Blackmail and Bibingka

Readers could jump straight into Manansala’s latest installment in the “Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries” series (after Homicide and Halo-Halo and Arsenic and Adobo) without reading the prior novels, but they’d be missing the special joy of experiencing the growing community of Shady Palms. This book finds Lila Macapagal caught up in another mystery, this time trying to prove her cousin, Ronnie, innocent of murder. Fans will immediately feel immersed in the family and friends of the series, happy to see characters from earlier novels firmly a part of the fold. Manansala’s diverse cast of characters and their appreciation of one another’s cultures—and food!—make Shady Palms a most welcome place. Series narrator Danice Cabanela honors Manansala’s warm Filipino American community with her narration. Throughout the series she’s created voices so memorable that the first time each character speaks, it feels like unexpectedly encountering an old friend. Well, an old friend whose long-lost cousin may have committed murder. Around the sleuthing there are chuckles and discussions of food that will have listeners immediately searching for nearby places where they can taste such wonders.