NOVELS
About Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal
In the third installment of the Caribbean Kitchen mysteries, for fans of Mia P. Manansala , Miriam Quiñones, cooking show sensation and amateur sleuth, has sand between her toes and a murderer nipping at her heels.
A surprise trip to Miriam’s parents in Punta Cana, which should be filled with arroz con pollo and breezy days under the tamarind tree, quickly becomes a hunt for a possible property saboteur. But before Miriam can begin to uncover the person damaging the vacation rentals her parents manage, she’s called away to Puerto Rico to film a Three Kings Day special. She’s welcomed to the blue ballast-stone streets of Old San Juan by crime scene tape, and things only get worse from there.
An anonymous personal gift on Miriam’s doorstep on New Year’s Eve screams stalker, and the 400-year-old guesthouse creaks and moans like there is something trapped in its walls. Luckily, her BFF, Alma, and their mutual friend Jorge are in town to keep her distracted between filming cultural segments for the network. But private chef tables and spa days come to an abrupt halt when Jorge’s telenovela heartthrob novio goes missing. And there is something worrisome about Alma’s too-perfect boyfriend–specifically, his duffle bag full of cash.
Will demon masks, African drumbeats, and dark alleys lead to Miriam’s demise? Or will the mysterious events come together like the delicious layers of a pastelón?
Available 11/7/2023 PREORDER LINK
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.
Cuban-American cooking show star Miriam Quiñones-Smith becomes a seasoned sleuth in Raquel V. Reyes’s Caribbean Kitchen Mystery debut, a savory treat for fans of Mia P. Manansala.
Food anthropologist Miriam Quiñones-Smith’s move from New York to Coral Shores, Miami, puts her academic career on hold to stay at home with her young son. Adding to her funk is an opinionated mother-in-law and a husband rekindling a friendship with his ex. Gracias to her best friend, Alma, she gets a short-term job as a Caribbean cooking expert on a Spanish-language morning TV show. But when the newly minted star attends a Women’s Club luncheon, a socialite sitting at her table suddenly falls face-first into the chicken salad, never to nibble again.
When a second woman dies soon after, suspicions coalesce around a controversial Cuban herbalist, Dr. Fuentes–especially after the morning show’s host collapses while interviewing him. Detective Pullman is not happy to find Miriam at every turn. After he catches her breaking into the doctor’s apothecary, he enlists her help as eyes and ears to the places he can’t access, namely the Spanish-speaking community and the tawny Coral Shores social scene.
As the ingredients to the deadly scheme begin blending together, Miriam is on the verge of learning how and why the women died. But her snooping may turn out to be a recipe for her own murder.
“Raquel V. Reyes’s series debut, MANGO, MAMBO, AND MURDER, furthers my belief that the cozy mystery has become one of the most diverse, and most vibrant, in contemporary crime fiction…it executes its mission — mixing standard tropes, memorable characters, the importance of family and murder in unexpected quarters — with panache.”
— The New York Times
“The character-driven debut introduces a fresh protagonist.”
–Library Journal, starred review
SHORT STORIES
The Vampires is inspired by Paul Simon’s song from the Songs of the Capeman musical, but it has a lovely twist.
The Favor is a quick read that packs some laughs.
In MultiColored Woman, a treasure hunter gets a history lesson.
In Mata Hambre, Dee and her prima Pugi attend a medianoche sandwich-making contest where hunger turns to murder. This story also appears in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022.
Milagros Valesquez may be the comedy star at Teatro Cómico, but some of her antics are more tragic than comic. Read A Star Goes Dark in the 15th Malice Domestic anthology.
Lilly Hardin-Hernandez, a Southern-Latina, volunteers for the annual Fish Fry. When she finds a gutted dead body her volunteer duties turn to sleuthing. Read Fish Fried in the Happy Homicides 6: Cookin’ Up Crime anthology.
POETRY
Here I am reading one of my poems for The Betsy Hotel’s Soap Box event during Poetry Month.
In the Company of Women Poem — Yadira’s Arms