Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
When her estranged cousin, Tita Rosie’s son, Ronnie, returns to town, Lila anticipates that trouble will be close behind. It’s shocking how right she is in that assessment.
Ronnie has purchased the local Shady Grove Winery along with a his best friends, Izzy and Pete, and some other investors, most notable being, Denise Sutton.
It literally feels like Ronnie has been back in Shady Grove for mere moments before the first body suspiciously drops.
Then the blackmail begins, stating that they know what Ronnie did in Florida and that he’s up to his old tricks again. The blackmailer threatens to bring evidence against him unless they are paid a large sum of money by Tita Rosie.
This threatening message coinciding with Ronnie now being suspected of murder does not shine a positive light on her cousin, but Lila feels like she has to do whatever she can to clear Ronnie’s name.
This requires Lila putting her mistrust of Ronnie behind her, at least temporarily, in order to help him. Family is complicated after all, but Lila feels obligated to help.
As Lila digs into Ronnie’s partners and investors, she discovers they’ve actually woven themselves quite a twisted web. The dynamics amongst them are all over the place.
Will Lila be able to figure out the who done it before it’s too late? And what if it actually is her cousin? How does this play out for her family?
Blackmail and Bibingka is the third installment of the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series. I had so much fun with the first two books in this series and this one was no different.
I have loved getting to know the Macapagal family over the course of these books. I was also stoked when Manansala mentioned in her Author’s Note at the conclusion of this, that we will be getting three more books in the series.
Personally, I never want them to end!
These books are full of food and family. If you aren’t hungry by the time you are done one these of books, you have no soul. I’m sort of kidding, but not really.
I love Lila as a character and her friend group. She has surrounded herself with a great group of women and I love how supportive they are of one another. We love to see those types of strong female friendships in our stories.
This book is marketed as taking place during Christmas time, but honestly, if it wasn’t for the food, I would have no clue this was supposed to be set during the holiday season.
It didn’t bother me as such, I only mention it because I know how strongly people feel about their holiday stories and I don’t want anyone to be disappointed.
Overall, I found this to be an engaging mystery. At times, I did get a little confused trying to keep track of all the bad actors Ronnie had surrounded himself with, but that totally could have been my headspace at the time of reading and not the story itself.
I think if you have enjoyed other books in this series, or if you enjoy Cozy Mysteries that incorporate a solid food element, you should definitely check this one out.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m very excited to continue on with this series!!
