A review by anovelbeauty
Arsenic and Adobo, by Mia P. Manansala
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Book TW: drug trafficking, murder, infidelity, implied IPV, assault, police interrogation, substance abuse, implied racism/homophobia, fatphobia
Note: This is not an Own-voices Filipino-American review. Although I do come from a rural IL background and can speak to that viewpoint, I want to acknowledge that when it comes to the Filipino/BIPOC experiences in the book, I cannot speak to those aspects. I would encourage you to seek out and value own-voices reviewers when it comes to those aspects of the book.
I’m a sucker for a good food-themed cozy mystery and Arsenic and Adobo hit the spot for me! Add into that the fact that Shady Palms could essentially /be/ my hometown (rural IL town a few hours outside Chicago? Yup!) and Manansala bringing a delightfully diverse cast of characters to her town? I’m SOLD. I will absolutely be picking up the next instalment in this series!
One thing I adored was the balance of dealing with hard topics and still intentionally keeping the lighthearted nature that defines cozy mystery. Lila is a pretty standard set up for an amateur sleuth (moves back to small town after being jilted by an ex-fiancé and then gets thrown begrudgingly into shenanigans that implicate her so she must solve things herself [with help]), but she didn’t fall into blank slate territory at all. In fact, there are aspects of Lila that are flawed and I love that her friends are willing and do call her on her flaws. But she is not an unlikeable protagonist either, just human.
I loved all of the extended cast of characters and am really interested to see how they develop in future instalments. I especially loved Adeena and she’s probably my favorite character though I really love Jae too and Detective Park is equal parts interesting and sometimes infuriating.
This also may sound mildly on the preachy side, but I was so delighted that Shady Palms was diverse, ethnically, religiously, and even in terms of LGBT characters! One thing that’s common in fiction is to show small towns as homogenous (and usually white) spaces and imply that diversity only exists in urban areas. While this rural homogeny can certainly be the case sometimes, it is not always. Diverse people have always existed in rural spaces too, and it’s a shame their voices are not shown more often in fiction. However, the book also doesn’t entirely ignore prejudices either and shows how different characters have experienced growing up BIPOC in a rural setting and the very common “escape to the city or anywhere but here” mentality that is very, very common in rural youth. I feel like each of the younger characters shows a unique perspective on this view and how they handle still being in their hometown (even if they initially left). Speaking of, I thought the atmosphere seemed very similar to my own hometown, so this book really felt like a piece of home. I believe the author’s bio said she’s from Chicago, so I was pleasantly surprised that she got the vibes of the county hub rural town where “getting a Starbucks made the news” and has a little bit of a weird blend of hipster coffee shops and mom and pop diners along with the typical small town connections and wildfire gossip and badly maintained icy roads and... again- felt like home.
Lila’s family is also wonderful and the Calendar Crew is a motley network of Aunties (and Lola Flor) who both support and frustrate Lila in the way only family can. The plot follows a good standard, cozy mystery pace as well as an extremely short resolution. There were a couple things that I wish had been explored for a bit longer at the end, but I have a feeling they may be explored in future instalments. I do (unfortunately?) see a love triangle coming in future books, but I could also be totally off-base with that one. It’s just a guess. But I’ll be darned if there isn’t /at least/ one romance on the horizon in Book 2. If you like a cozy mystery, I think you’ll love this book. Oh!! And as always, huge and major props to the author for including a trigger warning at the beginning of the story. That always makes me so happy to see. Also, the recipes at the end made me so happy too! Especially considering the huge role that Filipino (and other) cuisine plays into the story! I was a little sad a recipe for Lila’s Ube Crinkles wasn’t included... but maybe next time? Anyway, read the book. I consumed it all in one sitting and it was so worth it!
Note: This is not an Own-voices Filipino-American review. Although I do come from a rural IL background and can speak to that viewpoint, I want to acknowledge that when it comes to the Filipino/BIPOC experiences in the book, I cannot speak to those aspects. I would encourage you to seek out and value own-voices reviewers when it comes to those aspects of the book.
I’m a sucker for a good food-themed cozy mystery and Arsenic and Adobo hit the spot for me! Add into that the fact that Shady Palms could essentially /be/ my hometown (rural IL town a few hours outside Chicago? Yup!) and Manansala bringing a delightfully diverse cast of characters to her town? I’m SOLD. I will absolutely be picking up the next instalment in this series!
One thing I adored was the balance of dealing with hard topics and still intentionally keeping the lighthearted nature that defines cozy mystery. Lila is a pretty standard set up for an amateur sleuth (moves back to small town after being jilted by an ex-fiancé and then gets thrown begrudgingly into shenanigans that implicate her so she must solve things herself [with help]), but she didn’t fall into blank slate territory at all. In fact, there are aspects of Lila that are flawed and I love that her friends are willing and do call her on her flaws. But she is not an unlikeable protagonist either, just human.
I loved all of the extended cast of characters and am really interested to see how they develop in future instalments. I especially loved Adeena and she’s probably my favorite character though I really love Jae too and Detective Park is equal parts interesting and sometimes infuriating.
This also may sound mildly on the preachy side, but I was so delighted that Shady Palms was diverse, ethnically, religiously, and even in terms of LGBT characters! One thing that’s common in fiction is to show small towns as homogenous (and usually white) spaces and imply that diversity only exists in urban areas. While this rural homogeny can certainly be the case sometimes, it is not always. Diverse people have always existed in rural spaces too, and it’s a shame their voices are not shown more often in fiction. However, the book also doesn’t entirely ignore prejudices either and shows how different characters have experienced growing up BIPOC in a rural setting and the very common “escape to the city or anywhere but here” mentality that is very, very common in rural youth. I feel like each of the younger characters shows a unique perspective on this view and how they handle still being in their hometown (even if they initially left). Speaking of, I thought the atmosphere seemed very similar to my own hometown, so this book really felt like a piece of home. I believe the author’s bio said she’s from Chicago, so I was pleasantly surprised that she got the vibes of the county hub rural town where “getting a Starbucks made the news” and has a little bit of a weird blend of hipster coffee shops and mom and pop diners along with the typical small town connections and wildfire gossip and badly maintained icy roads and... again- felt like home.
Lila’s family is also wonderful and the Calendar Crew is a motley network of Aunties (and Lola Flor) who both support and frustrate Lila in the way only family can. The plot follows a good standard, cozy mystery pace as well as an extremely short resolution. There were a couple things that I wish had been explored for a bit longer at the end, but I have a feeling they may be explored in future instalments. I do (unfortunately?) see a love triangle coming in future books, but I could also be totally off-base with that one. It’s just a guess. But I’ll be darned if there isn’t /at least/ one romance on the horizon in Book 2. If you like a cozy mystery, I think you’ll love this book. Oh!! And as always, huge and major props to the author for including a trigger warning at the beginning of the story. That always makes me so happy to see. Also, the recipes at the end made me so happy too! Especially considering the huge role that Filipino (and other) cuisine plays into the story! I was a little sad a recipe for Lila’s Ube Crinkles wasn’t included... but maybe next time? Anyway, read the book. I consumed it all in one sitting and it was so worth it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Homophobia, Alcoholism, and Confinement