Cozy Mystery Review: Murder and Mamon | Mia P Manansala | Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #4

I’ve been reading the full Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series and I just finished book four, Murder and Mamon. If you are just catching up, check out my reviews for the first three books, Arsenic and Adobo, Homicide and Halo-Halo, and Blackmail and Bibingka. Outside of the first book, Murder and Mamon has been my favorite of the series.

This time Lila is back to amateur sleuthing with a mystery centered around the Calendar Crew. This group of godmothers were a much-deserved focus for a new book, since they always bring something fun to each of the previous books. In Murder and Mamon, the ninang’s are opening a laundromat in Shady Palms, but someone isn’t happy with them. When someone winds up murdered at the laundromat, Lila enlists the help of her friends and loved ones to help solve the crime before someone else winds up dead.

About the Book | Murder and Mamon

Since this is a series I’m following from book 1, I keep a character list so I can remember who’s who in the town of Shady Palms. Feel free to skip to the review if you don’t need the plot or character summaries!

Setting

The Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series is set in Shady Palms, IL, a smallish town with a very diverse set of residents, restaurants, and businesses. Murder and Mamon is set in springtime a few months after Christmas and the events of Blackmail and Bibingka.

Plot

Lila’s godmothers Ninang April, Ninang Mae, and Ninang June—also known as the Calendar Crew—are opening their own business in Shady Palms. But it seems their laundromat (and the Calendar Crew themselves) is causing some controversy around town. Ninang April’s niece Divina has come to visit for a while from the Philipines and help out. Soon after arriving, it becomes clear that Divina may be the subject of some controversies of her own.

The opening is off to a rocky start when the new laundromat is attacked with vandalism. As if that weren’t enough, they find the body of Divina next to a threatening message. Was the message about Divina or the notoriously gossip-y Calendar Crew?

As Ninang April grieves and the police force (newly without Detective Jonathan Park on the case) struggles to make any progress on the case, Lila and Jonathan decide to team up to help find some clues to who might be behind the murder and vandalism.

But as Lila gets deeper into her investigation and search for justice, she uncovers some things about her ninangs that make it clear they may have been the target. The Calendar Crew has spent years gossiping about the people of Shady Palms, but now it is their turn to be under the spotlight. It’s clear it isn’t who has a vendetta against the Calendar Crew, it’s which person took revenge into their own hands?

Characters

Lila Macapagal is the main character and narrator of the books. She is Filipino, helps at her family restaurant, and is a co-owner of the Brew-Ha Café with her friends and business partners, Adeena and Elena. Lila’s expertise is baking, and she makes the baked goods and treats offered at the café.

Adeena Awan is Lila’s best friend, co-owner of the Brew-ha Café, and the person who develops the beverage menu. Elena Torres is the third owner, creates herbal and organic bath products for the café, and is Adeena’s girlfriend. Amir Awan is Adeena’s brother and an attorney. He previously had expressed interest in Lila, but now is dating Sana. Sana Williams owns a coaching business and hosts Sunday sangria nights for Lila, Adeena, Elena, Izzy, and their friend Yuki. Sana and Amir are moving in together.

Ronnie Flores is Lila’s cousin and Tita Rosie’s son. He runs the Shady Palms Winery with his partner Izzy Ramos Garcia. Tita Rosie is Lila’s aunt and owns Tita Rosie’s Kitchen. Lola Flor is her grandmother (her late father’s mother). Jonathan Park is a former detective who recently retired from the police force. He is in a relationship with Tita Rosie. Dr. Jae Park is his brother who is a local dentist and is in a relationship with Lila.

The “Calendar Crew”—Ninang April, Ninang Mae, and Ninang June—are a group of non-blood-related godmothers (Ninang) who act as aunties to Lila and are friends with Tita Rosie. They are opening a laundromat next door to the dry-cleaning service Ninang June’s late husband left her.

Marcus (who works security at the Shady Palms Winery) and Joseph (accountant) are Ninang Mae’s sons. Ninang June’s daughter Bernadette Arroyo is a nurse at the local hospital and a nemesis-turned-friend of Lila’s. Divina is Ninang April’s niece who has come from the Philippines to stay with her. Clara is Divina’s friend and the daughter of one of her live-in housekeepers in the Philippines.

Ultima Bolisay is a member of the Macapagal’s church and owns a laundromat chain in town. She is very unhappy about the Ninang’s opening a new laundromat in town. Nabila Bolisay is Ultima’s daughter and best friends with Teresa Uy, the manager of Ultima’s laundromat. Father Santiago is the leader at their church. Tita Lynn Mari Belgea is Tita Rosie’s best friend who just returned from taking care of her mother in the Philippines.

