Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala
Things are heating up for Lila Macapagal. Not in her love life, which she insists on keeping nonexistent despite the attention of two very eligible bachelors. Or her professional life, since she can’t bring herself to open her new cafe after the unpleasantness that occurred a few months ago at her aunt’s Filipino restaurant, Tita Rosie’s Kitchen. No, things are heating up quite literally, since summer, her least favorite season, has just started.
To add to her feelings of sticky unease, Lila’s little town of Shady Palms has resurrected the Miss Teen Shady Palms Beauty Pageant, which she won many years ago–a fact that serves as a wedge between Lila and her cousin slash rival, Bernadette. But when the head judge of the pageant is murdered and Bernadette becomes the main suspect, the two must put aside their differences and solve the case–because it looks like one of them might be next.
This is a sequel but I think it can be read without reading the first book. But there are things mentioned from book one.
Lila was asked to judge the local pageant that she won when she was younger. She agreed, but it brought up a lot of uncomfortable memories of her mom and how she pushed her. Bernadette was runner up that year and it obviously still bothers her. But she’s coaching a young girl for this year. The head judge is a rich business man/donor for the city. There was a threat to the competition but only one detective is taking it seriously. Then the head judge is found murdered. Bernadette seems to be the only suspect so Lila starts investigating to find the real killer. Throughout the book, she’s dealing with ptsd and depression. There are a handful of trigger warnings from the author.
I had fun with this and enjoyed it just as much as the first book.
I gave this book 4 stars.
Have you read this? Is it on your TBR?
