Homicide and Halo-Halo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #2)
written by Mia P. Manansala
narrated by Danice Cabanela
My Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/f
Blurb:
Death at a beauty pageant turns Tita Rosie’s Kitchen upside down in the latest entry of this witty and humorous cozy mystery series by Mia P. Manansala.Things are heating up for Lila Macapagal. Not in her love life, which she insists on keeping nonexistent despite the attention of two very eligible bachelors. Or her professional life, since she can’t bring herself to open her new café after the unpleasantness that occurred a few months ago at her aunt’s Filipino restaurant, Tita Rosie’s Kitchen. No, things are heating up quite literally, since summer, her least favorite season, has just started.
To add to her feelings of sticky unease, Lila’s little town of Shady Palms has resurrected the Miss Teen Shady Palms Beauty Pageant, which she won many years ago—a fact that serves as a wedge between Lila and her cousin slash rival, Bernadette. But when the head judge of the pageant is murdered and Bernadette becomes the main suspect, the two must put aside their differences and solve the case—because it looks like one of them might be next.
My Review
I really liked the first book in this series and bought the second book right away. Now a few months later I decided it was time to listen to it. I listened to this during a very stressful time, so at times that did impact how well I was able to follow and enjoy the story, but despite that I still had a great time listening to this one. Homicide and Halo-Halo follows Lila as she gets involved in another mystery. She gets roped into being a judge for the beauty pageant the town organizes and when one of the judges dies one of her cousins becomes the main suspect. She’s also working to open her new cafe, so she has plenty to keep her busy.
I had a great time returning to this town and the likable and interesting characters. I really like reading about Lila, she feels so realistic. I also appreciated how there is some continuity in this series with how Lila is still struggling with what happened in the first book and multiple references to things that happened in that book. I liked this and Lila’s struggling made her feel real, although I felt really bad for her. There are some great side characters too, Lila is now starting a new business with her best friend and her best friends girlfriend. I liked seeing that not everything is always smooth sailing, but I liked seeing them figure it out. Then there are Lila’s family as well as the aunties. The romance doesn’t really progress much in this book, but by the end Lila does make a decision who she wants to be with, she just isn’t ready for a relationship yet. I thought it was quite obvious who she would end up and was happy I turned out to be right.
I also liked hearing about all the Filipino food again. The descriptions of halo-halo sounded so good and I wish I could try it. And I also liked there is a side character who eats gluten-free as I haven’t come across that often and now that I have to eat gluten-free, I liked seeing that be included in this book as well as some gluten-free food. Lila herself is lactose intolerant, so there is some representation for that as well.
Due to being stressed I didn’t really try and figure out the mystery and was happy to just listen and hear it all play out. Despite that I managed to guess who the murderer was shortly before the reveal. I thought the mystery was a solid one, but looking back I do think it could’ve used a few more suspects and I think you can figure it out pretty early. I did think the mystery was a bit less good than the first book, but I still enjoyed it and seeing it all play out. I also liked how Lila makes some new acquaintances during the mystery and I hope those characters will continue to play a role in future books.
The narrator was awesome again just like in the first book and I really enjoy listening to this series and hearing how the narrator does all the different voices and as far as I can tell she does the Filipino words pronouncations really well too.
To summarize: I really enjoyed listening to this book. It’s a great sequel and I appreciated how there is a bit of continuity with Lila still struggling with what happened in book 1 and also some references to the events there. I liked reading about these characters again, Lila feels real and I like seeing her interact with the other characters. The Filipino food all sounded so delicious and I wish I could try the halo-halo as it sounded so good. I also appreciated the inclusion of a side character who ate gluten-free and Lila eating lactose-free. The mystery was a solid one and despite being stressed and not really trying to figure out the mystery I guessed who the murderer was shortly before the reveal. The narrator is a great one and I already bought book 3 so I can continue the series in audio.
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