Arsenic and Adobo

3.5 stars. I was pretty excited for this one because I've been discovering a newfound love for Filipino food and this is probably the first book I've read with a Filipino family in the foreground. The beginning started off a little choppy and rough and I've been burnt by contemporary chick lit mysteries recently so I was really afraid I wouldn't enjoy it much, but tbh it improved upon further reading and I got really engaged by the end.

Let's start off with what I liked about it. Being from an Asian family living in Asia, the protagonist Lila's family is incredibly relatable with their “family first” values, their emphasis on hospitality, that community spirit, and the very real obsession with food. I live in Singapore, where there's a big enough population of Filipinos to make this book feel pretty close to home. I liked that the book actually had an emphasis on all kinds of food, mostly Filipino but really any food and beverage gets their spotlight in here. It certainly made me hungry. This is in contrast to some other entries in the same genre that are supposedly food-centric but which barely featured food at all except for the protagonist having something remotely to do with a restaurant.

The writing in here was generally entertaining and light enough, and the mystery wasn't just a touch-and-go thing. It was complex and I liked the pacing of revelations. The solution was enough of a twist for me too - At some point halfway through the book, I suspected everyone except Kevin. I even vividly remember thinking to myself: I like Kevin. It can't be Kevin. Welp. Kudos to the author for managing to mislead me. The cast of characters were also distinct enough from each other to be memorable, and a good number of them had enough motive and sus-ness for me to be unclear about who the murderer could possibly be.

What I didn't like about it. There were some moments in the book that just seemed a bit too wild for belief, even if I wanted to suspend my disbelief for what is obviously supposed to be a light-hearted mystery. This was especially whenever Lila had anything to do with the local police. She was constantly uncooperative, angry, and said a lot of questionable things in front of them and just not doing herself any favours. And she doesn't get why the detective finds her suspicious? Most of these moments are clustered around the beginning few chapters though (like when a guy (and not just any guy, actually Lila's on-and-off-again boyfriend who she just broke up) literally just falls dead in their restaurant and then Lila is more concerned about how her makeup is going to look in front of a news crew?), so after you get past the first 20-30%, the story, action, and mystery definitely gets going. There were also some plot developments that seemed a little too convenient, like Adeena's very sudden decision to give Lila the cold shoulder over Amir when neither of them have actually done anything? Sure, they may have sparks flying between them, but that's not a new development in their relationship, and Adeena had seemed perfectly fine with the both of them hanging out since the very beginning of the book.

Overall though, I quite enjoyed my time with this one and I'd recommend it for anyone who loves a light-hearted cosy mystery, especially if you love food too. Time to go find your nearest Filipino restaurant!