Mia P. Manansala’s YA debut, Death in the Cards, is a thrilling mystery brimming with charm and suspense. Protagonist Danika Dizon, a sharp-witted teen with PI parents, uses tarot readings to help classmates until a client vanishes after drawing the death card. Teaming up with the missing girl’s sister, Danika uncovers dangerous secrets while proving her detective chops.

Manansala crafted a page-turner with heart, blending family dynamics, supernatural intrigue, and clever sleuthing. Danika was instantly endearing: resourceful, determined, and relatable. The tarot motif added eerie depth, while twists kept tension high. Fans of her Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Series will adore this fresh, voice-driven mystery. A must-read for YA thriller lovers; here’s hoping it becomes a series! 3.75/5 stars!

I finished this one early in April but delaying my review to be closer to the publication day. I love and enjoy reading Tita Rosie’s kitchen series, though I still have to read her latest one. When I saw a sign up for an e-ARC, I immediately signed for this. Deaths In The Card is Manansala’s young adult debut and she delivered!


Danika Dizon, a high school student, a tarot reader and a problem solver. Coming from a family of private investigator and mystery author, her mom and dad respectively, she knows how to offer guidance to classmates who ask for reading, for a fee. When one of her clients goes missing, the missing girl sister, Gaby, ask Danika’s help to figure out what happened. With Danika, this is her chance to prove to her parents that she is capable and able to solve this on her own. What Danika didn’t expect is things to go south and risk her life and her loved ones in doing so.

While reading this, I feel the vibe of Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. The mystery is very interesting that will make you want to read until the end. This is a quick and easy read. I love the tarot reading. It adds up to the mystery to the whole story though I wish there were more readings hence the title. The characters are all likable. Reading this feels like home and familiar. Family supporting each other, Danika being a teenager, and this all feels like a real YA book without over doing things. She’s fun to be with and has that awkwardness of a teenager exploring her identity. And what is Manansala’s books without the food. This one embodies a typical thing in a Filipino household. In most situation, food is always serve and will always make you feel home. I always love how the author begins the Filipino culture into her stories in food, in family tradition and culture and the latest here is the introduction of Kali, a filipino martial arts. The mystery aspect of the story will captivate you though with some slow parts in the middle but the ending will give you a glimpse for a part two or probably a series.

Death in the Cards will be released on May 13, 2025. Thank you Delacorte Press for the e-ARC in exchange of the honest review.

Delayed review!

I am a big fan of Mia's other books so I was super excited to check out her YA!

YA is not my usual genre I read, but I'll read them here and there especially if it's by an author I like.

This was a fun read and I liked the Chicago elements added in and as someone who lives in Chicago knew the places or the unreliable L.

If you like YA and mysteries I'd definitely recommend checking out this book, available now!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's | Delacorte Press for this e-ARC.

This is the kind of book I wish I had growing up.

DEATH IN THE CARDS is Mia P. Manansala’s first YA novel that I know my childhood self would have loved. It adds a cool new take to the mystery genre that’s also reminiscent of The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo and Disney Channel’s Get a Clue, featuring a queer Filipino-American who is a cross between Jessica Jones, Nancy Drew, and Harriet the Spy.

Danika Dizon aspires to become a private investigator like her mother, while also learning from her mystery-writer father. Apart from honing her detective skills, she also does tarot card readings on the side for her classmates seeking advice. After she does a reading for Eli Delgado, a bright and wealthy senior, she is confronted by Eli’s younger sister Gaby when she disappears. Gaby begs Danika to help find her sister, but the more she investigates, a dangerous mystery begins to unfold putting everyone at risk.

I have been a fan of Mia P. Manansala ever since I read Arsenic and Adobo. It was the first time I had probably ever read a book by a contemporary Filipino author and one of the rare times I felt seen in a genre I love no less. So I could imagine DEATH IN THE CARDS doing the same for a new younger audience that also welcomes readers to our Filipino culture.

My favorite part is the use of tarot cards and how they play a key role in the story. While I don’t know much about tarot, I love how there is an art and skill to it in understanding a person’s subconscious rather than predicting the future. It’s fun seeing these elements come up in relation to the case, but most of all in getting to know the characters and potential suspects.

The main highlight for me of course is all the Filipino references. The food! I’m already craving every dish mentioned. I also love the incorporation of Kali, a Filipino martial art that I didn’t know about. Even the smallest things, like Danika’s family dynamic and how she is with them are similar to mine (I love how there’s always a Tita Baby in a family 😂).

Based on the little teaser in the end, I’m already excited for the next book!

I always treasure YA books that deal with tarot, as I did tarot reading in high school too.

This one was really more eventful than I thought it would be, and the ending added a little special touch that I really enjoyed.

I don't know if that book will be part of a series, but if it is, I would gladly read the next books!! I liked all the main characters and didn't see much of the twists and turns coming.

