery world. It's diverse latino characters are fully fleshed and vary from lovable to making you want to pull your hair out for Miriam, the main character, in all the right ways. I love the way her extended family drive her batty but she loves and respects them so much, because who can't relate to that.? Just me, lol?

If you've spent any time in Miami, the author does a great job of bringing the setting alive for you. It made me wish I was there with the characters, especially reading it in the dead of winter in the northeast, which I did.

The plot line is interesting and keeps you guessing. My only problem with this series is do I go back to the first book or forward from here?

Thank you to Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books for the free Ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this an much as the first! I particularly like this book series on audio because it helps me to understand the Spanish parts better. I love the friendships and family dynamics of the book as well as the mystery itself.

This book was super cute and I am glad that I found this series! I now have to anxiously wait for the next book to come out! I can't wait to see how Miriam grows into her newfound assertiveness and her expanding family. It's time for her hubby to step up and defend his wife from his racist mother! Now I'm off to find more books by Raquel Reyes!

#CalypsoCorpsesandCooking
#NetGalley.

This was such a cute premise for a cozy mystery. I didn't get around to totally finishing it, but I like what I did get to.

I really wanted to like this book but there are a lot of Spanish words and phrases with no English translation given. Usually I enjoy books with views into other cultures but I felt like I was missing a lot of the story by not understanding what was being said.

Book 1 in this series was one of my favorites for the whole year! I wish book 2 had lived up to book 1. I still love Miriam, the Florida setting, and all the food. but the husband and mother in law are so grating, and not in a way you to hate but in a Miriam you can do better way. Also for me, the mystery wasn't as strong (although all the stuff about the drone was super interesting).

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Raquel V. Reyes for an audio copy of Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking in exchange for an honest review. There's nothing that brings me more reading joy than a good cozy and this fit that bill for me! A fun story that kept me entertained with delicious descriptions of food, yes please!! I'm looking forward to going back and reading the first book in this series. With that being said, this can definitely be read as a stand-alone. All my cozy lovers need to get this one asap! 4.5 stars!

Thanks NetGalley, for the audio ARC of this wonderful mystery. Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking was a solid read. It had me at complicated mystery set in Miami that explores the local culture and community, and then it went on to use Miriam, the main character-slash-sleuth, to explore the anthropology of food. I found it as fascinating as I did educational. It took the novel from fun to amazing. I felt like I lived in Coral Shores with Miriam and her crew, and could almost taste the delicious (and educational) recipes she prepared on her show.

The book treats readers to a tour of Miami tastes and cultures, and I was just happy to be along for the ride. There was more than a pinch of Spanish sprinkled in, which made the book feel authentic and did not pander to English-only readers (in a good way! People can look things up on the entire internet if they are confused). There were enough characters that I had absolutely no clue whodunnit -- which is just the way I like it.

I listened to the audiobook, which had excellent, smooth narration.

The only thing I didn't understand was how Miriam could possibly tolerate her racist, classist mother-in-law for even a moment. I thought her "macho guapo" husband needed some anti-racist lessons of his own if he wasn't standing up to her.

I lived in Miami many years ago, and this book brought me right back there. I give it 9/10 stars and recommend it to anyone who loves cooking, clever mysteries, and learning about the many cultures of and tastes of the Caribbean.

I really enjoyed tis book! I loved the mystery and all the characters! The narrator was also very good for this book! I hope to read more by this author soon!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and to the author for the ARC!

Miriam winds up in charge of planning the Women’s Club annual gala. She’s determined to make it a success. But between the body she finds in her yard and the death of the county club’s new head chef, it looks more like a recipe for a disaster. A fun cozy mystery with wonderful characters and delicious-sounding food.

Calypso, Corpses and Cooking is the second book in the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series by Raquel V. Reyes. The protagonist of this series is Miram Quinones-Smith, a Cuban American chef who does segments on a local television station as well as having her own You Tube show. In this book, the mystery starts out when the mother of the culprit in the first is reported missing after a Halloween carnival where she confronted Robert about his role in her daughter's conviction. When she is later discovered in Robert and Miriam's yard disoriented and suffering from a blow to the head, Robert becomes a person of interest in the case. Robert's mother has also asked Miriam to put on the Women's Club annual gala at the country club. Shortly after an argument with the country club's chef about the gala, he is discovered dead after having gone over a balcony railing. Miriam and friends become entangled in the investigation of both events while still planning the gala.

