I really enjoyed this a lot pacing was good characters were well developed and fleshed out. I enjoyed the narrator all in all I'd say about a 4.5 out of five stars

I love this cozy series! Jumping right back in after Mango Mambo and Murder I was so excited to be requited with Miriam and to see that she is doing well in Florida. This was the perfect time of year to launch this book with all the fall:Halloween vibes. Revisiting characters from the last book is a fav of mine while reading cozies. This one like Raquel’s first is full of action, culture and family drama…. Oh and dead bodies. I fully enjoyed this one and excited to see what Miriam gets herself into in book 3.

I received the opportunity to review this audiobook through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I have not read the first book in this series, however, I don’t think that negatively impacted my enjoyment of this cozy mystery. I loved the multicultural nods throughout this book manifesting through relationships, food, and language. The MIL was horrid, and I didn’t like that she was allowed to act so poorly unchecked. I also found the mystery itself a bit unnecessarily convoluted and complex, but everything tied up in a nice bow by the end of the book. Overall, it was a quick read with a lot of charm.

Release Date: October 27 2022

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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

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Raquel V Reyes for providing me with a complimentary digital audiobook ARC for Calypso, Corpses and Cooking coming out October 27, 2022. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It’s fall in Coral Shores, Miami! Festivities have began for Cuban-American cooking show star Miriam Quiñones-Smith. But then Miriam finds a corpse in her front yard next to her fake tombstone. The victim was kicked out of the school's Fall Festival the day before.
 
Then Miriam’s controlling mother-in-law puts her in charge of the Women's Club annual gala. 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 planning at the country club, they hear a heated argument between the new head chef and the club's manager. Not long after, the chef throws himself to his death off the staircase. Did he really fall to his death or was he pushed by someone who wanted him out of the picture? 
 
There’s also people being poisoned. Miriam is worried the festival fun isn’t going to be so fun as the body count increases. Will she be able to solve the case in time for the festival? Or will she be the next victim?

Overall, I enjoyed this story! I haven’t read the first book. I didn’t realize this was a sequel, so I may have missed some things from the first book. I’m not sure why the mother in law doesn’t like her daughter in law. I feel like a lot of the book was her telling people she was pregnant and then them congratulating her. Even though she didn’t want to tell people. I was hoping for a little more of the cozy mystery side to it with the fall festivities. It seemed like a lot of it was about Miriam being pregnant instead of solving the murders. It’s nothing against that, but I was just expecting more of the mystery solving. It felt like the corpses part of the story was piling up before someone did something about it. It just seemed like the ending was a little rushed in solving the cases.

I did love all the talk about food and all of the dishes described sound amazing! I love Spanish culture and Spanish food. Definitely made me hungry, haha!

I would recommend this to any foodies who enjoy light cozy mysteries.

Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking by Raquel V. Reyes is the second book in the Caribbean Cooking Mystery series. I read the first one the day before starting, and my feelings of admiration for the fellow Cuban character and author have decreased. I can only give this book 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.

I liked Miriam in Mango, Mambo, and Murder, but this time she gave vibes of Sophie from the Diva series: pretentious and full of herself. I could no longer relate to her. I am mixed (Cuban and white) and found myself being offended by Miriam and the undertones of racism her thoughts (and sometimes words) were about Marjorie/white people.

I enjoyed Frankie Corzo even more than last time. She no longer had Manny sounding whiny, which was my only complaint from before. She speaks at a perfect pace and cadence. She did most accents just fine, but her Jamaican sounds nothing like any that I know (my husband and his family are from there).

I really, really want to add this series to the cozy murder mysteries I read, so I will give Raquel a third, and final, chance. I am sticking to the hopes that she is still working the kinks out with her writing and will make drastic improvements going forward.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing me with an ALC.

I was THE MOST excited to get back to Miriam and Coral Shores in Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking! Raquel V. Reyes did not disappoint with this second installment. This book was everything I needed and MORE!!! This cozy mystery was everything I needed for a weekend read.
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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.

I thought this book was fantastic! I loved the Halloween vibes while also being in Florida. It was great that some culture and Latinx traditions were explained and included, as well as some Spanish phrases that were repeated in English.

The mystery really had me on my toes! I truly didn't know how all of the pieces connected together until our amateur detective figured it out!

The narration was also great, a very east listen and kept my attention throughout the whole novel.

I was hoping for so much more with the second book in this series. The first book had so much potential and just fell totally flat for me, but I know that is often the case with a first book in a new series so I was actually looking forward to book 2 and even more so because I had the audiobook for it as well [more on that later].

UNFORTUNATELY, this book was just not a good read [for me]. There is just so much wrong with it. The premise and location and the amazing diversity should make it a slam-dunk, but alas, no.

