Cozy Mystery Review: Blackmail and Bibingka | Mia P Manansala | Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #3

I am back for part three of my coverage of the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries, which I am re-reading in anticipation of the just-released fourth book by Mia P. Manansala, Murder and Mamon.

I read this series for pleasure and during a time I wasn’t actively accepting advance copies or posting reviews. Now that I’m in my new era of reading and reviewing, I’m loving getting a chance to revisit the series and share my thoughts after each.

Check out my reviews for the book that started it all, Arsenic and Adobo and the second book in the series, Homicide and Halo-Halo if you need a refresher on where we’re at. While I recommend reading the series in order to get the full experience, each book works well as a standalone mystery too. If you are new to cozy mysteries, I’ve got you covered in a post I wrote all about cozy mysteries (and why to read them!).

In the third book, Blackmail and Bibingka, Lila has done a lot of healing through time, therapy, and the support of her friends and family, and it in good spirits as the holidays settle in on Shady Palms, IL. With her cousin Ronnie returned after fifteen years, it’s her turn to support her Tita Rosie as she supported Lila. When we last spent time with Lila, she was in a darker place following the events of the first book as well as processing all of the memories she left behind when she moved away from Shady Palms. Blackmail and Bibingka is much lighter in tone than the last book, and full of mystery, food, and family.

About the Book | Blackmail and Bibingka

I present both the plot and a character list. If you don’t need either, feel free to scroll forward to my spoiler-free review below! But I like to include these for myself and readers like me who may come back to this book in the future and need a refresher on who’s who and what happened.

Setting

The Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series is set in Shady Palms, IL, a smallish town with a very diverse set of residents, restaurants, and businesses. Blackmail and Bibingka is set just before Christmas, so approximately 4-5 months after the events of Homicide and Halo-Halo.

Plot

Christmastime is upon the town of Shady Palms and Lila Macapagal is busier than ever with her newly-opened business, the Brew-ha Café. Along with her partners and friends—Adeena and Elena—Lila is working hard to plan what they will sell at the town’s winter bash. When Lila’s estranged cousin Ronnie shows back up after fifteen years absence, the Macapagal’s hope this means they’ll get a merry Christmas all together.

But Lila is skeptical of Ronnie’s motives. She loves seeing her Tita Rosie so happy, but Lila remembers that even before he left and broke Tita Rosie’s heart, Ronnie was nothing but trouble. Now, he’s claimed to have changed over the years he was away, and he is working with his business partners, Izzy and Pete, to reopen the Shady Palms Winery. When Tita Rosie receives a blackmail text asking for $50,000, she asks for Lila’s help to look into Ronnie’s business and make sure it’s ok.

Lila and Tita Rosie arrive laden with food for Ronnie and his colleagues to check out the winery. But no sooner do they lay out their feast than one of Ronnie’s investors collapses, and the cause of death is determined to be poison. The last thing she drank was Ronnie’s special wine, and the police name him as their prime suspect. With their friend Detective Park recusing himself from the case, it’s up to Lila to leverage all of her baked goods and sleuthing skills to find the real culprit before it’s too late!

Characters

Cozy mystery series are partly so amazing due to the cast of characters that we get to revisit and add to each time a new mystery comes out. Starting with Arsenic and Adobo, I’m keeping a running list of the characters in this series to help as a reference when I get to each new book.

Lila Macapagal is the main character and narrator of the books. She is Filipino, helps at her family restaurant, and just opened the Brew-Ha Café with her friends and business partners, Adeena and Elena.

Adeena Awan is Lila’s best friend and co-owner of the Brew-ha Café. Elena Torres is the third owner and Adeena’s girlfriend, after leaving her waitressing job at her family restaurant El Gato Negro. Diana is Elena’s mother. Amir is Adeena’s brother and an attorney.

Tita Rosie is Lila’s aunt and owns Tita Rosie’s Kitchen. Lola Flor is her grandmother (her late father’s mother). Ronnie Flores is Tita Rosie’s son and Lila’s cousin. He left fifteen years ago and hasn’t been in contact with the family, until he recently returned to open a winery in Shady Palms. Ronnie broke Lila’s friend Bernadette’s heart many years earlier.

Bernadete is a nurse at the local hospital and the daughter to June—one of the Calendar Crew. The “Calendar Crew”—April, Mae, and June—are a group of non-blood-related godmothers (Ninang) who act as aunties to Lila and are friends with Tita Rosie. Marcus (security) and Joseph (accountant) are Ninang Mae’s sons and do work for the Shady Palms Winery.

Izzy Ramos-Garcia and Pete Miller are Ronnie’s business partners at the Shady Palms Winery. They are in a relationship. Xander Cruz and his fiancé Denise Sutton are the main investors in the Shady Palms Winery. Olivia and Quentin March are twins and Xander and Denise’s assistants at their firm.

Detective Jonathan Park is the detective assigned primarily to the murder investigation. He has a bit of a sweet spot for Tita Rosie. Dr. Jae Park is his brother and a local dentist who has recently begun dating Lila officially.

Sana Williams is a local coach who is friends with Lila. Yuki Sato and her family own Sushi-ya, and Yuki is friends with Lila and Sana. Katie Pang is running social media for the Brew-ha Café. Terrance Howell is Lila’s friend and the graphic designer for the café.

Review | Blackmail and Bibingka

Tone and Context

In my review of book two, Homicide and Halo-Halo, I talked a lot about the author’s note and how it explained the tone of the book. In her note, Manansala discusses how both she and Lila were in a darker place at the time it was written, and the story reflects that. For Manansala, that was the COVID-19 pandemic and dealing with the fundamental changes to the world. For Lila, it was the unresolved trauma from the events of the first book as well as some lingering feelings around her decision to leave Shady Palms at 18, as well as her decision to return.

Of particular emphasis, Lila never processed the death of her mother and all the feelings she still had about their relationship. Being involved with the beauty pageant brought back many memories for Lila and the pressure she felt from her mother. Through conversations with Tita Rosie, her friends, and therapy, Lila was able to work through many of her feelings.

As a result of that hard work, Blackmail and Bibingka brings back a much lighter tone to the series. Perhaps even lighter than the first book, Arsenic and Adobo! Some of that is because Lila has put in the work and is in a much better headspace than the previous book. In addition, Christmastime is all around Shady Palms and perhaps that Christmas spirit is truly making spirits bright!

My Thoughts

The festive holiday vibe was fun without being overbearing. A lot of the book centered more on the winter bash than Christmas, so this book would work any time of the year for most readers (or even for those who don’t prefer Christmas books). I enjoyed learning more about Filipino culture as well as some of their traditions or favorite activities (including a karaoke party!).

I was glad the Brew-ha Café had opened before this book began and was doing well, with a focus on growing their business and refining their offerings. Adeena, Lila, and Elena all contribute their own unique goods to the business, and the three are creatives so they are always thinking of new ideas and flavor combinations. It was fun to see Katie Pang around from the second book, as I definitely wanted to know how she was doing.

Lila is back to her feisty self here—fiercely protective of her Tita Rosie and tenacious when it comes to finding the truth. One thing I enjoy about this series is that Lila does a lot of the sleuthing herself, seeking out clues and conversations to help understand what happened. Some cozy mysteries show the lead conveniently stumbling across every clue, but Lila puts in the work with her sleuthing!

Ronnie is a piece of work and I was rooting for him (in part because I didn’t want him to continue to break Tita Rosie’s heart). Some readers felt Lila was too hard on him, but I don’t agree. Lila was essentially raised by her aunt and grandmother after the death of her parents, and they have welcomed her back and supported her during her darkest points. For Lila, seeing Ronnie charm his way out of the pain he caused them and expect everyone to forgive and forget without him offering more explanation was challenging. How do they know he won’t just leave again or continue to cause trouble like he did before?

Since many of the characters (including the victim and most of the alternate suspects) were from out of town, the book didn’t focus as much on the Shady Palms community and the characters we grew to love in the way I wanted. The focus was largely on the Shady Palms Winery crew and Lila’s family. While I love Lila’s family, I’ve been wanting to learn more about Shady Palms and catch up with the figures from the past.

Lila does include Sana and Yuki in her friend group, but those friendships felt a bit forced in this book and didn’t give the same pizazz as I expected. I miss her friendship with Adeena, which has changed some now that Adeena and Elena are in a relationship and are the third business partner. I was happy they got together and enjoy them both, but we don’t get moments between Adeena and Lila and their friendship the way we did in previous books.

The mystery was light and breezy, and I found myself pretty sure of who the most likely suspects were by midway through. What was fun about the mystery was uncovering what was going on with the victim, and what motives existed from those around her (and particularly the person behind it). I wish the mystery had been slightly more front and center, as it was balanced between lots of holiday activities that were fun but didn’t add as much to the book.

The food was the absolute star of this book! I was hungry throughout reading it and was glad Manansala continues to include recipes. There is a new brewery with Filipino fusion cuisine that opened in my town and I have already seen several takes on the dishes from the series on their menu. Don’t read this book hungry!

I enjoyed this book a lot, though it was my least favorite of the first three in the series if I had to rank them. I am excited for book four and I was glad Ronnie made his appearance (we heard about Ronnie in passing in other books so I was certain he would come back at some point). I’m hoping book four features a great mystery and returns to the Shady Palms roots!

An uplifting and fun cozy mystery that can be read alone or as part of the series. Catch you soon for my review of book four, Murder and Mamon!

About the Author | Mia P Manansala

Mia P. Manansala (MAH-nahn-sah-lah) (she/her) is a writer and book coach from Chicago who loves books, baking, and bad-ass women. She uses humor (and murder) to explore aspects of the Filipino diaspora, queerness, and her millennial love for pop culture.

She is the winner of the 2022 Anthony Award for Best First Novel, 2022 Macavity Award for Best First Novel, 2022 RUSA Reading List for Mystery, 2021 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, 2018 Hugh Holton Award, the 2018 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award, the 2017 William F. Deeck – Malice Domestic Grant for Unpublished Writers, and the 2016 Mystery Writers of America/Helen McCloy Scholarship. She was shortlisted for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery/Thriller and the 2021 CHIRBy Award for Fiction by the Chicago Review of Books. She’s also a 2017 Pitch Wars alum and 2018-2020 mentor.

A lover of all things geeky, Mia spends her days procrastibaking, playing JRPGs and dating sims, reading cozy mysteries and diverse romance, and cuddling her dogs Gumiho and Max Power.

Visit Mia’s author page to sign up for her newsletter, learn more about her books, get recipes, and see any upcoming events (I’m stalking it to find out if she will have a local book launch in Chicago for Murder and Mamon!).