Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala is a contemporary cozy mystery and the fourth book in the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen series (4/5 stars)

Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala is a contemporary cozy mystery and the fourth book in the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen series.

Lila’s three godmothers–the “Calendar Crew” made up of April, Mae, and June–are celebrating the opening of their new laundromat. Unfortunately, the building is vandalized and they find the body of April’s niece who recently arrived from the Philippines along side a chilling message spray-painted onto the floor. Lila thought she had hung up her mystery-solving hat, but since the Shady Palms Police Department didn’t seem to have much movement on the case, she loops in her friends to figure out what really happened.

Though this is the fourth book in the series, it can probably be read as a stand-alone, but I do highly recommend starting at the beginning! I greatly enjoy the series as a whole, though book three is my least favorite of the bunch.

There’s some movement on a few romantic relationships at this point, and I’m here for both of them. Since the beginning of the series, all of the characters have had wonderful growth arcs and I’m happy to read more about their lives in future installments.

Make sure you’ve had a good meal before reading this book, because there’s a major focus on food and drink and boy did it make me have cravings. As always, there are recipes in the back of the book that highlight some of the meals they mention in the story.

Also, the artist who does the covers for this series is AMAZING.

CW: infidelity, physical violence, mentions of attempted suicide, bullying, slut shaming, gambling addiction, substance abuse, parental incarceration, parental death

I received a copy of this book for review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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The Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery Series includes:

• Arsenic and Adobo
• Homicide and Halo-Halo
• Blackmail and Bibingka
• Murder and Mamon
• Guilt and Ginataan
• Death and Dinuguan (expected 2025)