In Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala, Ninang April’s niece Divina de los Santos has just arrived in Shady Palms, having graduated from a top art school in the Philippines. The main character and amateur detective Lila Macapagal finds Divina’s sudden arrival suspicious. godmothers, Ninang April, Ninang Mae, and Ninang June (or the Calendar Crew, as Lila refers to them), had recently gone into business together, opening a laundromat in competition with Ultima Bolisay. Ultima is not happy about this. Others are also unhappy with the Calendar Crew for malicious gossip that led to a divorce and a business being shut down. When Divina is found murdered in the new laundromat, there is no shortage of suspects. Ninang April is attacked and left in a coma. Lila investigates the murder and the assault. As with the first three novels in this cozy mystery series, Lila finds plenty of time to bake a wide variety and large quantity of Philippine specialties.
For example: As for me, I was leaning into “spring means green” and had prepared pandan-pistachio shortbread and brownies with a pandan cheesecake swirl. I also came up with a red bean brownie recipe, which wasn’t particularly spring-like, but hey, I was in a brownie mood. And for a quick no-bake option, I developed buko pandan mochi Rice Krispie treats, which would be sure to delight our younger customers.
Pandan is a tropical plant whose fragrant leaves are commonly used as a flavoring in Southeast Asia. Often described as a grassy vanilla flavor with a hint of coconut. Buko is the flesh of an unripe (green) coconut. Mamon are individual Filipino chiffon cakes that are light and fluffy, simple yet delicious.
Ninang means godmother.
Lila’s dachshund is named Longganisa, after a Philippine sausage.
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