Many thanks to the publisher for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

May 29th, 2025
I loved it! Everything that Mia writes is great so I'm not surprised one bit.
The main character Danika's voice is very much that of a young adult, which was fun to see. I enjoyed her family dynamic and seeing the support they all gave each other.
The story has a great mix of mystery and murder without feeling too graphic for a younger audience or too cozy for others.
The onlyyy thing I missed were the fantastic recipes that are this author's signature in her Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mysteries. If you know you know. *wipes away tear*.
Whether you've read any of Mia P. Manansala's books or not, you can't go wrong with any of them so pick this one up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very cute. The family and friendship dynamics between Danika and her parents, brother, aunt, cousins and friends was very wholesome to read.

Danika’s narration heavily gives off 17 year old Gen-Z kid, so if something like that is going to bother you, do not read this book. But I found it refreshing that a teenager in a book actually reads and feels like a teenager. She’s also a certified weird kid, so a lot of her narration was very realistic.

I love a good mystery and solving one alongside our MC, and this was a satisfying one, though the tone was much more light and fluffy than dark. There were some moments that were a little alarming, but nothing truly scary in this book.

This was just a quick read, and a good time! If you’re looking for a more light-hearted and cozy mystery, then this is the book for you!

This book was actually very disappointing. It took me almost a month to get through. I love YA and I love the authors, other cozy mystery series, but this did not hit for me. The main character was extremely immature, which was bothersome, and the whodunit did it make any sense towards the end, and I was just very bored. I liked all of the side characters, it more than I like the main characters, and the last chapter was honestly pointless. Kind of disappointed, but I have the other series from this author to look forward to.

Death in the Cards is a cute, fast-paced YA mystery that blends tarot intrigue with amateur sleuthing. There’s a lot to love in this setup: the infusion of Filipino culture was a standout element, adding a fresh and authentic layer to the story, and the cast is delightfully diverse, which made the high school world feel inclusive and current. I also really appreciated the incorporation of tarot—any plot with a touch of the mystical is always a win for me.

That said, some elements didn’t land quite as well. The food descriptions, while rich and clearly a signature of Manansala’s writing style, felt a little overdone in this particular context. Instead of enhancing the plot, they occasionally pulled me out of the mystery and disrupted the pacing. The ending also felt rushed, with major plot threads tied up quickly in a way that lacked the emotional payoff the buildup deserved.

While I understand the goal of making this story resonate with a Gen Z audience, there were moments where the tone and references felt slightly forced—almost like the author was trying a bit too hard to sound “teen.” As a millennial reader, I’ve read plenty of YA where the generational voice felt natural and well-balanced, but in this case, it occasionally came off as inauthentic or overly curated.

Overall, Death in the Cards is a solid read with great representation and a fun premise, especially for younger readers just dipping their toes into the mystery genre. It has heart and potential, even if it didn’t quite hit all the marks for me.

I loved the mix of private investigators with tarot cards and how Danika relied on both to help the students at her school. She hopes to work at her mom's private investigator business once she graduates high school, but her mom is reluctant. Eventually, a break comes for Danika when one of her fellow students (Eli) disappears and her mom allows her to assist with the investigation. Gaby (the younger sister of Eli) and Danika team up and begin discovering the secret life that Eli kept hidden. I enjoyed the mystery, Philippian culture, humor, and the tarot cards. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

A strong YA cozy mystery debut that has a Filipino American teen tarot reader slash amateur detective looking into the death of one of her classmates. This gave me lots of Veronica Mars vibes, had a fun bisexual storyline and of course all the tarot reading/meanings made it extra fun for me. Good on audio and perfect for fans of books like Margot Mertz takes it down. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

First and foremost, thank you to the publisher and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I loved this story and it was definitely worth the read!

I finally got around to reading the first book in this author’s adult mystery series, Arsenic and Adobo, which first drew me in because of the dachshund on the cover, and then I loved it because of all the food in the story as well as just a fun mystery. So not only do I want to read on in that series, but when I saw she had a YA mystery coming out, with tarot cards as a part of the story, I was intrigued and requested the e-galley.

The mystery was definitely one that I was kept guessing exactly what was happening all the way through. Especially as the family of the missing girl wasn’t honest with Danika or her mom, as well as they wanted it kept quiet, so asking questions to investigate was really tricky. I enjoyed all the different foods that were talked about in the story, as well as the tarot card readings. I remember in high school I decided I wanted a deck of tarot cards and got some. I did one reading for a friend who said it was on the nose. But I never really did much more than that.

There were a few parts that went a little slow for me. The romance wasn’t a big part of the story, although there were some possible love interests. But as Danika hadn’t really ever dated anyone, the way she handled those two was interesting and unique. I liked the way the author handled that. In the end there was a bit of a maybe cliffhanger/lead to a second story, and I’d definitely be interested in another case. Since Danika is hoping to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a PI, it could be fun!

This is the first time I’ve read something about tarot reading mixed with detective works and I find it truly interesting. This book also contains a lot of Filipino references (and food!!! I’m craving sapin-sapin while reading this!) I also love how diverse and inclusive this book is!

There are, however, some characters that I don’t find appealing. Like Gaby’s family— especially their mom! I find them super annoying an unpleasant. The ending also could’ve been a bit better and expand more on the detective works rather than family drama. But this is still a good read especially for young adults!

