Fatal Fried Rice: A Noodle Shop Mystery

Vivien Chien

Mar 2021 · A Noodle Shop Mystery Book 7 · Sold by St. Martin's Paperbacks

About this ebook

Lana Lee returns for another delectable cozy set in a Chinese restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio in Vivien Chien's Fatal Fried Rice...

Lana Lee runs her family’s Chinese restaurant in Cleveland’s Asia Village like nobody’s business. When it comes to actual cooking, however, she’s known to be about a step up from boiling rice. So Lana decides to go to culinary school on the sly—and prove that she has what it takes in the kitchen after all. But when course instructor Margo Chan turns up dead after class, Lana suddenly finds herself on the case, frying pan in hand.

Since she was the one who discovered the body, Lana must do double duty in finding the killer and clearing her name. Now, with or without the help of her boyfriend Detective Adam Trudeau, Lana launches her own investigation into Margo’s life and mysterious death. Doing so leads her on a wild goose chase to and from the culinary school—and all the way back to the Ho-Lee noodle shop, where the guilty party may be closer than Lana thinks.

Ratings and reviews

Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien is the 7th book in A Noodle Shop Mystery series. This story can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. Lana Lee is the manager of her families’ restaurant, Ho Lee Noodle House in a suburb outside Cleveland, Ohio. Lana cannot cook Chinese food as everyone knows, but her sister’s relentless teasing has her signing up for classes at the local adult learning center. Lana does not want anyone in her family to know nor Peter who cooks at the restaurant. Unfortunately, Lana’s instructor ends up murdered. Detective Bishop of the Parma Police Department immediately suspects Lana as well as the janitor who heard Lana scream and called 9-1-1. Fatal Fried Rice is easy to read with an interesting cast of characters. I especially like Lana’s mother. The death of the cooking instructor, Margo Han is a frustrating one for Lana. Margo is a private person which makes it hard for her to find helpful information. I like that Kimmy Tran gets in on the investigation. She is bolder than Megan and Lana. There suspect list is miniscule. I found the mystery to be extremely simple (a child could solve this one). I was not a fan of Detective Bishop who is a one-dimensional cliché cozy mystery detective (the nasty guy who has his mind made up). There is a lack of action that makes the pace of Fatal Fried Rice slow. There is an action-packed ending with a good wrap-up. Fatal Fried Rice takes us through Lana’s daily activities (going to work, walking Kikko, spending time with Adam and Megan, and eating fast food). I like the concept for this cozy mystery series, and it is unique. It feels that Lana is unhappy with her job and bored. Maybe it is time for Lana to discover what sort of work will make her happy. I did not enjoy Fatal Fried Rice as much as other books in the series. I felt it needed to be fleshed out with a more complex mystery. There needed to be more action as well which would have increased the pacing. I also did not appreciate the foul language which increased toward the end. I hope Hot and Sour Suspects will be more entertaining. Fatal Fried Rice is a lighthearted cozy mystery with a Chinese cooking class, a cute Kikko, firm friends, a distasteful detective, and a curious crime.

amateur-sleuth, Chinese culture, Chinese customs, Cleveland, cozy-mystery, family-dynamics, friendship, law-enforcement, lawyers, murder, murder-investigation, restaurant, suspense, suspicion, situational-humor, verbal-humor***** I so much want the characters to be real and go to the Noodle Shop the next time I go to Cleveland! The characters and other descriptions are so realistic (even the nasty police detective) and the interactions are definitely true to life. And don't forget the laughs! The murder happens very early and is almost locked room in nature. Lana does more due diligence than detective Grumpy Pants and that is good for us readers. This is not one of those stories where the recipes come first and the mystery is a poor second but a real cozy mystery and I loved it! I requested and received a free ebook copy from St Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

About the author

VIVIEN CHIEN (she/her) was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio where she grew up in a mixed-race home, making for some very interesting cultural experiences. She found her love of books and the written word at an early age while writing short stories about her classmates in elementary school. When she’s not writing, Vivien enjoys frequenting local Asian restaurants, frolicking in bookstores, and searching for her next donut.

She is the author of the Noodle Shop Mystery series, including Death by Dumpling.