Book review: Savor Filipino recipes along with a cozy mystery in ‘Arsenic and Adobo’

“Arsenic and Adobo” by Mia P. Manansala; Berkley Prime Crime (336 pages, $16)

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Mia P. Manansala stirs up a lively mixture of Filipino culture, food and family bonds with an appealing heroine in her well-plotted, poignant and often sweet debut “Arsenic and Adobo.”

“Arsenic and Adobo” also works as a story about fresh starts and the value of friends who are like family. Manansala makes full use of the cozy, or light, category of mysteries while also delivering a realistic story. She also includes a few recipes that readers will want to try.

Following a painful breakup, Lila Macapagal is trying for a new start by working at Tita Rosie’s Kitchen, a Filipino restaurant run by her aunt in Shady Palms, Ill. But the landlord wants to close the restaurant. Then there’s the poisoning of Derek Winter, a blogger whose consistently negative reviews didn’t stop him from regularly eating at Tita Rosie’s Kitchen. Derek also happened to be Lila’s high school boyfriend, making her the natural suspect.

Manansala skillfully peppers in an extended family: “aunts,” actually her godmothers, who make those visitors in that insurance commercial look uninvolved; friends whose loyalty is never in doubt; and an overweight dachshund. Amusing dinners further show the bonds among the characters and how food can express a character’s personality.

Readers are guaranteed a sequel as Manansala has a three-book contract. Meanwhile, savor her entertaining debut with “Arsenic and Adobo.”