That tight knitted, adorable Filipino family, eccentric calendar girls are back with another smart cozy murder mystery that brings back our favorite characters and lots of mouth watering food descriptions and recipes! I cannot get enough of the series! These books are addictive!

New story takes place at Christmas time: Lila’s most special holiday. But her holiday spirit is about to get damaged by her estranged cousin Ronnie’s sudden return to the town after 15 years. He’s the prodigal son of Tita Rosie who showed up on her doorstep like nothing had
happened, saying he'd bought a winery just outside of town and would be staying
in Shady Palms for the foreseeable future.

Of course Tita Rosie is overjoyed with her son’s moving back to town but unfortunately Lila doesn’t share the same feelings especially after Tita Rosie got a blackmail letter telling her son involved something shady in Key West.

Lila joins Tita Rosie for touring at the Winery and learn more what her cousin is hiding from them.

She meets with Ronnie’s partners Izzy and Pete, assistant twins Quentin and Olivia. At the same time Ronnie’s investor Denise Sutton pays a visit with her fiancé Xander Cruz. Their joyful meeting and celebrating cut abruptly when Denise starts vomiting. They think that’s a regular alcohol poisoning but as soon as they take Denise hospital, her condition gets deteriorated. She dies! And doctors think something is not quite right so they make extra tests that shows somebody poisoned Denise!

Detective Park returns back to investigate the murder mystery and Ronnie is interrogated as one of the prime suspects.

Why somebody tried to kill Denise? She was the main investor of Ronnie’s business?

Thankfully Lila is ready to sharpen her detective skills. She was already wrongly accused in the past and she is determined enough not one of her family members will share the same fate with her!

The book started a little slow but the complex mystery and the back story of the crime developed brilliantly.

I wish Lila and Jae would spend more time together. They’re adorable!

Overall: another enjoyable, smart cozy mystery I devoted in one sitting. And I’m urgently driving extra 20 miles to go to Filipino restaurant for trying its famous Bibingka after the author’s delicious descriptions. I’m extra hungry now!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Agatha Award-winning author Mia P. Manansala takes readers back to Shady Palms, Illinois for a third mystery filled will family crisis and drama in Blackmail and Bibingka. As in Manansala’s previous mysteries, it’s also filled with Filipino foods, customs, and, most important, family.

Lila Macapagal is suspicious when her cousin Ronnie shows up after a fifteen year absence. He broke his mother’s heart when he left town suddenly. Ronnie always was in trouble, and Lila fears he’s going to break Tita Rosie’s heart again. He’s as cocky as he always was. He and his business partners are going to open a winery in town, and one of their wines will be a Filipino favorite. Even Tita Rosie is worried because she’s received a blackmail text on her phone saying Ronnie and his partners have blood on their hands. The blackmailer wants $50,000. So, Tita Rosie asks her niece, Lila, to check on Ronnie and his business.

As usual, Ronnie tries to throw his weight around, and asks the family for favors they can’t do for his investors. It’s almost Christmas, and they’re all planning for the town’s winter bash. Tita Rosie has a restaurant to run, and Lila is co-owner of Brew-ha Cafe. They can’t just close up and entertain on Ronnie’s whim. But, they do offer to take food out to the winery for Ronnie’s investors. So, Lila is there when one of the investors collapses. And, she understands why Ronnie and his partners are questioned about murder.

Despite Ronnie’s treatment of his mother, Lila can’t turn down her aunt. She’s investigated murders before. Although she’s not a fan of her cousin’s, she doesn’t want to see Tita Rosie crushed. With Detective Park recusing himself from the case because of his close connection to the entire family, Lila is going to use her baking skills, her friends, and even her dachshund to work her way into the investigation. When it comes to family, Lila has a way of finding answers.

Despite the blackmail and murder in the book, the latest in the series isn’t as dark as the previous one, Homicide and Halo Halo. In fact, there’s a lightness to the book that was lacking in both of the previous ones, even the award-winning debut, Arsenic and Adobo. Perhaps it’s due to the Christmas setting. Perhaps it’s family. But, I think Lila, and the author, are a little more comfortable in their lives right now. I’m looking forward to the fourth book in the series, a series that emphasizes friendship and family and food. This series is a treat.

