(I’m going to be saying that phrase – that is so very Filipino! – several times throughout this review. This vast clan, and how they rely on each other to get through life, is just so very Filipino!

But we’re also treated to a hilarious cast of supporting characters like the calendar aunties (Lila’s godmothers April, Mae, and June), and Lila’s vast network of relations like her cousins in pharmacy, the police, and the hospital. Of course Lila, our protagonist, is funny, spunky, determined, and absolutely dedicated to her family. B ut what truly makes Arsenic and Adobo shine is its cast of funny, memorable characters. The book’s plot is easy to follow and just as easy to read. Next thing Lila knows, she’s the police’s prime suspect. But then her ex-boyfriend, a noted food critic, dies after eating at the family restaurant. At first, it seems like things are going well. She retreats to her hometown to lick her wounds and work in the family restaurant after a failed relationship. Armed with the nosy auntie network, her barista best bud, and her trusted Dachshund, Longanisa, Lila takes on this tasty, twisted case and soon finds her own neck on the chopping block…Īuthor Website An adorable cast of charactersĪrsenic and Adobo tells us the story of Filipino-American Lila Macapagal. With the cops treating her like she’s the one and only suspect, and the shady landlord looking to finally kick the Macapagal family out and resell the storefront, Lila’s left with no choice but to conduct her own investigation. But when a notoriously nasty food critic (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead moments after a confrontation with Lila, her life quickly swerves from a Nora Ephron romp to an Agatha Christie case. She’s tasked with saving her Tita Rosie’s failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking aunties who shower her with love and judgment.

When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. Content Warnings: Planting of drugs/police evidence, murder, racism, slight fatphobia

Adobo and arsenic