In Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala, there is a mysterious death in the small town of Shady Palms, where Lila co-owns a coffee shop with her best friends, specializing in creative baking and coffee with Filipino influences. Her family’s Filipino restaurant happens to be next door, providing an easy hangout spot to gather and eat and gossip about town business. A reconnection in the family turns out to be suspicious, as expected, when Lila’s cousin, Ronnie, returns home after being away for 15 years.
Ronnie returned to town after leaving without as much as a word to start a winery with his business partners. Lila and the family pick up on some weird energy as it comes to light that Ronnie’s investor is dead, having been poisoned through some of the company’s wine. What once looked like a chance to rebuild trust and connection is now convoluted with finding the truth of what happened and why Ronnie came back, with Ronnie’s family trying to support him while seeking to understand the other trouble he is in and solve this murder mystery.
One of the most enjoyable things about the experience of reading this young-adult novel is the way Manansala is able to make the reader imagine the smells and tastes of these recipes Lila and her business partner come up with. Infusing calamansi, ube, salabat into desserts and coffee … I found myself wishing I had a beverage and snack from Lila’s Brew-ha Cafe the entire time I was reading. On top of fiending for a sweet treat, as the reader, I felt fully drawn in as the characters made progress in their investigations, either professionally through the police or on their own time as family and friends, into the murder Ronnie is suspected of.
There was such suspense waiting to know more that at the end of each chapter, it wasn’t easy to put the book down. The exciting way that Manansala writes, while taking us on detours to imagine a snack, visualize dogs hanging out in a café, or picture family passing around traditional Filipino dishes, makes this book an energizing and tasty, suspenseful read. Manansala encourages the reader to think about so many complex facts of life, such as what “family” means and what healing can look like in different relationship dynamics. The reader will find themselves shocked many times throughout the book, questioning what else there is to know about the characters and the history between people, perhaps what they’re hiding. As I’d hope for any reader, the imagination will also go toward what something might taste like or look like prepared on the table.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for something exciting to read. Folks wanting to know more about Filipino foods and traditions will find this book interesting in the way it helps them imagine new flavor profiles and the smells of the different foods. I found this to be an easy and fun read, and I look forward to reading other novels from Manansala.
