Ellen here and I’m so happy to welcome Raquel V. Reyes, whose debut mystery, Mango, Mambo, and Murder is garnering a lot of buzz!
What in the world is a food anthropologist?
Miriam Quiñones-Smith is the main character in the new Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series. As one might guess by the series’ title, it is a culinary cozy. But despite being the host of a Spanish-language cooking show, Miriam is not a trained chef. She is a food anthropologist. She studies the intersection of food and culture. She’s an academic. Actually, at the start of Mango, Mambo, and Murder, the ink is barely dry on her Ph.D.
Why did I choose that particular career for my protagonist? Blame the shelf of Elizabeth Peters’ books at my library. Her novels were my gateway reads into the mystery genre. The teen me enjoyed the murder puzzles, but more than anything, I loved the settings and smart heroines—Amelia Peabody, Egyptologist, Jacqueline Kirby, librarian, and Vicky Bliss, professor of art history.
When it came time for me to create my own smart heroine, I knew she had to follow in that bookish-woman mold but with a twist—her stories would not be Eurocentric. I wanted to shift the focus to my backyard, to the Caribbean. I wanted to be able to talk about the foods I grew up with and how the African Diaspora shaped the Caribbean culture and foodways. Think High on the Hog but about the Caribbean islands.
Miriam Quiñones-Smith would be an expert in the how and why certain foods were and are eaten in the Caribbean. And being that she is a Latina (specifically Cuban-American) it was important that she be aspirational. She had to have an advanced degree. Black and Latinx people are underrepresented in academia. (Read about this beloved Harvard professor denied tenure. )
The series is cultural, but foremost it is culinary! There are recipes and plenty of cooking scenes. I love that I have a legitimate excuse to research the origins of certain foods (like okra and cassava) and try out recipes like pikliz, a Haitian relish made with Scotch Bonnets, carrots, and cabbage. Sadly, my pikliz is not as good as the one at the Haitian restaurant down the street from me. But my Puerto Rican-style ensalada de pulpo (octopus salad) is top-notch.
If you enjoyed Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations series, watch The Food Network, delight in learning new words, and long for an island breeze, you will like the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series. I hope you make space on your shelf for Mango, Mambo, and Murder when it debuts 10/12/21.
Readers, What Caribbean cuisines have you tried? Or would you like to try? Do you have a favorite dish? What is it?
Raquel V. Reyes writes stories with Latina characters. Her Cuban-American heritage, Miami, and the Caribbean feature prominently in her work. Raquel is a co-chair for SleuthFest. Her short stories appear in various anthologies including Mystery Most Theatrical and Midnight Hour. You can find her across social media platforms as @LatinaSleuths or click here for Raquel’s links. Use this direct link to join her newsletter.
This Book Riot piece has an excellent description of the book: https://bookriot.com/diverse-cozy-mysteries/
https://bookshop.org/books/mango-mambo-and-murder/9781643857848
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/673690/mango-mambo-and-murder-by-raquel-v-reyes/
Chicks on the Case 
I have been to Thailand 3 times and enjoy the food there. We also love cruising and usually enjoy a meal at each destination.
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Thailand. Nice.
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A food anthropologist sounds fascinating. I spent a few months in Puerto Rico and enjoyed the food there quite a bit.
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Liz- What part of PR? I loved there for a bit and miss the island so much!
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I was all over the place. The office where I worked out of was in San Juan, but I traveled all over the island.
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Thank you Ellen and The Chicks for inviting we to guest post on your fabulous blog.
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Thank YOU, Raquel! We are so happy and honored to have you visit.
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Raquel, I cannot wait to read Mango, Mambo & Murder–what a fabulous heroine and premise for a delicious new series. (I swear, I am literally drooling here.) Love the sunny, welcoming cover, too. I’ll admit, I’m not a culinary whiz like some of the other Chicks, but I’m looking forward to broadening my horizons. Sounds as if a smart food anthropologist will be my perfect guide!
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Thanks, Liz. The recipes in the back of MMM are very home cook friendly. I hope you’ll give them a try.
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Wow–this looks like such an amazing new series! Cannot wait to read Mango, Mambo, and Murder! Being such a devout foodie myself, and always love learning more about the history and culture of food. We spent some time in Puerto Rico, Vieques, and the Virgin Islands many years back, and I adored all the food!
Thanks so much for visiting the Chicks today, Raquel, and congratulations on the new book and series!
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Were you on a sailboat? That’s island hopping at its best. 🙂
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No, but we did hire a private prop plane (which we shared with several pillow cases full of fighting cocks–but that’s a whole other story) to fly from Vieques to Virgin Gorda.
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Congrats on Mx3, Raquel! And welcome to the Chicks! I love that you created a heroine with an academic background.
As for food, I need to expand my Caribbean culinary palate since I haven’t ventured much beyond jerk chicken.
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Nothing wrong with Jerk Chicken! If you can handle the heat (which I’m guessing you can) you should try Haitian food.
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Congrats on the debut! I’m hearing lots of good things about it.
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Thanks, Mark.
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Raquel, thank you so much for visiting us. After reading your book, I want to hop on a plane, fly to Miami, and visit every Caribbean restaurant in the city! Favorite dish? I’d have to go with fried plantains. And now I want fried plantains.
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Ellen, do you like the green ones Tostones/salty & garlicky, or the ripe ones Maduros/sweet?
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Sweet ones! I don’t think I’ve ever tried the others.
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Welcome, Raquel, and thanks so much for visiting us! This is all kinds of fabulous. Your series sounds absolutely amazing, and I can’t wait to meet your main character and dig into this delicious combination of culture and food (and of course mystery!).
I had a super-yummy macaroni dish in Barbados. I’m still thinking about it!
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Thank you, Kathleen. Several Caribean island food cultures have pasta dishes. I’ve always found that odd, but I suppose pasta has become universal. I need to get my food anthropologist to research the how and why that came to be. LOL
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Hi Raquel: So sorry I’m late–it’s been a whirlwind of a month–but I just wanted to say thank you for visiting us. I’m so excited to read your series (and hooray for academia in mysteries)!
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