Blog Tour Book Review – Death Comes In Through The Kitchen
Good morning and happy Friday!
Death Comes In Through The Kitchen
The Blurb
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?
What I Thought
I was really drawn to this book – the blurb, the front cover – it all sounded so different to other things I’ve read. I wasn’t disappointed.
I really enjoyed the introduction to Cuba and especially the food references – Yarmila’s blog is one I would definitely follow if it were real! The setting really helps the book stand out as interesting and different which I loved.
I was unsure about Matt – he wasn’t the most relatable or the kind of hero you want in a story. It was good to read about Cuba through his naive eyes though and I couldn’t entirely dislike him as a whole.
Any fans of murder mystery type novels will enkoy this one – I loved the different setting and the way as the book progressed you saw more and more of the gritty side of Cuba. And any food fans will be equally happy with it!
Where To Buy
The Author – Teresa Dovalpage
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).
Social Media Links
I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review. Thankyou to Rachel’s Random Resources for including me on this blog tour. Check out other book bloggers reviews at the blogs below
The Spoonie Mummy 
Hey Natalie, how are you? This seems like a fun read. Thanks for sharing 💖
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Not too bad. Had some eye lasering done today so a bit sore but I’m ok! It was, I really enjoyed it. Nice and different x
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Great review. I really like the sound of this book. The cover is eye-catching too.
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It is a great cover! Thanks x
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Wow – lovely review – I could kick myself for passing this one by
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Thankyou! Glad I took it, was definitely different as I had hoped x
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Sounds like my kind of book.
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It was fab x
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Oh this looks different and I LOVE books with a food theme (if you are into those kinds of books, check out the cheese shop mysteries :))
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Thanks for the tip! xx
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That title. And cover would definitely definitely catch my attention
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I loved the cover too, definitely draws your attention x
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I do love murder mysteries.
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Me too! X
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Sound like a perfect read.
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It was fab x
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Thank you for your review! Muchas gracias!
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You are very welcome x
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Great review Natalie, This book and author are new to me but it does look and sound like a great murder mystery book as well. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post and for putting this book on my radar.
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You are so welcome! I hope you get a chance to have a read x
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Sounds like a good book and the cover is interesting!
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I loved the cover, defondefin eye catching x
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I don’t think I have ever read a book set in Cuba. Sounds very interesting and I love the title. Great review.
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Thankyou! My mum and dad visited a couple of years ago and loved it there. Would love to see ityself one day xx
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I like the sound of this book. I like mysteries and this sounds quiet unique.
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The setting definitely makes it different x
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Great review Natalie, I absolutely love great murder mystery books and this one looks and sounds like an amazingly great book and right up my alley as well. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post and for putting this book on my radar.
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