A Funny Quick Read Culinary Mystery (Mom and Christy's Cozy Mysteries Book 1)

9 chapters filled with quirky humor, murder, red herrings (5) and a hot detective. Not until the last couple of chapters is the real murderer revealed. No, I'm not revealing the doer of the dirty deed. You'll chuckle as you read the murder mystery. It is a quick read so Get with it already!!

Kindle Unlimited {well #1 is not showing that, but may have been at one time or was a promo with giveaways somehow since showed 'bought'. Little bit too short for me {86 pages, the other 2 a little longer but still on shorter side of 'book'}. Not sure is writer is english speaking etc or what, or maybe just lousy proofing from whoever and where ever but...it's manner not manor in some cases, flees vs fleas in others, and so on. Cardboard sill characters, unbelievable plots.

There's mango cake, murder, mom, one of them can't cook, they're short a catering van, and the guest of honor at their fist party is murdered. setbacks. One of them can't cook, they're short a catering van, and the guest of honor at their first party is murdered, and one of their cousins is suspect. There is a dashing detective, and a cute cat.

Mango Cake and Murder: A Funny Quick Read Culinary Mystery (Mom and Christy's Cozy Mysteries Book 1)
Apple Pies and Alibis: A Quick Read Culinary Comedy Mystery (Mom and Christy's Cozy Mysteries Book 2)
Milkshakes and Murder: A Comedy Cozy Mystery (Mom and Christy's Cozy Mysteries Book 3)
Mocha and Murder: A Comedy Cozy (Mom and Christy's Cozy Mysteries Book 4)
Coconuts and Crooks: A Clean Funny Mystery (Mom and Christy's Cozy Mysteries Book 5)
Honey Buns and Homicide: A Funny Culinary Cozy Mystery (Mom and Christy's Cozy Mysteries Book 6)

I got about 37% of the book read and had to stop. It just wasn't drawing me in, and the scenes changed too abruptly without warning. But it did make me chuckle, so perhaps I'll try it again sometime later.

First off, I'd like to say I've read a ton of these "cozies" lately, and it seems like in most of them there's a gal who moves back home (due to death, divorce, comes into money), has a cat (or more rarely, a dog), and opens a bakeshop (most often). Granted, this one involves a catering business, but not like one we've ever run across before. What a hoot Jo and Christy are - this is a mother/daughter team, two loving women thankfully without the obligatory prior angry relationship they have to work through ... I'm so tired of nasty people behaving badly toward each other, and one of them just taking it - because it's family! - but seething in the background. No, this is two adult women who are related, discovering each other as adults and becoming friends. Christy is alive to the accumulated wisdom and experience of her mother, and Jo very carefully and lovingly (and uncritically!) shows her daughter how to grow into her own woman. I'm so glad Christy is not mopey and depressing, and Jo is not super-woman, and that the story isn't populated with people full of odd tics and weird quirks and unbelievable behaviors - this is more like real life and real people, likable people who like each other. So refreshing! Nice that it's a Filipino family, the author casually weaves in their culture and mores, and the characters ring so true. The writing is clean and descriptive, you get a good sense of people and places - I could easily picture Main Street and the townspeople. She has set the stage very well, I look forward to their (hopefully) many adventures. And that mango cake recipe.

Book one in the series, but I felt like I had missed something...maybe there's a 0.5 out there somewhere. Christy has just moved back in with her mom, and they're struggling to keep their catering business afloat. When the birthday boy client (well, in his 80s, but still a birthday boy) dies during the birthday party they're catering, their cousin, Celia, becomes the prime suspect because she's his RN and her fingerprints were all over his medication bottle. Well, that paired with the fact that he left her quite a bit of $ in his will and she has a necklace in her possession that was missing from the party. Christy and her mom hop on the crime-solving bandwagon and attempt to clear Celia's name. Lots of great characters that will come in handy in subsequent mysteries, including the people at the restaurant where the catering business does their cooking.

This is less of the typical detective versus amateur cozy. The way Christy snags a new client (for the catering business and their not-real-detectives-but-we'll-investigate-on-the-DL side gig) was smooth. Hopefully Christy gets the hang of driving that big catering van soon.

A few typos here and there... ("unflattering manor" instead of manner, loc 966).

Mango Cake and Murder is a cozy mystery set in California. A mother and daughter team up to solve mysteries. The daughter is going through a divorce and is moving back home with mom to help get herself together. She will be assisting with her mother’s catering business. The story revolves around a catering job where the daughter finds the birthday guest of honor murdered in his home office. The mother is pretty good at figuring out clues while the daughter helps out some. There were also a couple of humorous scenes which added to the story. The story is not a long one and won’t make for a lot of investment of time. But the author, Christy Murphy, has a writing style that grabs you from the beginning of the story. There aren’t a lot of twists and turns in the book as it is shorter than others but it was truly enjoyable. The writing style was almost like the book was talking to me. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read cozy mysteries.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The story was good. It was long enough to be entertaining, give a few clues to let you try to figure out the murderer, and yet short enough to be able to read in just a couple of hours. I loved all the characters.
I related to Christy and appreciated Mom for all her wisdom, fearlessness, encouraging ways and love of her child. Although this is a murder mystery book, it is a feel good book as well. As they celebrate the ending of the mystery, Christy learns a bit more of Mom's past & realizes the sacrifices that Mom has made over the years and she begins to appreciate her Mom in a deeper way. In return, when Mom is discouraged from helping the next possible client, Christy finds a way to do so while helping Mom reach a goal she's had for a very long time. I am looking forward to reading the series going on the journey with Christy and Mom.

