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A review by flyinglark
Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As a new season arrives in Shady Palms, a new person is found dead. This time it hits too close to home to the “Calendar Crew” April, Mae and June.
The Calendar Crew breathes gossip, but unfortunately, it has caused many foes in exchange, even with the best of the Aunty intentions. The mystery of who killed Divina and vandalized the Calendar Crew’s new laundromat wasn’t that interesting for me. I’m not sure how to word it, but it felt disjointed, or it was a more check-in on the characters after the events of the previous books. The morally grey characters and their motivations didn’t hit for me. Overall, it felt too short for all the things trying to cram in.
What I liked was the community in the book. A lot of the cast from the previous books returned. This being the fourth book means there were a lot of names to remember, even with Lila’s introductions, and at times got messy.They all helped Lila with the investigation, even calling her out when Lila went too far with the interrogations.
As usual, the food and drinks mentioned are mouthwatering. The romance between Jae and Lila was sweet,with him joining her on her investigative outing to make sure she was safe. Just because this book wasn’t the best for me, doesn’t stop me from anticipating the fifth book coming out in November.
POV: 1st Person
The Calendar Crew breathes gossip, but unfortunately, it has caused many foes in exchange, even with the best of the Aunty intentions. The mystery of who killed Divina and vandalized the Calendar Crew’s new laundromat wasn’t that interesting for me. I’m not sure how to word it, but it felt disjointed, or it was a more check-in on the characters after the events of the previous books. The morally grey characters and their motivations didn’t hit for me. Overall, it felt too short for all the things trying to cram in.
What I liked was the community in the book. A lot of the cast from the previous books returned. This being the fourth book means there were a lot of names to remember, even with Lila’s introductions, and at times got messy.
As usual, the food and drinks mentioned are mouthwatering. The romance between Jae and Lila was sweet,
POV: 1st Person
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Infidelity
Moderate: Bullying, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Author’s Trigger Warnings: Infidelity, physical violence, mentions of attempted suicide, bullying, slut shaming, gambling addiction, substance abuse, parental incarceration, and parental death.