I like Miriam. I think I'd enjoy having her as a friend. It might even bring back my neglected Spanish. That said, although new to this series, I was pleasantly surprised to find that after being thrown off my reading stride initially by the frequent use of Spanish, much of my Spanish came back to me. I wonder how much that might impact those who know little or no Spanish, however. To the author's credit, she makes no apologies for its use. Miriam notes that she and her non-Hispanic husband have made a real effort to raise a bilingual child, Manny. Having lived in Florida much of my life, I can attest to how valuable such a skill can be. Most was usually either indirectly restated or easily figured out, I'll note. Heck, we even learn a few words in Kreyol, such as "wi" means "yes"and "Mesi" means "thank you".
Fun with languages aside, however, the book takes an unflenching look at not just the different cultures that exist in South Florida but the pre-conceived notions and expectations of each. Miriam is a positive force, I should note, working to bring the people and communities together. She uses being delegated by her, uh, well, overbearing, superior-aired mother-in-law to organize the Women's Club's annual gathering at the upscale country club to bring in food and music from various cultures, something totally alien to the event until now. Unfortunately, Miriam, alas, seems to be a bit of a dead body magnet. She's there when the country club's head chef takes a header off the balcony at the club and dies. Another later dies. And that is just the beginning. Toss in foreign mafia/scheming, greed, racist snobbery, and more and you've gotten an idea of how complex the situation becomes.
Why was there a body stretched across the fake grave/tombstone in Miriam's yard? That wasn't part of their Halloween decorations. Is the vandalism of her house connected? What role does that cute little kitty, Camo, play? What sort of test does Miriam take? Is the MIL as hateful as she seems? Well, yeah, seems so. How does a costume malfunction cause more serious problems? What exactly does a culinary anthropologist do? Is it just Miriam's imagination that potentially dangerous people from the past keep popping up? Octopus? Would you like to try some octopus for dinner? What....oh, never mind. Enough teasers. Despite the slow-to-me start and my concerns over how the frequent use of Spanish will impact non-bilingual readers, I like Miriam and her crew/posse and am looking forward to her next adventures.
Thanks #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for letting me spend some time in my ol' stomping grounds of Florida. Hope to visit again real soon.
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