A review by ccrtb
Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I found it incredibly funny and unrealistic how Lila and her family were already financially struggling and yet Lila kept eating out at restaurants with friends or by herself. Like, girl, where are you getting all that food money??

Anyway, this was a very easy read. It has a medium pace, but really things pick up quickly. There are just a lot of things that happen. Mostly predictable. But if you want to read a murder mystery that isn't complicated, then this one is a good choice.

SpoilerI found that despite all the crimes that Lila walk into, she doesn't really have a hard time doing her detective work. She gets most of her information with no problem because apparently people in Shady Palms like to talk and aren't wary. She only ever gets in real trouble when confronting Kevin because he becomes violent, but even he just reveals everything all along like a cartoon villain.

Lila's reaction to these deaths are also strange to me. Is it really realistic that just because you had a busy day helping out at your best friend's cafe that you'd completely forget about seeing one of your schoolmates' bloody, assaulted body in her office? She's never really shaken, which I found strange for her character since she's pretty empathetic in other aspects. I don't think her characterization of being a person who makes a habit of running from her problems translates to "completely forgets about gruesome crimes."
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