As I have stated in the previous books review, I do not speak Spanish. I know like 10 words and my numbers [THANK YOU Sesame Street]. That’s it. And this book is FILLED with Spanish. There are short paragraphs of Spanish. On some pages, more than half is in Spanish. The MC speaks to her young son exclusively in Spanish. ALL of the food descriptions are in Spanish [WITH no context – HOW are you supposed to know what is being fixed or what is going on if there is no translation or context? I am ALL for diversity in books and that is one of the biggest draws for me with this series, but if you don’t know the language, you are seriously SOL]. You get the picture. The problem with this is [and it’s not the language - I WISH I knew Spanish. It’s a fantastic language], there is NO translation. None. You are left guessing just what is going on and being said. Now, sometimes, it is fairly obvious because of the scene, but more often than not, I didn't have a clue. None. And stopping my audiobook to look up paragraphs of dialogue was also not something that was possible. To have this in the second book [and honestly, it felt like it was amped up even more. I finally gave up trying to understand what was going on and just went with what I DID understand. It took too much time to use the translator every 5 seconds], was extremely frustrating and felt like a lesson in futility.

And then there is the pregnancy issues. SO much misinformation here. SO. MUCH. MISINFORMATION. So many old-wives’ tales [which I totally get because culturally, that makes sense, but the author should have made notes from either the MC or someone else refuting it. Just because something is cultural, doesn’t make it true or less harmful]. Also, who goes three days without telling their spouse [OR, after a long conversation with said spouse, when they leave goes “Oh darn! I forgot to tell him about the baby again”. WHAT??] And do not get me started on her NOT going to the Dr., constantly putting herself in harms way AND not telling her boss [who finds out in a not good way and she is lucky she wasn’t fired]. It was all really upsetting and frustrating.

Along with all that [which were just some of the biggest issue I had], the book is about 50 - 75 pages too long. There was just too much filler and not enough mystery. Too much of this and that and not enough looking for a killer. It is like a regular book of fiction, with some romance, and mom’s play-group and then a murder or two just as a side note. Also, a very rushed reveal that was really unsatisfactory. Clearly, she is setting it up for book 3 [WHICH I will not be reading] and left a lot unresolved.

I was married for 16 years and I had a MIL almost exactly like the one in this book [and at times, she was worse]. It was one of the things I totally related to the MC on [the MIL in the book is racist and cruel and treats everyone like they are not worth her time, including her grandson]. I found that this was a HUGE trigger for me and spent a lot of the book upset and going down a memory lane I'd really rather avoid. Now, this is absolutely NOT the fault of the author obviously, but it DID affect my reading experience and therefore I feel it needs to be mentioned. The husband in the first book is portrayed as someone who ignores his family and it makes it seem he is having an affair, all which is upsetting naturally. Things work out and you think he will be better in this book. That’s a negative ghost rider [the pattern is full]. If anything, he is worse. He treats Miriam like she is a moron most days and talks down to her in such a way that I was wanting to yank my hair out. It is like he got around his mother and became almost a little drone of her and it is really gross and upsetting. No one should speak to someone like that and it bothers me so much that he treats her like she is beneath him a lot of the time.

Overall, I found little to enjoy or like about this second book. I like Miriam a lot less in this one and the whole “mystery” was just meh for me. I was really disappointed for sure.

Now, to the narrator. I was fortunate enough to also get an audiobook ARC for this book and that is one of the BEST things about this read. Frankie Corzo is an amazing narrator [and navigates the Spanish and the culture like a pro] and I love listening to her [even when I have NO clue as to what she is saying]. I would absolutely listen to her again and will be looking for other books that she narrates. Listening to her was the only reason I was able to finish this book. So well done. [The four stars below are ONLY for the narration. The book is absolutely NOT a four star read IMO]

Thank you to NetGalley, Raquel V. Reyes, Frankie Corzo - Narrator, Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Media for the book ARC and audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Title: Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking
Author: Raquel V. Reyes
Series: A Caribbean Kitchen Mystery Book #2
Audiobook Narrator: Frankie Corzo
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Genre: Mystery Thriller/Multicultural
Pub Date: October 27, 2022
My Rating: 4 Stars

I just love this cover and knew this was going to be a fun October mystery!
Miriam Quiñones-Smith, her husband Robert, and their young son Manny have moved from New York to Miami. . She is a food anthropologist and has a cooking show: additionally she is an amateur sleuth.

Not all that unusual when someone was out for a walk and finds a woman half dead and unconscious in Miriam’s front yard. Miriam recognizes that the woman had been thrown out the of local school's Fall Festival the day before.

An enjoyable story with delightful characters but it will leave you hungry for some Cuban food!!!

There are hints at the end of this story as to how Book # 3 may start!

It was fun that Miriam spoke Spanish to little Manny. I don’t speak Spanish but Frankie Corzo, the audiobook narrator spoke it so beautiful, and she made it enjoyable.
I have listened to other audiobooks narrated by Frankie Corzo ~ " Next Year in Havana" and S"he’s too Pretty to Burn”. Ms. Corzo always does a great job performing all the characters.

Want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for October 27, 2022.

Great mystery, quality narrative and interesting characters. I like that the social issues have more depths than the average cozy mystery. Excellent audiobook narrator as well.

A fun, super cute cozy mystery. I love the Latina take on the mystery and the group of friends around the main character. The class differences are really interesting. Personally I didn’t love the pregnancy stuff or the terrible mother in law plot points, but overall I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed this.

