A New Book to Share! DEATH COMES IN THROUGH THE KITCHEN

06 Nov

A New Book to Share! DEATH COMES IN THROUGH THE KITCHEN

Jena Henry Book Promotions 0 0

“A lively murder mystery with a Cuban culinary twist.”

Delighted to Welcome

Author Teresa Dovelpage

Death Comes in through the Kitchen

Set in Havana during the Black Spring of 2003, a charming but poison-laced culinary mystery reveals the darker side of the modern Revolution, complete with authentic Cuban recipes

Havana, Cuba, 2003: Matt, a San Diego journalist, arrives in Havana to marry his girlfriend, Yarmila, a 24-year-old Cuban woman whom he first met through her food blog. But Yarmi isn’t there to meet him at the airport, and when he hitches a ride to her apartment, he finds her lying dead in the bathtub.

With Yarmi’s murder, lovelorn Matt is immediately embroiled in a Cuban adventure he didn’t bargain for. The police and secret service have him down as their main suspect, and in an effort to clear his name, he must embark on his own investigation into what really happened. The more Matt learns about his erstwhile fiancée, though, the more he realizes he had no idea who she was at all—but did anyone?

Purchase Links:

https://sohopress.com/books/death-comes-in-through-the-kitchen/

Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1616958847

Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1616958847

Have you ever thought, Why are so there so many books? Why do people like to read anyways, books are boring?! Well, here is my answer. Read this book and you will be hooked on reading. Death Comes in through the Kitchen by Teresa Dovalpage is an amazing, one of a kind book. I could end my review here…

…but I will tell you more because I was so entranced by this book. The author has mixed equal parts hope and history, innocence and despair, beauty and squalor to create a vivid, gritty, but surprisingly upbeat story.

Matt is a journalist writing for a small Hispanic paper in San Diego. He’s a bit lost and wistful. He’s begun writing a popular food column and that’s how he discovers a food blog, Yarmi Cooks Cuban.(The food blogs are delightful.) He and Yarmi get acquainted over the internet and he even goes to Cuba to meet her. After a year of trading more emails with the pretty and coquettish Yarmi, he again goes to Cuba in 2003, with presents and a wedding gown for his sweetheart.

Through Matt’s eyes and the people he meets, we experience a colorful Cuba, with many flavors. The author writes simply but evokes such a heart-rending kaleidoscope of the senses and emotions to convey the beauty and spirit of Cubans.

“The devil is getting married,” people said in the countryside when it rained on a sunny day.”

“And yet, the market wasn’t devoid of charm. The high ceilings lent the place a spacious feel. An array of colors made even the humblest booths look festive. The revolutionary red of the tomatoes brought out the greener-than-the palms shade of the avocados and the bright emerald of the parsley bunches. Oranges, limes and lemons were often found in the same stalls, in happy miscellany. Stout country women with stern faces hovered over their garlic, onions and tubers…”

This is a murder mystery, so there are some dark parts to the story. The murder is solved, but the mystery of Cuba remains an enigma to this day. Highly recommend.

Thanks to Rachels Random Resources for a review copy. This is my honest review.

Jena C. Henry

Author Bio –

Teresa Dovalpage is a Cuban transplant now firmly rooted in New Mexico. She was born in Havana and now lives in Hobbs, where she is a Spanish and ESL professor at New Mexico Junior College.

She has published nine novels and three collections of short stories. Her English-language novels are A Girl like Che Guevara (Soho Press, 2004), Habanera, a Portrait of a Cuban Family (Floricanto Press, 2010), and Death Comes in Through the Kitchen (Soho Crime, 2018), a culinary mystery with authentic Cuban recipes.

Her novellas Las Muertas de la West Mesa (The West Mesa Murders, based on a real event), Sisters in Tea/ Hermanas en Té and Death by Smartphone/ Muerte por Smartphone were published in serialized format by Taos News.

In her native Spanish she has authored the novels Muerte de un murciano en La Habana (Death of a Murcian in Havana, Anagrama, 2006, a runner-up for the Herralde Award in Spain), El difunto Fidel (The late Fidel, Renacimiento, 2011, that won the Rincon de la Victoria Award in Spain in 2009), Posesas de La Habana (Haunted ladies of Havana, PurePlay Press, 2004), La Regenta en La Habana (Edebe Group, Spain, 2012), Orfeo en el Caribe (Atmósfera Literaria, Spain, 2013), and El retorno de la expatriada (The Expat’s Return, Egales, Spain, 2014).