Death in the Cards is about Danika Dizon, a tarot reader who wants to be a detective like her mom. When a client goes missing after a reading, the client’s little sister asks Danika to help. Danika takes the case, hoping to prove she can be a real investigator. As she digs deeper, she and the sister uncover some dark secrets that change everything.

This mystery was fun and different. I really liked the tarot reading parts and seeing Danika in action. The beginning and end were exciting, but the middle dragged a bit. Still, the twist at the end was great, and the last part moved quickly.

Danika was a lovable main character! Strong, sweet, and clueless about Gaby and Alex’s crushes on her, which was funny and cute. Her family was super supportive, and I loved their bond.

This was such a fun read! I have been a fan of Mia P. Manansala’s Tita Rosie’s Mystery Series for years, so I was extremely excited to read her YA debut. Manansala packs in all of the cozy mystery vibes, investigative plot, and delicious food descriptions that I know and love from her previous work.
I appreciated watching Gaby, Danika, and the rest of the cast grow and learn throughout the book, and the big reveal at the end genuinely surprised me!
Highly recommend this book and all of Mia P. Manansala’s work to everyone, honestly.
Thank you Mia P. Manansala, Random House Children’s, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This YA cozy mystery was my first ARC ever 🥹 And it did not disappoint!

In this book, we’re introduced to Danika and her community as she’s tapped to investigate the disappearance of a tarot card reading client of hers. She takes the case, hoping to prove herself to join the family detective agency, but it gets darker and more complex the more she unravels.

From the get go, I loved reading the story through Danika’s voice. I wish I had this book when I was a teenager, I resonated with her character so strongly - a super overworked high schooler, determined to prove herself on all fronts. I enjoyed reading her interactions with her family and friends as well as seeing her thought process throughout the investigation. Also, super hilarious to see her so badass in her mystery solving but completely oblivious on the dating scene. New fave trope - oblivious to lovers LOL

It was also cool to see tarot reading from Danika’s point of view, how it helped center her and guide her in her case. I’ve always had dreadful, negative vibes from tarot readings but was still curious so this book really opened up the gates for me to explore more about it. And, of course, 1000% felt the vibes as a Filipino-American. The food descriptions were offensive (as in, how could you make me so hungry? I could practically smell the food off the page) and the family expectations were triggering (as in all too relatable).

The mystery itself was intriguing to read too. Ngl, I don’t think too hard about trying to solve the mystery so it was fun to read through the cast of suspects and question everyone’s intentions. Loved how everything came together in the end, and set the stage for the next book which hello sign me up!! Mia P. Manansala continues to cement herself as one of my auto-read and auto-buy authors.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for sharing this arc! So excited to pick up my copy soon

Thanks to Random House Children’s Books for the ARC and Netgalley for the ARC

With the skills she learned growing up thanks to her mom being a private investigator and her father a mystery author along with her talent for tarot reading, Danika Dizon offers her services between classes to any anxious teen looking for a reading, for a price, of course.

When a former client disappears right after getting a reading from her, Danika convinces the client’s sister to ask her mother for help. As expected, her mom employs her to assist with the case. This might be Danika’s chance to prove that she has what it takes to be a detective and help out with their agency. As they set off to uncover the dark secrets behind her sister’s disappearance, Gaby and Danika discover that something bigger may be at play. Will they be able to handle it?

Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala is a refreshing young adult mystery that blends a coming-of-age story with an engaging mystery. I appreciated the youthful tone of the book; it allows Danika’s personality and her character development to shine as the story progresses. It reads more like a cozy mystery, which I enjoyed the suspense never feels too heavy, and the clues are revealed gradually, weaving a well-thought-out tale.

Other parts that added charm to the book were Danika’s tarot readings, which I found fascinating. I also loved the relationships Danika has with her family, friends, and cousin their support throughout the story, not just with the case but also in her personal life. And with plenty of delicious Filipino food woven in, it’s truly a plus.

I loved how this book blended ttarot with Filipino culture and high school elements. I enjoyed the mystery weaved throughout,

Danika has a lot on her plate between doing tarot readings, working for her mother’s detective agency, babysitting, martial arts training, and saving up enough money to fix her car. She finally gets the opportunity to use her detective skills when a classmate disappears, and Danika gets to lead her first case.

This was such fun! This story had such a strong narrative voice for Danika. It really felt like a teenager was telling me this story about her life. The pacing was mostly good throughout (although things slowed down a bit in the middle). And I loved all the characters. The different relationships Danika had with her parents, her cousins, the classmate who hires her, her friends, were all unique and given time on page, and I adored all of them.

The final reveal didn’t feel quite as set up as I wanted. I had predicted one thing, and I got the rug pulled out from under me. I usually appreciate being surprised with a mystery’s ending, but I didn’t feel like I could go back and gather the breadcrumbs.

However, everything else was a delight, and I would definitely read a whole series of Danika!

Thank you to both NetGalley and Random House Children’s for this arc!