Review; Death by Dumpling (A Noodle Shop Mystery) by Vivien Chien

As some of you probably have figured out, I'm participating in a few reading challenges this year. Recently I've read Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien and it fits right into three challenges; Cloak and Dagger Mystery Challenge, Foodies Read Challenge and Platypire Diversity Challenge. Today I'll post my review of the book.

Description from Goodreads
Welcome to the Ho-Lee Noodle House, where the Chinese food is to die for. . .

The last place Lana Lee thought she would ever end up is back at her family’s restaurant. But after a brutal break-up and a dramatic workplace walk-out, she figures that a return to the Cleveland area to help wait tables is her best option for putting her life back together. Even if that means having to put up with her mother, who is dead-set on finding her a husband.

Lana’s love life soon becomes yesterday’s news once the restaurant’s property manager, Mr. Feng, turns up dead―after a delivery of shrimp dumplings from Ho-Lee. But how could this have happened when everyone on staff knew about Mr. Feng’s severe, life-threatening shellfish allergy? Now, with the whole restaurant under suspicion for murder and the local media in a feeding frenzy―to say nothing of the gorgeous police detective who keeps turning up for take-out―it’s up to Lana to find out who is behind Feng’s killer order. . . before her own number is up.

My Thoughts on the Book
Now, where to start on this novel as it's really good? It has self-depreciating humour, well written characters and a bit of complexity (at least by cosy mystery standards) that plays a bit on family secrets and other issues. Another big bonus with this cosy mystery is that the majority of the characters are Asian, as opposed to the majority of cosy mysteries that has mostly white characters. The downside, if you could call it that, is that I got a craving for Chinese takeaway. Could someone please give me some?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spotlight; Dancing in the Rain av Lucy Appadoo

Image
Can she end the turmoil and escape the firmly built trap to find the freedom she craves? Book Details: Book Title: Dancing in the Rain (The Italian Family Series) Author: Lucy Appadoo Category: Adult Fiction, 274 pages Genre: Historical Coming of Age/Romance/Family Drama Publisher: Lucy Appadoo Release date: March 24, 2017 Tour dates: June 5 to 23, 2017 Content Rating: PG-13 + M (There is physical abuse and death involved.) Book Description: Fifteen-year old Valeria Allegro works diligently on the family farm in Italy, where she is torn between her duty to her family and her desire to find freedom from her strict, domineering father. She finds solace in Dario, a young student who provides a blissful escape—until a neighbour’s son, Gregorio, decides he wants her for himself. This raises an alarm for her father, which leads to family conflict and aggression. When Dario is threatened and her family is plagued by a series of suspicious accidents, Vale...
Read more

Announcing the 2022 Diversity Reading Challenge

Image
As we're writing 2022 in two months, I figured out it was time to announce the 2022 Diversity Challenge. I've hosted it in 2019 and 2021, and decided to host it next year too. I’m not going to make any categories or levels for this challenge, as I want it to be a bit flexible. Read as many books as you feel like reading and yes, it can be children’s books, graphic novels, e-books, non-fiction, audio books, poetry and you-name-it. As it is a diversity reading challenge, it would be mean to exclude some types of reading materials, right? Now, what is diversity you might ask? What I mean by diversity is, but not limited to; People of colour/non-caucasian characters/authors Native Americans and other indigenous people LGBTQIA+ Authors/characters defining themselves as trans, intersex, genderfluid or similar Refugees Religious minorities Mental illnesses/disorders Neurodiversity (like ADD, Aspergers and autism) Feminist themes/issues Physical/mental disabilities Characters/authors w...
Read more

Announcing the 2025 Diversity Reading Challenge

Image
Even though I'm technically having a hiatus for my book blogging at the moment, I still wanted to announce the 2025 Diversity Reading Challenge, just in case anyone wanted to participate in it and start planning their TBR pile. I’m not going to make any categories or levels for this challenge, as I want it to be a bit flexible. Read as many books as you feel like reading and yes, it can be children’s books, graphic novels, e-books, non-fiction, audio books, poetry and you-name-it. As it is a diversity reading challenge, it would be mean to exclude some types of reading materials, right? Now, what is diversity you might ask? What I mean by diversity is, but not limited to; People of colour/non-caucasian characters/authors Native Americans and other indigenous people LGBTQIA+ Authors/characters defining themselves as trans, intersex, genderfluid or similar Refugees Religious minorities Mental illnesses/disorders Neurodiversity (like ADHD and autism) Feminist themes/issues Physical/m...
Read more