Yuki Sato and her family own Sushi-ya. Katie Pang is Lila’s apprentice at the Brew-ha Café. Her best friend is Joy Monroe, who serves at Tita Rosie’s Kitchen. Terrance Howell is Lila’s friend and the graphic designer for the café. Stan and Martha Kosta are the owners of Stan’s Diner. George and Nettie Bishop are the owners of Big Bishop’s BBQ. Mary Ann Randall is the head of the PTA. Her best friend is Helen Kowalski. Leslie Kowalski is Helen’s daughter.

Glen Davis owns the local hardware store and has a grudge against the Ninang’s since they spread the word that he was having an affair with a woman named Clarissa. Erica Davis is Glen’s wife. Detective Nowak and Sherriff Lamb are working on the case from the police force.

Review | Murder and Mamon

The Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries have been such a fun series to read along with. Murder and Mamon felt like it was back to the magic of Arsenic and Adobo—I think because the mystery focused back on the town and community of Shady Palms. I always enjoy Lila’s family and friends, but the broader Shady Palms community is really where some of the magic of the series lies. In Murder and Mamon, we even saw Lila back out at the other local restaurants interacting with the owners—something that was a fun throwback to the first book.

The Calendar Crew is front and center

The Calendar Crew are probably the characters I was most excited to see featured out of the full cast. They have been in each of the prior three novels as comic relief—a mix of head shaking at their antics and fondness for them as godmothers to Lila. Here, they are front and center as they open their new laundromat. What should be celebratory turns dark after vandalism and the murder of April’s niece Divina threaten to push them out of business.

The mystery is complex and layered

There were several things going on in this mystery. The first was the Calendar Crew themselves finally being called out for their gossip. We learn that while they may spread these stories with good intention, it also has led to more than one life being destroyed. In fact, many of the people in Shady Palms have turned on the Calendar Crew, and even those that haven’t are fed up with them. One of the main themes through this mystery is whether they will see how their behavior—even if well-intentioned—has led to bad situations for the subject of their gossip. As a result, one of the possibilities is that the vandalism and Divina’s murder were done to get back at the Calendar Crew.

Another thread that is followed in this mystery surrounds Divina herself. It isn’t clear whether she was the intended victim of the crime or a mistake made in the dark laundromat. Lila does investigating to understand more about Divina—why she left the Philipines and what she had been up to since arriving in Shady Palms. I won’t spoil it but Divina had a fascinating backstory in the Philipines. This was perhaps the most interesting part of Lila’s sleuthing for me, because the things from Divina’s past seemed like she was running from demons, not towards a new life.

There was more to Divina, though, than her past. It becomes clear upon her arrival and introduction to Lila and her friends that Divina is after a man. She doesn’t seem bothered by whether that man is in a relationship either, or at least, it bothers her but doesn’t prevent her from pursuing them. Not only does this quality rub some people (Lila included) the wrong way, but it also leads to some difficult situations that are uncovered in the wake of her murder and the subsequent investigation. Divina is an interesting character, and one I would have liked to know more about before her death.

The other primary thread that could link to this mystery is around Ultima and the laundromat chain she owns. Ultima only appears in the book infrequently, largely because her rivalry with the Calendar Crew means she steers clear. However, she’s present enough (and with a strong enough grudge) that she’s a strong viable person of interest. The trouble becomes how to get her to talk. Lila is able to solve this to a certain extent by getting closer to her daughter Nabila and her friend Teresa (who manages the laundromat). Again, I don’t want to spoil it, but there is a lot more happening with the laundromat rivalry and Ultima’s business than appear on the surface. This was another interesting thread that I enjoyed following as Lila tracked down information about Ultima and her business.

The series is losing some tension

One challenge that many of the cozy mystery series have over time is that the author holds the characters a bit too closely. As the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series has evolved, I’m seeing the same trend occur. Each new book gives another character (or several) their redemption arc. This is fine in theory, but it means that the tension in the next book has to be manufactured somewhere else. Cozy mysteries need some flawed characters to add texture. The first book had this, but it has lessened each subsequent book until it has turned to characters either being bad or good with no in between.

What I expect is that the Calendar Crew—who have brought non-stop fun even in the smallest moments in the series—will now be reformed gossips, unwilling to engage in any of their previous behavior. This means that going into the next book, I’m not even sure who can be the rival needed to add tension to the book. Perhaps it will be the PTA ladies (specifically Mary Ann). The tension is needed to make the book and cast more interesting.

The relationships are starting to detract from the complexity

While I’m on the subject of things about the characters that is starting to make the series drop off in my eyes—I have to mention the couples. Every single person in one book suddenly emerges with a relationship in the next one. Some were cute and needed—such as Tita Rosie and Detective Park. Others are baffling. You could have found me gobsmacked at the reveal that Amir (who let’s not forget was originally Lila’s crush) is suddenly buying a house with Sana! Did we even know they were interested in one another? Did we see them interact in prior books? This reveal shook me! It also removed the tension of the love triangle that made Lila’s life have some depth to it.

Add to that Adeena and Elena (whose relationship I like) being partners with Lila, and we also don’t get Adeena and Lila’s friendship anymore as a duo. Everything now is the three of them. Lila’s relationship with Jae was an exciting build through the first few books, but now has turned sappy and frankly boring. Everyone has been coupled up and each new book brings a larger and larger cast of couples and fewer and fewer single people. At this point the only independent, single character we have left is poor Marcus, who is the butt of jokes in each book for his mom trying to set him up and no one being interested in him.

To summarize, I worry the series is starting to flatten as the characters become less dynamic. If the series continues to place the central characters in happy relationships and where they aren’t able to do anything wrong or misjudged, I think that it needs to turn towards focusing almost solely on the mysteries with very little emphasis on the characters and their relationships.

An example of a cozy mystery series who has taken this approach and had outstanding success is the Cambridge Bookshop Mystery series. See The Fatal Folio as a best-in-class example and notice the difference in the character lists.

The culture, food, and diversity continue to shine

In my post about what defines the cozy mystery genre, I mention that as a whole I find this to be one of the most diverse genre in terms of characters. Mia P Manansala’s Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries is one of the best examples of highlighting diversity in a natural and refreshing way. Not only do I continue to love learning about Filipino culture, food, and tradition, but Lila’s friends and community is filled with people from a variety of ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds. This new book explored in more detail a character coming to the US from the Philippines and the complexity of being from a poor versus wealthy versus generational wealth background. Divina was a character that added the complexity I was looking for. On the one hand, Lila and others expressed some concern when they observed her going after men in relationships. But this didn’t detract from Divina as a sympathetic character. In fact, it felt as though she was someone who was often misjudged, though imperfect. Similarly, Lila and others may have reservations with her, but they also welcomed her to the community and treated her with respect.

The food is always one of the highlights of this series. I’ve loved learning more about Filipino cuisine from Tita Rosie and Lola Flor. This mystery even had a little bit about street food in a surprising part of the story (I won’t say which since it would be a spoiler and I loved that aspect of the mystery). I always am interested by hearing the difference between what their family eats at home versus serves in the restaurant. It felt like a peek behind the curtains of a culture that I don’t know as well. I also like how welcoming Lila’s family is to people from different cultures and backgrounds. The central characters don’t always stick with those most similar to them. Shady Palms is a true melting pot of cultures and people, and I will always be happy to get to visit it in each new book.

Final Thoughts

While I had a few comments on areas I’d like to see this series pull away from, this is still one of the best cozy mystery series out there. I’d like to see the mysteries take prominence, because Manansala does an outstanding job crafting them. When the mysteries are good (as the mystery in this book is), the series shines. However, the pedestal that all of the characters end up on is starting to push the series off balance. With each book, we are subjected to more time spent on catching up with the characters who aren’t bringing much to the table anymore, and less on the mystery. I’d like to see the characters either showcase more flaws and stumbling blocks. Perhaps this is the peak of everyone being coupled up, and in the next book we will see some break ups and shake ups. I hope so!

The actual mystery and pool of suspects and motives here were great! I hope that Manansala is able to allow her cast of characters to breathe a bit more. These books need flawed characters and everyone may be just a bit too shiny at this point, which lowers the tension in the book.

Overall this is a great mystery and readers can easily jump in without reading the other books. I do recommend reading in order if you do the full series because the characters tend to have shifts in their relationship and story that pick up in the next book, and may be confusing if you skip around.

As always, I look forward to the next book in the series!

About the Author | Mia P Manansala

Mia P. Manansala (MAH-nahn-sah-lah) (she/her) is a writer and book coach from Chicago who loves books, baking, and bad-ass women. She uses humor (and murder) to explore aspects of the Filipino diaspora, queerness, and her millennial love for pop culture.

She is the winner of the 2022 Anthony Award for Best First Novel, 2022 Macavity Award for Best First Novel, 2022 RUSA Reading List for Mystery, 2021 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, 2018 Hugh Holton Award, the 2018 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award, the 2017 William F. Deeck – Malice Domestic Grant for Unpublished Writers, and the 2016 Mystery Writers of America/Helen McCloy Scholarship. She was shortlisted for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery/Thriller and the 2021 CHIRBy Award for Fiction by the Chicago Review of Books. She’s also a 2017 Pitch Wars alum and 2018-2020 mentor.

A lover of all things geeky, Mia spends her days procrastibaking, playing JRPGs and dating sims, reading cozy mysteries and diverse romance, and cuddling her dogs Gumiho and Max Power.

Visit Mia’s author page to sign up for her newsletter, learn more about her books, get recipes, and see any upcoming events.