I thought this book was just okay. I never really got into the characters or the story, maybe because this is the second one in the series. I liked the narrator.

This was a very cute cozy mystery! A solid 4-star rating.

Miriam has a new cooking show in Miami, having just moved to her husband's hometown where he's taken a dream job. But, now her mother-in-law is always up in her business, including volunteering her to be in charge of the Women's Club gala when the previous lady drops out - which is just a couple of weeks away! Add to the stress of doing all of the last minute planning, and suddenly people are dropping like flies - including in her own yard and next door, and Miriam has an even bigger problem on her hands, and the cops, like with book 1, are asking for help while telling her to stay out of the investigation. Her cooking background might just come in handy!

I enjoyed it, and it was a good change of pace from my normal reads -I love to throw in a mystery or thriller every so often, and this one fit the bill just perfectly! It was a great pace, all of the clues were given at just the right moments, I loved the dynamics between all of the characters, and I was able to follow the clues to figure things out at just the right time, before the author revealed everything but without spoiling the storyline for myself (nothing came to light too soon). I love when that is the case with a mystery and find that the mark of being well written. Great job!


A definite recommendation for everyone who enjoys cozy mysteries - fantastic story and writing! I recommend the audio for those of us that have a hard time reading and pronouncing Spanish, especially (there is a lot of it, and my listen with it pronounced to me was easier than my first read glossing over very unfamiliar words).

Audio note from my second read, when I received the ALC: Frankie Corzo has a beautiful voice, and suited Miriam’s character perfectly. I enjoyed the book so much with my second read, as a listen, and she was the perfect pick for this book!

I received an advance copy from NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and audio from Dreamscape Media, and this is my honest feedback.

This was a fun, cozy, mystery! Miriam Quinones Smith is Cuban American. Her Husband Robert is a gem and they have a young son named Manny, who they are raising to be bilingual. Unfortunately, Robert’s mother is a nasty elitist, racist. This is not Miriam’s biggest problem though.
Miriam was a food anthropologist is New York, but they now live in Miami and she has her own local cooking show. A week before Halloween, her son’s school has a Fall Fair. Miriam has a food booth set up there, and witnesses a well known woman named Lois involved in a disturbance and made to leave. The next day, Lois is found in Miriam’s backyard on the ground in front of a fake tombstone. Then at a planning meeting there is a suspicious death involving a staircase that Miriam also happens to be present at. Detective Pullman is on the case and seems to have a grudging respect for Miriam but definitely does not want her involved in the investigation since she is a suspect, and also pregnant.
This is the second book in the Caribbean Kitchen Mysteries, but you needn’t have read the first book before reading this one. I fully intend to though since this was so good! I love the family dynamic with Miriam, Robert and Manny, and Miriam is so likeable as main character.
Read this if you like
💕books like Arsenic and Adobo
💕cozy mysteries
💕cooking shows
💕amateur sleuths who use their career expertise to solve crimes

Note: there is a fair amount of Spanish in this book, so I was glad I listened to the audiobook!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I will not be continuing this series. I didn't like the first one, but wanted to see how the 2nd book was. I cannot read a book that assumes every time a white person asks a question, it's racist. I couldn't even finish this after the second time that was referenced.

Autumn in Miami means temperatures start to dip below 90 degrees and fall festivities begin in earnest. Miriam, the host of a popular cooking show, wakes to discover that the fake tombstones in the halloween display in her front yard have acquired a dead body – a real one. The body count rises when Miriam is put in charge of the Women’s Club annual fete (a Caribbean themed party this year) and the chef takes a long walk (and fall) down a huge flight of stairs. There are more than a few suspects in both deaths, and Miriam is kept busy trying to hunt down a killer and prevent anyone else from dying from potential poisoning from the food catered for the event. This is a really fun, fall/halloween themed cozy mystery in an atypical autumn setting

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. Wow you only get a few mins in and the booked goes full woke. Unreal. Thumbs down for me.

If you’re going to use phrases in another language, please translate them. I understood them but if you don’t speak Spanish, how are you supposed to know if these are important to the story? Some are in context but it’s nice to know for sure. Also, for a food cozy, if you’re going to use food names in Spanish, then it makes sense to expand on it and at the very least translate it so people don’t have to be taken out of the story trying to figure out what it is. The idea is to educate and promote the culinary treats of a different region and how can you do that if the readers don’t know what it is you’re showcasing? This is the main reason this series will never get higher than 3 stars despite being a good story. My other issue with this story is that it has to be read in order. If you missed the first one, there’s no point now, as the plot is rehashed in this one and the guilty party outed. Add in the unlikeable characters and weak ending, as much I loved the idea of the theme, I don’t think I will continue with the series.

Sometimes you just really need a feel-good cozy mystery book. Bonus if it's filled with diverse, likable characters and TONS of seasonal Fall vibes. I haven't read the first book in this series yet but it gave me all the Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mysteries vibes I've come to love and crave. Full of great recipes, relatable characters and a likable amateur sleuth. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!! If you haven't yet discovered this Cuban American mom amateur detective series set in Miami, Florida you are missing out!!