Death and Dinuguan by Mia P. Manansala ****

 Deathand Dinuguan by Mia P. Manansala

Sixth and final mystery of the Brew-ha ha Café. As usual, there are plenty of female entrepreneurs and recipes with Filipino ingredients. Cooperation and security systems have a big role. Incidentally, someone is murdered. #cozymystery #cozyreads

Amateur sleuth Lila Macapagal is an owner and the baker at the Brew-ha-ha Café. Brew-ha is a play on the Filipino word for witch, bruha. Shady Palms is hit with a string of burglaries that peak with the burglary of Choco Noir, where owner Blake is murdered, and partner Hana Lee is left in a coma. Hana is the cousin of Lila’s boyfriend, dentist Jae Park. Jae’s brother is private detective Jonathan Park. Chocolate-themed events play a larger role in the narrative than Blake’s murder. The adorable dachshund, Longganisa, models a variety of cute costumes.

Most of the book is about food, preparing it, eating it, praising it, and talking about it. “Between the four of us, we split twelve (count ’em, TWELVE) different desserts: chocolate chess pie, hummingbird cake, cherry pie, plain cheesecake, carrot cake, key lime pie, coconut cream pie, vanilla cake with sprinkles, baklava, citrus pound cake, banoffee pie, and the day’s special: mocha fudge brownie cheesecake.”

Contemporary topics are mentioned briefly. Suspect Shawn Ford is accused of sexual harassment. One of the café’s employees is Leslie. Her pronouns are they/them. There’s a mention of Galentine’s Day. The Chocolate Shoppe is Black-owned. One of the burglars is motivated by large medical bills. All of these are incidental to the murder, which is incidental to the food and women entrepreneurs.

The book highlights the 5-4-3-2-1 coping technique for panic attacks. This involves identifying five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell and one you can taste. These exercises are simple yet powerful. They offer a sense of stability during turbulent times, helping manage panic effectively.

This is a cozy cozy. Amateur sleuth. Food. Cute pets. More food. And recipes at the back of the book.

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