Dark, Twisty & Delicious Cozy

Miriam Quiñones-Smith is a food anthropologist with a lot on her plate (sorry not sorry) whose husband has just moved them from NY back to her hometown of South Florida. If her parents still lived in Miami, it would be great; but they’ve moved away and she’s left with her meddling mother-in-law who may be trying out for the role of passive aggressive queen. Her husband is being super weird, working nonstop, and not telling her what he’s doing or where all their money is suddenly coming from. It doesn’t help that her husband’s brief high school girlfriend seems thrilled to have him back in town and that her mother-in-law sure seems like she wishes they’d stayed together.

But Miriam has plenty to distract her from her sudden marital woes, including reconnecting with her best friend, hosting a food show she knows nothing about (the hosting part, she’s great at cooking), caring for her young son, and did I mention attending a luncheon where a woman drops dead in front of her? When her best friend gets accused of murder, she’ll just have to figure out who is really responsible—no matter how much the detective tells her to stop.

I love the mix of Latinx food in this book (delicious, mouth watering descriptions but also interesting history and recipes at the end), the women’s friendships, the look behind the scenes of a food show, and all the Spanglish which was music to my ears. I’m really looking forward to this series and hope it’s long-running.

(TW diet culture, eating disorder, disordered eating/ mentions past addiction/ briefly mentioned with no details: past miscarriage; past overdose; past suicide)

I got a fair amount of chores and many pieces added to a jigsaw puzzle while inhaling this audiobook. I really appreciate when an author can take a thing that’s been done a lot and still make it feel twisty. So if you really like the ride of not knowing and feeling all the twisty turns, I’d skip knowing about the book and just jump in. If you’re good with the details, read on.

Emily and Kristen are best friends traveling together and having a great time in Chile on their annual reunion trip. Emily has only just started to feel like herself again when Kristen kills a date in self defense. Now Emily is right back where she was on their last trip: having to disappear a body killed in self defense. How many times can this happen before you’re not just unlucky? With her PTSD triggered, Emily begins to spiral feeling that Kristen, who helped her get past the trauma the first time, isn’t as traumatized as she is this time. Is it that trauma looks different for different people, or does she not really know her best friend?

This is as much a page-turning what-is-really-happening thriller as it is an exploration of the long reaching arms of trauma.

(TW sexual assault/ brief partner abuse recounted/ brief past suicide, no detail/ briefly mentions history of suicide, detail/ pedophile mentioned, not detailed or graphic)