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A review by spyralnode
Hot Pot Murder by Jennifer J. Chow
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I sadly didn't think that this second volume of the installment was as good as the first. It tries hard to keep a similar pace, create intrigue and sprinkle clues throughout the scenes, but it doesn't pull through unfortunately.
From the very beginning the prose is clunky. In general I don't like the way many authors re-establish context in the further volumes of a book, the details don't fit into the prose seamlessly and read as if they have been added on top, interrupting the flow of the narrative. The same happens here, with reminders like what the Chinese elements are when Yale, the main character, mentions how she has always connected more with water.
In 'Hot Pot Murder', the events take place during a meeting of the Asian American Restaurant Owner Association at Mrs. Ho's establishment. While fetching a second power extender, the president of the association is electrocuted and dies, with the extender previously sitting next to the sink and having gotten wet.
In reading this, the weaknesses in the author's prose have become stark. The characters are underdeveloped with a lot of their dialogue being so similar to each other that it's hard to distinguish their voices, particularly new ones like Trisha and Misty. These characters are introduced with a lot more rapidity and less nuance than previously, and they haven't been given as much care in order to make them stand out.
This, plus the fact that there are very few details about the victim both before and after the murder, made me not care about what I was reading. I wasn't feeling committed to avenging him (in fact I'm writing this review after barely finishing the book and all I remember from his name is that it starts with a J), or blaming anyone because they didn't leave me with strong impressions. In a cosy mystery, a lot of this sense of warm is brought by wholesome characters and wholesome interactions, and here everything was resolved quickly, without that depth of emotion that I know for a fact Jennifer J. Chow can do.
Similarly disappointing was also more modest detail about the dishes that appear. 'Death by Bubble Tea' featured scrumptions descriptions about every food and drink that appeared, and something I found particularly interesting was also that with many of them the author discussed how their provenance has become murky in time, whether they are originally from Hong Kong or Taiwan for example. But in this book there is far less of that level of deliciousness. There's a wee bit about chai and xiao long bao, but those were the only memorable ones really.
This could've been sweet.
From the very beginning the prose is clunky. In general I don't like the way many authors re-establish context in the further volumes of a book, the details don't fit into the prose seamlessly and read as if they have been added on top, interrupting the flow of the narrative. The same happens here, with reminders like what the Chinese elements are when Yale, the main character, mentions how she has always connected more with water.
In 'Hot Pot Murder', the events take place during a meeting of the Asian American Restaurant Owner Association at Mrs. Ho's establishment. While fetching a second power extender, the president of the association is electrocuted and dies, with the extender previously sitting next to the sink and having gotten wet.
In reading this, the weaknesses in the author's prose have become stark. The characters are underdeveloped with a lot of their dialogue being so similar to each other that it's hard to distinguish their voices, particularly new ones like Trisha and Misty. These characters are introduced with a lot more rapidity and less nuance than previously, and they haven't been given as much care in order to make them stand out.
This, plus the fact that there are very few details about the victim both before and after the murder, made me not care about what I was reading. I wasn't feeling committed to avenging him (in fact I'm writing this review after barely finishing the book and all I remember from his name is that it starts with a J), or blaming anyone because they didn't leave me with strong impressions. In a cosy mystery, a lot of this sense of warm is brought by wholesome characters and wholesome interactions, and here everything was resolved quickly, without that depth of emotion that I know for a fact Jennifer J. Chow can do.
Similarly disappointing was also more modest detail about the dishes that appear. 'Death by Bubble Tea' featured scrumptions descriptions about every food and drink that appeared, and something I found particularly interesting was also that with many of them the author discussed how their provenance has become murky in time, whether they are originally from Hong Kong or Taiwan for example. But in this book there is far less of that level of deliciousness. There's a wee bit about chai and xiao long bao, but those were the only memorable ones really.
This could've been sweet.