Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking (A Caribbean Kitchen Mystery)

I have become a big fan of cozy mysteries lately. I love that small-town feel where everyone knows one another, where there is a cafe, bookstore, and little boutiques down Main Street where people take a stroll.

Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking had a bit of a different feel because it occurs within a Cuban community in Florida. Main character Miriam is the host of two cooking shows. Her cooking has that Cuban flair, and I was happy to see that the author included several recipes at the back of the book. The shenanigans start when a local woman named Lois is found unconscious in Miriam’s family’s backyard. Then their next-door neighbor, Tim Nelson, is poisoned at a catered dinner party he is throwing. With a handful of Russians, a local drug dealer close to the family, and some shady business dealings, Miriam wants to get to the bottom of it all. Although the story started out well, there were just too many characters to keep track of and the energy of the book was like people gone wild. On top of that, the way Miriam spoke in both English and Spanish phrases mixed together was distracting. I had to stop and look up many of the words. Not so cozy, but “A” for effort.