Today’s featured author is the lovely Raquel V. Reyes, author of the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series. I had the pleasure of meeting Raquel in person at Bouchercon, and I’m truly thrilled to have her join the Cluesletter to celebrate the launch of book three in her series, Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal.
In the interview below, Raquel and I chat about writing recipes, adding culture to cozies, and taking her sleuth to Puerto Rico.
Connect with Raquel on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and her website. Sign up for her LatinaSleuths newsletter here. Grab a copy of Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal from your retailer of choice here.
Hi Raquel, it’s great to have you! Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal is the third book in your Caribbean Kitchen mystery series, which stars cooking show star turned amateur sleuth Miriam Quiñones. What do you love about Miriam’s character? What elements of her personality make her an ideal amateur sleuth?
I lovingly call Miriam a reluctant sleuth. She doesn’t seek it out—she is not listening to true crime podcasts—but she’s driven to help solve wrongs.
What I love about Miriam is her inner monologue. I know not everyone has an inner voice, but Miriam sure does. She is constantly questioning her motives and reminding herself of the objective.
In this installment, we follow Miriam on a work trip to Puerto Rico. What did you love about taking the series abroad? How did this new setting change the way you approached the story, either when plotting the mystery or cultivating the trademark cozy mystery sense of community?
When I envisioned the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series, I had travel in mind. Miriam is a food anthropologist. She loves field research. She wants to taste the food and hear the story behind it. Her area of focus is the Caribbean and the African and European influences that brought produce, animals, and different flavors to the islands and Coastal Latin America.
Pitching the premise of book three to my editor, she had some trepidation about leaving the community I’d built in Coral Shores, a municipality in Miami, saying, “Readers might be jarred by the change in location.” I assured her that I had a plan; I was going to bring her community with her. She is traveling for work. That meant her work family would be with her. And because the series is contemporary, I take advantage of the ubiquitous cell phone. Miriam’s immediate family and friends are just a video call or text message away.
In the first two books, Miriam misses her parents. They’ve moved away for a job opportunity. Book three was my chance to reunite them. Miriam goes to the Dominican Republic to visit them then gets called away to shoot a Three Kings Day special in Puerto Rico.
I lived in Puerto Rico and met my spouse while I was there. I love the island. I spent a lot of time in Old San Juan. This story lets me share the good (the food, people, and culture) and the tragic (historic and current) that make Puerto Rico so unique.
As I recently learned (at Bouchercon!), culinary cozy authors are responsible for writing the recipes in their books. How do you come up with the dishes? Is there a particular dish you’re most proud of in your books?
The recipes are the hardest part. Not only do I have to write them, but I select them with several criteria in mind. Are the ingredients relatively easy to find? Can a home cook successfully execute them? (Meaning, recipes can’t require fancy techniques or expensive equipment.) Does the dish have a story? What would Miriam say about it?
What dish am I most proud of? The Cala-FLAN-za recipe in book two, Calypso, Corpse, and Cooking. I live in Miami. We are 70% Latinx/e. There is no reason to bake a flan when you have so many good options to buy it made. Also, I’d never actually made one by myself. Another layer of fun was that I wanted to make it pumpkin flavored (that is one of the traditional flavors) but without the weird texture that the squash causes. I was thrilled with the way it came out. If you follow the easy recipe and use a flan mold, it will come out velvety perfect!
The Caribbean Kitchen series incorporates Cuban-American heritage and Spanglish dialogue. What do you love about bringing this culture into a cozy mystery series? And/or, what made you choose a culinary angle for these books?
The books that I was drawn to as a young reader always had a big dose of “exploring culture” to them. Writers are often asked what book(s) influenced them. For me it was Elizabeth Peters’s The Seventh Sinner. It has her lesser-known character librarian Jacqueline Kirby. It is set in Rome, Italy and draws heavily on the art, history, and architecture of the city. Languages other than English are sprinkled throughout the story. They are translated either by explanation or by context. I do the same thing. Living amongst multiple languages and cultures is part of life as a citizen of the world. Of course, I was going to bring my culture and the cultures of Miami to my amateur sleuth series.
Lastly, what are you currently working on? Can we expect more Caribbean Kitchen mysteries, or do you have any other projects in the works?
Book four is a few weeks from deadline. It will be out in fall of 2024. I am a fan of short stories and have two in soon to be published anthologies. One is inspired by the Elvis Costello song, “Living in Paradise.” That anthology is called Brutal and Strange.
Writers always have stories and projects waiting in the wings. I am no exception. In 2024, I hope to get started on a standalone that has a darker feel, and there is a Latinx anthology I’m curating.
Thanks so much to Raquel for the interview. Sleuths, I hope you enjoyed it! If you aren’t already subscribed, please be sure to sign up for the Cluesletter and get author features like this alongside other mystery goodies, delivered to your inbox every other Tuesday.