Book Summary
Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien has
Lana Lee taking a Chinese cooking class at Barton’s Adult Learning Center. Her sister’s constant teasing about her lack
of skills in this department forced Lana to secretly register for the
class. After the first class, Lana drove
away without the grocery list and returns to the classroom. She finds the instructor, Margo Han on the
floor with a knife in her back.
Detective Bishop of the Parma PD is assigned the case and he is suspicious
of Lana. Knowing that Detective Bishop
has her at the top of the suspect list, Lana with help from her roommate and
best friend, Megan begins asking questions and assembling a list of
suspects. Someone, though, is not happy
with Lana’s snooping and sends her a warning.
Lana will not be deterred and returns to the learning center to confront
who she is certain is the guilty party. Can
Lana get a confession, or will she be taking cooking lessons from the prison cook?
My Thoughts
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.
Fatal Fried Rice can be purchased from Amazon*. You can find the other six novels in A Noodle Shop Mystery series here. The next book in A Noodle Shop Mystery series is Hot and Sour Suspects which publishes August 24. Thank you for reading my review. Tomorrow I am featuring A Deadly Chapter by Essie Lang. It is the 3rd A Castle Bookshop Mystery. I do hope that you have a magical day. Take care, be kind, and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
*This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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