Guilt and Ginataan by Mia P. Manansala

Guilt and Ginataan (A Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery, #5)

by Mia P. Manansala

Autumn is in full swing for the town of Shady Palms—the perfect time for warm drinks, cozy cardigans, and…dead bodies?

The annual Shady Palms Corn Festival is one of the town’s biggest moneymakers, drawing crowds from all over the Midwest looking to partake in delicious treats, local crafts, and of course, the second largest corn maze in Illinois. Lila Macapagal and her Brew-ha Cafe crew, Adeena Awan and Elena Torres, are all too happy to participate in the event and even make a little wager on who can make it through the corn maze the fastest—but their fun is suddenly cut short when a dead body is found in the middle of the maze…and an unconscious Adeena lies next to it, clutching a bloody knife.

The body is discovered to be a local politician’s wife, and all signs—murder weapon included—point to Adeena as the culprit. But Lila knows her best friend couldn’t have done this, so she and her crew put on their sleuthing caps yet again to find the killer who framed Adeena and show them what happens when they mess with a Brew-ha…

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

3.5 of 5 stars

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Book Summary:

With Autumn comes the famous Shady Palms Corn Festival! Lila and her Brew-ha Cafe partners, Adeena and Elena, have a full display, complete with delicious-sounding corn-based snacks and treats.

Unfortunately, the festival doesn’t go as smoothly as anyone had hoped. Before the first day of the festival is over, a body will be discovered - with Adeena holding the murder weapon. It’s time for these amateur sleuths to get back to work!

My Review:

Ahh! I can’t believe it’s time for the next Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery! A word of advice - don’t read Guilt and Ginataan while hungry. This book made me so hungry, mostly because I’m a wee bit obsessed with corn recipes, so everything sounded delicious.

Okay, I will move away from the subject of food now, or I’ll just make myself hungry again. As usual, I loved the characters in this story. I feel like Adeena and Elana got more fleshing out, though I would still happily embrace more of them.

As far as the mystery goes, that one was a bit more far-fetched than I hoped. Then again, we’re at death number five for a small town. So, things are going to have to get a little outlandish to justify another murder, especially one that connects to the main characters.

Don’t get me wrong, it was still a fun read! It just wasn’t the strongest in the series. It’s still worth reading Guilt and Ginataan, especially if you want to keep up with the series. I’ll be curious to see how far the series goes - and how Brew-ha will fare.

Highlights:
Cozy Mystery
Amateur Sleuths
Heavy Food Elements
Family Drama

Trigger Warnings:
Controlling Behaviors
Blackmail
Unhealthy Relationships

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 29 December, 2024: Finished reading
  • 29 December, 2024: Reviewed