Mia P. Manasala’s Arsenic and Adobo, will make you hungry, if nothing else. But, it does offer a great deal more. The debut mystery introduces readers to Filipino-American food and culture, with its emphasis on family. There are cozy tropes; the close-knit community, the food business, but the emphasis on the Tagalog language, the culture, and the drug dealing in the small town add a gravity and individuality to this outstanding kick-off to a series.

Lila Macapagal describes her break-up with her chef boyfriend as a rom-com cliché when she moves home to Shady Palms, Illinois to help her aunt, Tita Rosie, with her Filipino restaurant. Worst of all, she starts dating her high school boyfriend, Derek Winter, before she learns he’s a notorious food critic who tried to ruin the restaurants in town, including Tita Rosie’s. When he keels over while he and his stepfather, the restaurant’s landlord, eat at the restaurant, Lila yells at Derek for playing a prank. But, Derek dies on the way to the hospital. His stepfather, Ed, is quick to blame the food, and pull strings with the sheriff so that the restaurant, and Lila, are blamed.

While all of her extended family of Filipino aunties and cousins rally around, Lila is the one who is arrested for murder and suspected of pushing drugs. If the local police detective is going to accuse her, and Tita Rosie’s restaurant and home are at risk for her bail, Lila is going to step up and find the person who killed her ex-boyfriend.

Although other books lately have tried to include aunties, Manansala succeeds with this debut. The family isn’t quite as over-the-top as in a few other books, although they can be outrageous at times. Even so, Arsenic and Adobo is a terrific addition to the mystery field. It’s fun, with food that makes you wish you were at Tita Rosie’s.

Mia P. Manasala’s website is https://www.miapmanansala.com/

Arsenic and Adobe by Mia P. Manasala. Berkley, 2021. ISBN 9780593201671 (paperback), 336p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a .PDF to review for a journal.