Homicide and Halo-Halo

by Mia P. Manansala

Publisher: Berkley Books
Ginasbookreport Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Mystery / Cozy Mystery
Read This If You Love: Cozy mysteries / Arsenic and Adobo

#2 in the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series.

We once again return to Shady Palms, Illinois and the close-knit Filipino community. Our heroine baker, Lila, finds herself on the judging panel for the local pageant and doing her best to encourage young women in her community to go after their dreams. She’s also trying to get her new business off the ground and recover from the traumatic events of the last novel. Lila is doing her best to balance it all, but BAM…she finds herself once again in the middle of a murder to solve! 

I adored Arsenic and Adobo, the first book in this series, so I was excited to see it as a continuing series. One of my reading goals this year is to get caught up on series that I enjoy and this was one of four series on that list. Manansala’s books are cozy mysteries packed full of food and cultural references. They are definitely a comfort read. Plus, this series has recipes at the back of the books. (I loved the cookies from the first book and can’t wait to try Tita Rosie’s Grilled Adobo Chicken Wings.) 

Where Arsenic and Adobo was pretty light in topic and fluffy cozy mystery (even with a murder to solve), Homicide and Halo-Halo does cover topics that are a bit heavier. While I totally understood and appreciated these subjects being discussed, I did find the novel a little harder to read than the first book. Homicide and Halo-Halo has more depth, especially as it relates to mental health challenges.

Arsenic and Adobo

(In case you are interested in the first book in the series, here is my older review of it from Instagram/Goodreads.)

What a great easy summer cozy mystery. This book is chock full of yummy food descriptions and, well, dead bodies. We follow the adventures of Lila, who has moved back home to Shady Palms, Illinois. This is a light mystery with a little rom com air. A perfect quick pool read for readers. There are even recipes in the back for some of the yummy food that Lila and her family make. I’ll be trying the Ube Crinkle Cookies! (Follow up: I did and they were delicious.)