A review by peggyemi
Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien

4.0

The Noodle Shop Mysteries have become one of my favorite cozy mystery series and I look forward to each new book. Fatal Fried Rice did not disappoint. I love Lana Lee. She has a great personality and a penchant for finding dead bodies even in the most innocent circumstances. This time around, Lana decides to take a Chinese cooking class in secret to surprise her family. She's embarrassed that she managers a Chinese restaurant and can't cook the food. Unfortunately, the surprise is on Lana; when she goes back to class after forgetting something she finds the body of her teacher, stabbed in the back. I liked that at first, Lana was showing restraint and was not going to nose around this murder. That changes when she becomes one of the prime suspects.

I like the mystery. It kept me guessing and Ms. Chien did not make it easy to settle on who I thought would be the culprit. I was a little annoyed that the police detective assumed she was the murder just because she found the body. It was his attitude that ultimately led Lana to dig deeper into this mystery. In a nice change of pace, Kimmy Tran works with Lana to help unravel the clues and unmask the murderer. The reveal was surprising (to me anyway) and climactic.

This is such a fun series. It is well written, has likable characters, and the mystery just draws me into each story. I will be returning t the Noodle Shop and Lana Lee for as long as Ms. Chien continues to write these stories.

I voluntarily read a digital advanced review copy provided to me by the publisher, St. Martin's Press, through Netgalley.