With this series, the author has created an excellent vehicle to explore the multicultural areas around Miami, Florida and has done a wonderful job of developing a cast of multidimensional characters who deliver an interesting and creative storyline while solving the underlying mysteries. I particularly appreciate the way the author has her main characters raising their son with an appreciation of both cultures that make up his heritage. Through innovative circumstances, the author keeps the reader engaged in the plot and gives enough twists to not reveal the solution too early in the story but enough clues to make the revelations believable. I look forward to more books in this series to see where the future leads Robert, Miriam and their expanding family.

The narrator of this audiobook has done an excellent job of creating the voices for the various characters in the book including utilizing accents that are necessary for the multicultural aspect of the storyline.

I received an ARC of this audiobook from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media and am leaving this review voluntarily.

3.5 stars!

I've added a few cozy mysteries to my reading life lately, and have found them to be so comforting right now, so I was excited to read this fun mystery to get into spooky szn.

CALYPSO, CORPSES, AND COOKING is about a woman named Miriam, who, as the clock ticks down and the body count goes up, her life is put in jeopardy as she investigates the head chef's murder and multiple suspects.

I listened to this book as an audiobook, narrated by Frankie Corzo. I enjoyed the book, but I'm not sure about the narrator choice, which felt a bit disconnected from the story. I'm excited to read more by this author.

*many thanks to Dreamscape Media and netgalley for the gifted copy for review

This was a new series to me and I went back and got the first one also. I got caught up on my Spanish. I like the cooking show and how the main character balances everything. It was a good mystery and look forward to seeing the next book in the series.

This series has been my introduction to cozy mysteries, and I am loving the second book in this fun series! If you haven't read Mango, Mambo, and Murder already, I would highly recommend starting there before diving into book #2! You can technically pick this one up without being completely lost, but there are some great references that translate well if you have read book number 1.

Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking brings a culturally unique perspective with the characters and is set in a location that goes right along with it. Even though the story takes place during Halloween, this would be a fun read for any time of the year.

I cannot recommend this book enough!

It was a little hard to to follow in the beginning, but it grew on me. The narrator to me was a little off but it was fine.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* i would read more of this series but it was a nice book to read leading up to Halloween!

Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking is a pleasing mystery.

This story is heartwarming and charming and funny and well-told. I am generally pleased with at least two of those choices; but this book just goes all out. Oh! And it also had a body and a murder and a mystery! Bonus!

Strange that my concerns about this book included the ever cheerful narrator, which if you have one in your life -- you know they are annoying, and the cookbook issues, and the mix of languages -- all of these things, which would generally annoy me, were exactly right in this story.

The only flaw, and this is minor, is that because I have an audible version, it doesn't include recipes, nor does it include the correct spelling so I could find recipes on the internet and then add her directions or correct them with the knowledge of Miriam Quiñones-Smith.

The narration of this story is spectacular. Her voice is exactly as she is telling the story.

This book is ok. I didn't like the pop of spanish every now and then. Since I only know the cuss words in spanish I had no clue what was said. It kinda ruined the book for me, I hate when I don't understand things. That being said, it was still a cute cozy.

If you enjoy cuisine and mysteries, this would be a fun read/listen for you. Miriam is a Cuban-American host of a cooking show. She and her husband are raising their son to be bilingual, and the narration includes a good amount of Cuban Spanish as well as some Creole. I enjoyed the challenge of translating before the narrator paraphrased in English. We also learn about Cuban cuisine in this book. Oh, and did I mention that Miriam is also an amateur detective who seems to sometimes help and sometimes hinder the police investigation, but always with some humor thrown in.

The characters in the book are really special, from a gay dance instructor who is an excellent makeup artist to Miriam's little boy who loves anything having to do with police. They really added a lot of interest to what would otherwise be a typical cozy mystery plot. Loved this book! Can't wait for another in this series!