When murder mars the grand opening for Lila Macapagal’s aunties’ new laundromat, she will have to air out all the dirty laundry in Shady Palms to catch a killer…
Lila Macapagal’s godmothers April, Mae, and June—AKA the Calendar Crew—are celebrating the opening of their latest joint business venture, a new laundromat, to much fanfare (and controversy). However, what should’ve been a joyous occasion quickly turns into a tragedy when they discover the building has been vandalized—and the body of Ninang April’s niece, recently arrived from the Philippines, next to a chilling message painted on the floor. The question is, was the message aimed at the victim or Lila’s gossipy godmothers, who have not-so-squeaky-clean reputations?
With Ninang April falling apart from grief and little progress from the Shady Palms Police Department in this slippery case, it’s up to Lila and her network to find justice for the young woman.
The Calendar Crew have stuck their noses into everybody’s business for years, but now the tables are turned as Lila must pry into the Calendar Crew’s lives to figure out who has a vendetta against the (extremely opinionated yet loving) aunties and stop them before they strike again.
Thank you, Berkley, for the free book!
🌻Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manasala (Book 4 of Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series)🌻
One-word review: Scrumptious
Emojis: 🥘☠️🙇🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️😋
Rating: 4🌟s
My thoughts:
Murder and Mamon is the first book I read in the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen mystery series – a cozy mystery series featuring Filipino-American characters and lots of yummy Filipino food. I spent a month in the Philippines as a teenager but never appreciated the culture and food as much as I did in this story. This is the first book I read featuring that culture, and I loved exploring it further as an adult.
Lila Macapagal and The Calendar Crew – April, Mae, and June – aka Lila’s godmothers – are personally attacked in this latest installment of the series, and no one is more invested in finding the killer of one of their own than they are, no matter the risks. I loved the family bonds shown so bright and strong in this story. It’s not just a mystery but a look at the importance of family and what holds them together in good and bad times.
I also loved meeting the main character, Lila. She is a relatable character- a young Filipino woman trying to keep her business afloat, her family healthy, and her culture alive- all through the yummy treats she sells and her role in the family dynamics.
The mystery was a fun puzzle to solve, but I must admit that I picked up on a relevant early clue and misinterpreted it, so I wasn’t even close to solving the murder. Luckily, Lila read it correctly and kept her family safe in the end. There are plenty of red herrings to keep any reader guessing and a bunch of recipes at the end to allow all to enjoy the yummy treats mentioned in the story.
14 responses to “Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala #BookReview #CozyMystery #recipes”
This sounds really good & fun, great review 😊
It is a fun cozy 😊
Sounds great glad you enjoyed it so much!
It was a lot of fun and I made mamons from a recipe in the back of the book (converted the recipe to gluten free). They were so good!
Though I rarely read cozy mysteries, this one is “tempting.” Wonderful review, Tessa💜
The recipes are all kinds of yummy. I made the mamons (from the title) – converted the recipe to GF – and they are/were so good!
The Calendar Crew! Love the names! Great review!
Aren’t they fun?! It’s a really fun cozy series.
Glad you enjoyed this one! I really like Lila as a character.
She’s very relatable. I liked her too.
First I love this cover. It sounds like such a fun book. I really want to pick it up. I love how the book includes recipes at the end. I feel more books really need to do that. I’m excited for this.
I made the dessert in the title and it was really good.
Oh that sounds incredible. I’m going to have to read these books and then cook the food too.
Great review, Tessa. I am reading the second one now and am looking forward to continuing the series. I will have to try the mamons when I get to this one.