Mango, Mambo, and Murder

The author does an incredible job of getting the reader in Miriam's head. We are looking at the world of Miami and Coral Shores so much through her eyes that at times it is easy to forget that we are just reading a book. Mostly that is good, but there are some dangers in that as well.
I was definitely halfway into the book before I realized some of the dangers of seeing so much from Miriam's perspective. When Miriam feels helpless to deal with her rude and conniving mother in law, I felt helpless. When Miriam felt helpless in dealing with her secretive husband, I felt helpless. However, when Miriam finds her strength and stands up for herself in really clever and dignified ways, it feels like such a success! When Miriam starts making new friends and finding career success, it made me so happy. I squealed out loud when she name dropped María Hinojosa!
Oh and there is a mystery too. The mystery is fairly straight forward, but for me that was a good thing. I was happy to see the bad guys get theirs in the end. And I thought the way Miriam went about collecting clues and interviewing people was really well done and logical. There were several side characters that I loved meeting and I can't wait to hear more from them next time.
There is a lot of Spanish used in the book, but there are lots of context clues around it. I can speak Spanish, so I loved the inclusion of the language. But even if I didn't speak it, I think it is still understandable. There are several nods to Miriam's Cuban culture as well. I thought that helped round out her character.
Overall, this book is heavy on character and lighter on plot. And that is just what it needed to be.
I received a copy of the book. This is my review.