Mia P. Manansala’s Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries are not typical cozies. There’s a depth and relevance to the series that is sometimes lacking in the genre. I’m not disparaging cozies because I read a number of them. I’m saying that Homicide and Halo-Halo deals with some heavy issues that are usually not confronted in cozy mysteries.

Lila Macapagal is not herself after the events a few months earlier when she had dated a murder victim, became the primary suspect, and was almost killed by the actual murderer. Detective Park from the Shady Palms Police Department recommends a therapist, but Lila ignores his suggestions. She doesn’t need help. She’s a Filipino-American, and she’ll work through any trauma. “Asians do not go to therapy.” But, she can’t tell her business partners, Adeena and Elena, that she’s having a hard time living up to her promises for their new business, Brew-ha Cafe.

Instead of dealing with that problem, Lila takes on another one. As a former winner, she reluctantly agrees to be a judge for the biggest event in town, the Miss Teen Shady Palms Pageant. But, there’s trouble from the beginning with Rob Thompson, the sponsor and a judge. He’s had a reputation for years for his predatory behavior toward women and the contestants. When Lila and the third judge find Rob’s body in the river, she remembers the gossip. But, she hadn’t known her cousin Bernadette had argued with him about his treatment of a teen.

Now, Bernadette is a suspect, and the aunties all assume Lila will step up and investigate, despite the long-simmering rivalry between the cousins. It’s one more burden piled on Lila, another role she’s expected to assume in the family. No one realizes the stress she’s under, coping with the cafe, the beauty pageant, the murder, and her trauma after the previous murder.

The Filipino-American food, family, culture and community are still essential elements in this mystery. Lila works on Americanizing traditional Filipino food such as halo-halo, a beloved dessert. There’s romance and humor in the book. There’s also a great deal of diversity in the book.

But, Manansala wrote a content warning in the Author’s note. She says it’s heavier in tone that the first book, Arsenic and Adobo, and, it is. The warning involves content of PTSD, fatphobia, fertility/pregnancy issues, predatory behavior, unresolved grief, parental death (in childhood), and dismissive attitudes toward mental health. I admire Manansala’s courage in dealing with those issues in a cozy mystery. And, she succeeds in handling the issues with sensitivity while writing an excellent mystery. There’s no doubt I’ll be reading the next one to see Mia P. Manansala succeed again.

Mia P. Manansala’s website is https://www.miapmanansala.com/

Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala. Berkley Prime Crime, 2022. ISBN 9780593201695 (paperback), 304p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley to review for a journal.