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.

Series: Noodle Shop Mystery – Book #7
Author: Vivien Chien
Genre/Category: Cozy – Business/Culinary
Publisher: St. Martin’s
Page Count: 320

Rating:

Lana is one of those characters that you either love or hate; there is no in-between. In the newest installment, Fatal Fried Rice, fans will love Lana and hate her at the same time. Managing a Chinese restaurant isn’t precisely non-stop action, and Lana can’t cook, so she is determined to learn and put a bit more life into her day-to-day work. Once again, she finds a body, and once again, she sticks her nose in a murder investigation even though she shouldn’t. Yes, she found the body, but there is no evidence suggesting that she even knew the victim previously, so why would anyone think she killed her cooking teacher? There are plenty of suspects for readers to question, and the evidence is easy to follow. Even without, or despite Lana’s interference, the killer will be caught.

Unfortunately, this addition to the series isn’t a strong entry. The characters are okay, but none are very likable. The restaurant and the plaza, which have been the main focus in previous books, play a minimal role in this one; this actually hurts the story rather than helps it. Having Lana not be able to make something as simple as fried rice is not believable. Her family’s Chinese restaurant has been around a long time; wouldn’t someone have taught her how to make this staple dish by now?

The killer is not hidden, I knew who it was the moment the character was introduced. The resolution of the case is brought about almost by accident and happenstance and isn’t very satisfying. Some subplots were interesting and could have been explored at greater length to give the story more substance. Some of the supporting characters are becoming tiresome and detract from the main story. Overall, I have enjoyed other books in this series far more than this one. Fatal Fried Rice has some interesting scenes but isn’t anything to get overly excited about. I love Chinese food, and the setting of this series has always been intriguing and mouth-watering, but this book misses the mark. I recommend that readers who are new to this series start with the first book and not delve into this latest one until they know a bit of the character’s background and the main premise.

Some fun food-based cozies readers may enjoy are Alex Erickson’s cafe/book series “A Bookstore Cafe Mystery” or Lena Gregory’s scrumptious “All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery” series.

About the Author:

Vivien Chien first started writing simple stories about adventures with her classmates when she was in elementary school. As she grew up, her love of books and the written word increased, leading to the attempt of her first novel at age 16. After many struggled beginnings and several different genres, she found her passion in the mystery world.

When she’s not writing, she can be found frolicking in the bookstore or searching for her next bowl of noodles. She has a soft spot for doughnuts, a healthy love for coffee, and an extreme need to participate in random acts of crafting.

She currently lives in Cleveland, where she is hard at work on the fifth book in her Noodle Shop series and writes side-by-side with her toy fox terrier.

Represented by the Talbot Fortune Agency.

Contact Vivien: