This third installment of Manansala’s culinary cozy mystery series, Tita Rosie’s Kitchen, takes place during the winter holidays in Shady Palms as they prepare for Christmas Eve and the community Winter Bash. Lila’s good-for-nothing cousin Ronnie returns to town after a mysterious 15-year disappearance, and he brings a new cast of characters, and a whole lot of drama (and crime), along with him. One of Ronnie’s new business partners is murdered, and amateur sleuth Lila puts herself on the case. Her cousin is trouble, but could he actually be a murderer?
I listened to this as an e-audiobook on Libby and it was engaging and breezier than the second book in the series, Homicide and Halo-Halo. Like the previous books in the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen series, this is a good one if you enjoy lots of descriptions of delectable Filipino foods, and–bonus!–the the author once again provides recipes at the end. It’s also great if you’re looking for a fun but not too sappy holiday or Christmas mystery.
