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Poison in the Palm Sugar: A Cozy Culinary Mystery
At sixty-five, Madam Mariam Kee thought her days of examining evidence were behind her. Between perfecting the chicken stock for her hawker congee stall and navigating a new marriage to retired detective Razif, she is content to let quiet routines define her days.
Until Pak Cik Daud collapses at his drinks stall on a Tuesday afternoon.
A disciplined railway retiree who counted his pills and balanced his routine like clockwork, Daud’s sudden death from severe hypoglycemia is swiftly filed by overworked police under "natural causes." But when Mariam finds an unlabeled bottle of herbal jamu tucked at the back of Daud's kitchen drawer, twenty-eight years of clinical training raise an immediate red flag.
Herbal tonics don't lower blood sugar in forty-eight hours. Potent prescription drugs do.
Worse, the bottle holds a sediment of saturated palm sugar—a heavy sweetness added for one reason to mask the unbearable bitterness of a lethal dose. Someone knew Daud’s medical history. Someone knew he regularly skipped meals on his feet. And someone gave him a custom bottle designed to make an execution look like an old man's bad luck.
Teaming up with a skeptical local police sergeant, Mariam tracks the poison through open-air markets, street-level pharmacies, and a community savings ledger hiding fourteen months of quiet theft. But exposing the truth means dismantling the easy peace of the street stalls—and proving that the kindest people are often capable of the quietest betrayals.
Richly atmospheric, authentic, and meticulously plotted, Poison In The Palm Sugar is a fair-play whodunit for readers who love the wit of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club, the forensic logic of traditional golden-age puzzles, and the vibrant texture of Southeast Asian street food.
Until Pak Cik Daud collapses at his drinks stall on a Tuesday afternoon.
A disciplined railway retiree who counted his pills and balanced his routine like clockwork, Daud’s sudden death from severe hypoglycemia is swiftly filed by overworked police under "natural causes." But when Mariam finds an unlabeled bottle of herbal jamu tucked at the back of Daud's kitchen drawer, twenty-eight years of clinical training raise an immediate red flag.
Herbal tonics don't lower blood sugar in forty-eight hours. Potent prescription drugs do.
Worse, the bottle holds a sediment of saturated palm sugar—a heavy sweetness added for one reason to mask the unbearable bitterness of a lethal dose. Someone knew Daud’s medical history. Someone knew he regularly skipped meals on his feet. And someone gave him a custom bottle designed to make an execution look like an old man's bad luck.
Teaming up with a skeptical local police sergeant, Mariam tracks the poison through open-air markets, street-level pharmacies, and a community savings ledger hiding fourteen months of quiet theft. But exposing the truth means dismantling the easy peace of the street stalls—and proving that the kindest people are often capable of the quietest betrayals.
Richly atmospheric, authentic, and meticulously plotted, Poison In The Palm Sugar is a fair-play whodunit for readers who love the wit of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club, the forensic logic of traditional golden-age puzzles, and the vibrant texture of Southeast Asian street food.
382 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 29, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 18, 2026
I love cozy mysteries and I really love anything with food - especially Asian food. I do love the Vivien Chien series and this felt right up a similar alley.
I read Death by Laska so I knew that Madame Kee was a retired pharmacist and it was brought to my attention frequently while reading as well. There are a number of things repeated in here, as if the author doesn't trust the reader to recall information that was shared recently. I am older and my memory is not that great at times, but I can recall enough info to read a cozy mystery without being told 10000 times that someone was a pharmacist.
That said, I liked this book and the mystery. I enjoy the characters and the setting and the food (although reading it makes me hungry!)
Madame Kee is a good amateur sleuth and I look forward to reading more about her escapades.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I read Death by Laska so I knew that Madame Kee was a retired pharmacist and it was brought to my attention frequently while reading as well. There are a number of things repeated in here, as if the author doesn't trust the reader to recall information that was shared recently. I am older and my memory is not that great at times, but I can recall enough info to read a cozy mystery without being told 10000 times that someone was a pharmacist.
That said, I liked this book and the mystery. I enjoy the characters and the setting and the food (although reading it makes me hungry!)
Madame Kee is a good amateur sleuth and I look forward to reading more about her escapades.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
September 21, 2026
loved it !! love this series !! love Mariam... this is another murder for her to solve with or without the help of the police .... a fast paced mystery... and this time it's the drink stall owner... Pak Cik Daud... she knows it's murder... he counted his pills before he took them... he might forget to eat but... he had his routine... this wasn't natural causes... it was poison.. and the herbal with the palm sugar had to be it !! this was planned.. someone knew what he was taking... now, to find the killer... !! this was so good !!!.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
September 25, 2026
This was a great read. I enjoyed the slow buildup of the case. We knew who most likely killed Daud but the evidence needed built. It was slow and methodical. In the end, it was interesting to see all of the pieces come together.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
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September 21, 2026This was an interesting story and cosy mystery set in Asia brought a unique spin on things. I noticed a bit of repetition in the storytelling though.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews