Name: Blackmail and Bibingka
Rating: 3.272727272727273 (11 reviews)
ISBN: 9780593201718

Mia P. Manansala

Blackmail and Bibingka

Sarah Sammis

While not usually a fan of holiday themed books, the focus on Filipino traditions and recipes saved the mystery from falling into the usual Christmas sentimentality. I especially like how Lila works through updating recipes to work in her coffee shop to be both traditional tasting but also cross-culturally inviting.

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Charlsy Sekyere

⭐️1.5-2

I'm slowly becoming less interested in cozy mysteries. Although I wanted to like this book, I wasn't able to. Honestly, the series continues to get worse as the books go on, so I'm not certain I'll read the next book, either.

I didn’t find the plot to be particularly interesting and found it to be uneventful. As a result of the multiple side characters, I felt that there was little to no character depth, and the characters we have already been introduced to in the other two books in the series became one-dimensional and had no distinct characteristics that differentiated them from one another (I am referring specifically to the godmothers and aunts). Lastly, there was no mystery to the mystery; it was obvious from a mile away.

Despite all the flaws in this book, there is one thing it excels at: descriptions of the food mentioned. However, the food descriptions overpowered the plot, despite food playing a central role in the series. Everything else that makes a book excellent is poorly executed in this one.

With this book, I get the impression that the author just gave up when it came to writing a compelling cozy mystery, which is quite disheartening to say the least.

Nash

When her long-lost cousin comes back to town just in time for the holidays, Lila Macapagal knows that big trouble can’t be far behind in this new mystery by Mia P. Manansala, author of Arsenic and Adobo. It’s Christmastime in Shady Palms, but things are far from jolly for Lila Macapagal. Sure, her new business, the Brew-ha Cafe, is looking to turn a profit in its first year. And yes, she’s taken the first step in a new romance with her good friend Jae Park. But her cousin Ronnie is back in town after ghosting the family fifteen years ago, claiming that his recent purchase of a local winery shows that he’s back on his feet and ready to contribute to the Shady Palms community. Tita Rosie is thrilled with the return of her prodigal son, but Lila knows that wherever Ronnie goes, trouble follows. She’s soon proven right when Ronnie is suspected of murder, and secrets surrounding her shady cousin and those involved with the winery start piling up. Now Lila has to put away years of resentment and distrust to prove her cousin’s innocence. He may be a jerk, but he’s still family. And there’s no way her flesh and blood could actually be a murderer . . . right?

Blackmail and Bibingka

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