Raquel V. Reyes
Raquel V. Reyes was raised in oppositional cultures. Her early childhood was not unlike an I Love Lucy rerun. With a heavy-accented, handsome Cuban father and a red-headed Southern mother whose smile brightened the room, she saw her family’s joys and troubles mirrored in the popular show, something that contributed to her resilience in the face of societal prejudice. It’s a lesson that has stayed with her and influences her poetry, middle grades stories, and genre fiction.

A short story fan all her life, Raquel recently had several of her own stories published, including “A Star Goes Dark” in the 15th Malice Domestic anthology, in which she explores colorism in the Latinx community. Dedicated to writing with a message of cultural representation as well as lifting marginalized writers, she maintains a blog with interviews with crime writers of color and book reviews of Latinx popular fiction.

She earned a Fine Arts degree in Theater Directing from the University of New Mexico. Her “Let’s put on a show.” ethos has translated into her organizing 200 volunteers for an HIV+ food bank event, co-chairing the SleuthFest writing conference, and directing children’s plays. Raquel is a Sisters in Crime Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color award runner-up.

Raquel’s soul food is croquetas with a Jupiña chaser. She lives in Miami, where she watches the waters for mermaids and leviathan.

Featured Titles...
Mango, Mambo, and Murder
Cuban-American cooking show star Miriam Quiñones-Smith becomes a seasoned sleuth in Raquel V. Reyes's Caribbean Kitchen Mystery debut, a savory treat for fans of Joanne Fluke and Jenn McKinlay.

Food anthropologist Miriam Quiñones-Smith's move from New York to Coral Shores, Miami, puts her academic career on hold to stay at home with her young son. Adding to her funk is an opinionated mother-in-law and a husband rekindling a friendship with his ex. Gracias to her best friend, Alma, she gets a short-term job as a Caribbean cooking expert on a Spanish-language morning TV show. But when the newly minted star attends a Women's Club luncheon, a socialite sitting at her table suddenly falls face-first into the chicken salad, never to nibble again.

When a second woman dies soon after, suspicions coalesce around a controversial Cuban herbalist, Dr. Fuentes--especially after the morning show's host collapses while interviewing him. Detective Pullman is not happy to find Miriam at every turn. After he catches her breaking into the doctor's apothecary, he enlists her help as eyes and ears to the places he can't access, namely the Spanish-speaking community and the tawny Coral Shores social scene.

As the ingredients to the deadly scheme begin blending together, Miriam is on the verge of learning how and why the women died. But her snooping may turn out to be a recipe for her own murder.