Short cosy mystery that introduces a new series featuring a daughter who has moved home as an adult and gets involved in solving crimes while helping her mother in her catering business. I liked the interaction between the mother and daughter. The daughter has hit a rough spot in her life and the mother offers help by claiming to need help with her business. Mom, Jo, is a fifty something Filipina with incredible observation skills. Daughter, Christy, has an amazing memory for details. They work well together and there is a nice sense of Christy appreciating Mom as an adult that I really liked. I will look forward to reading more f this series.

I loved characters I can relate to; in this case my mother was a Filipino. It's refreshing to read a story about a woman (not another 20 year old) who has a good relationship with her mother and is willing to work with her while she recovers from a divorce. This is a character driven novel as both Christy and Jo are well developed, giving me a clear description of their motivations and of their mother-daughter relationship throughout this story. It's a good story if your able to suspend belief that a homicide detective would allow 2 civilians to meddle in an active homicide investigation. I recommend this book.

Great book. Obviously the mystery is good, because it's a mystery. And the story kept me guessing the whole time. But more importantly: this is one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. The mom character is so funny. She's blunt and honest and I laughed out loud numerous times at her lines or at the things she did. And the inner-thoughts of the Christy character are funny too.

All in all, this is a great read and I'm glad there are a bunch more in this series (I have already moved on to #2). The mother/daughter team has great chemistry, and when the book ended I wasn't ready to stop hanging out with them.

It was a slow start but it felt like the author found her stride toward the end - it's worth finishing! I like the characters and that they aren't cookie cutter derivations of other mystery authors. I also love that the book has adults of all ages not just people in their 20s and everyone else is unimportant or a cartoon of some sort. This shows maturity on the part of the author and makes for much more interesting reading. I liked that her mom wasn't a joke, and that she has layers of depth revealed as we go. There is also a mystery introduced about her mom that I suspect will be a long story arc that will stretch across the entire "season."

And now I want some mango cake. <3

This is a humorous and engrossing read about a mother-daughter catering and sleuthing team. The first book involves the murder of the 85 year-father of their client. A unique feature depicted is the cross-cultural aspect of the team, particularly the Filipino-American mother, which spices up the plot and storyline, not to mention leaving the reader hankering for a slice of the mango cake after every chapter.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Christy and her mom Jo are catering a party for Harold Sanders,an elderly gentleman. Christy's cousin Celia is Harold's home health aide. When Harold dies suddenly, the police suspect Celia of murdering him. Christy and Jo start investigating, to clear Celia, and to find the real killer. This is a must read book with fun, down to earth characters, that I would love to meet and hang out with. Christy Murphy is a fantastic author, and I absolutely recommend this book!

This book was a fun ride through murder and cake - The author has obviously drawn from her own life to make the story realistic in its portrayal of an immigrant community and a mother and daughter who stumble into crime solving. I really want the recipe for that mango cake! The book is long enough to get a feel for the characters, but a quick enough read to keep it enjoyable. I can't wait to get into the next one!

Really enjoyed this book. It has mystery, a mom and daughter duo , and a cat with definitely an attitude! It is a fun, easy read and keeps you turning page after page . I am looking forward to more of this series. Great job Christy!

this is a funny book as advertised. A short book so it is a quick read. A mother daughter team are going to cater to make a living. The mother's friend owns a restaurant so they have a place to prepare food. Oriental food. But Mango Cake is the mother's most requested recipe While trying to get the business off the ground they have to .stop and solve a murder. Mom is very intuitive and has many contacts including a police man that helps they out.

A solid read. Can't say that I thought it was funny but it was quirky in places. A few proofing errors but as I got this in a giveaway I can't really complain. Can a mother/daughter team solve the murder? Once you reach a certain point in the book, the answer is obvious. Not the best but still a worthy read.

A solid read. Can't say that I thought it was funny but it was quirky in places. A few proofing errors but as I got this in a giveaway I can't really complain. Can a mother/daughter team solve the murder? Once you reach a certain point in the book, the answer is obvious. Not the best but still a worthy read.

Great book. Obviously the mystery is good, because it's a mystery. And the story kept me guessing the whole time. But more importantly: this is one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. The mom character is so funny. She's blunt and honest and I laughed out loud numerous times at her lines or at the things she did. And the inner-thoughts of the Christy character are funny too.

All in all, this is a great read and I'm glad there are a bunch more in this series (I have already moved on to #2). The mother/daughter team has great chemistry, and when the book ended I wasn't ready to stop hanging out with them.