I liked the growth of all the characters in this story. The last book was rather dark and kept everyone in stasis, but this book made the relationships a bit clearer. The plot was intriguing -- though I wish there had been some more time devoted to throwaway mentions, like Katie's current situation and Terrence's fiance's -- but it was overall enjoyable and I can't wait to read more.

LOVE this cozy mystery series and looking forward to many more books written by Mia P. Manansala!! This one introduces the readers to Lila's cousin, Ronnie, who hasn't been back to Shady Palms n over 10 years. Ronnie purchased a winery in Shady Palms, but everything goes sideways when one of his investors die out of suspicious circumstances. Unfortunately, Ronnie quickly becomes a suspect, but luckily Lila is on the case!!

Like the other books in the series, I loved the third installment in the Tia Rosie's Kitchen series. It was a lot of fun to read and figure out "who dun it?"

The third book in the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery was a bit slower than the previous 2 novels. I felt the characters didn’t interact as much and some of the relationships felt like they had developed from book 2 to book 3 without the readers knowledge. Overall it was my least favorite of the series so far.

Lila's cousin Ronnie, the troublemaker that hasn't been seen for 15 years, is back in Shady Palms, and he's opening a winery. He introduces his family to the investors, but when one of them dies under suspicious circumstances. Lila and her friends are determined to help find the guilty party. Could it be one of the investors or their staff? Or even Cousin Ronnie? I enjoyed reading about this likable close-knit family, and all of their friends, and about the Filipino food (recipes included) and culture. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this advance copy.

Lila is back in this third installment of the Tita Rosie's Kitchen mysteries.

Lila is preparing her cafe for the holiday season. She is getting ready for the big town Winter Bash and is coming up with new recipes. Unexpectedly, her cousin Ronnie comes back into town after being gone for many years. He and his business partners have decided to reopen the Shady Palms Winery. Ronnie had caused a lot of trouble for the family in the past, so Lila is hesitant of his return. Right after he arrives, his mother, Tita Rosie, receives a blackmail letter saying that Ronnie's past will be revealed unless she pays $25,000. Lila and Rosie then pay a visit to the winery to see what is really going on. After a mysterious death of one of the investors, Lila is on the case to once again clear her family name and get to the bottom of the mystery.

I absolutely loved this book. Once again, this is another fun cozy mystery filled with delicious food that I want to try. I loved this cozy wintertime mystery and cannot wait for future books.

I just love this series. As a fellow millennial, I appreciate the slang, pop culture references, and devotion to friendship the author includes in this series. I can’t wait for more from Lila and all of her friends and family.

I really enjoyed this third book of the series. These are a great balance of delicious foodie culture and a good murder mystery. There is a lot more depth than many of the typical cozy food mysteries. Can't wait for book 4!

Full review posted to links after embargo date.

I love this series so much - it’s funny, it’s thoughtful, it’s fantastic. I think the last book in this series was doing so much thoughtful work about policing and trauma and bodies, and I just… wish that had been brought through to this book. It was still a delightful read, but compared to Homicide and Halo-Halo, it just isn’t working the same way.

Lila is so fun, all her recipes sound great, and I can’t wait to continue reading and cooking along with her. At this point, Manansala is an auto-buy!

If you like cozy mysteries, their pacing, their tropes, this is a great series. I guess I just don't really like cozy mysteries.

This is a great series and the author has really polished up her writing: the level of detail is consistent throughout the book (it's incredibly detailed, like, the character used an oven mitt to put the cookies in the oven, set the timer, turned and said...) and the passage of time was reflected better in this book than the previous book in the series.

One thing that stood out to me, which I don't remember from previous book in the series, was a heavy sprinkling of slang, including "sus," "don't @ me," "[x] AF" and others. It maybe makes sense if the series is being heavily marketed to new/New Adult readers just coming into the genre, but it feels like it will date the book faster.

eARC from NetGalley.