Will I love Arsenic and Adobo?

Oh my goodness, first of all: this book will make you so hungry. So, be prepared for that.

Taking place in a warm, intimate Filipino restaurant outside Chicago, Arsenic and Adobo forces recently dumped Lila Macapagal into action after a brutal restaurant critic (who just so happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead while eating her aunt’s food.

She and Tita Rosie are the main suspects, so Lila has to put on her amateur sleuth hat and figure out what really happened to stay out of jail and save her aunt’s business. Arsenic and Adobo is funny, charming, and layered… show more.

As winner of the 2021 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, you can’t deny that Arsenic and Adobo is a perfect read for anyone who wants a heaping helping of mystery, a cup of family conflict, and a liberal dash of comedy. Join protagonist Lila Macapagal as she moves back home after a disastrous breakup. While there, she’s enlisted by her aunts to help with the family restaurant only to be almost immediately saddled with the death of an obnoxious food critic, who just happens to be her ex-boyfriend! The atrocity puts the business in further jeopardy and leads the… show more.

Mixing a good mystery with humor is a special sauce for me. After a bad breakup, Lila Macapagal picks up the pieces and moves home to help her aunt with a failing restaurant. Things go from bad to worse when her ex-boyfriend drops dead—right after an argument with Lila. She's the cops' only suspect, and she knows she didn't do it. It's up to Lila to save herself, along with some help from the nosy aunt network, her best friend, and her Dachshund.