August 23, 2020

Series Sunday: Killer Kung Pao

(Noodle Shop #6) 


Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.

My Series Sunday pick is Killer Kung Pao, the sixth book in the Noodle Shop mystery series by Vivien Chien. Once again, you did not read wrong. No, you did not miss the first four book reviews of this series because I am going about this backward. This is actually just the second book of this series that I have read and reviewed but more about that later.

"Was it my lifelong dream to end up working for my parents and to leave work smelling like sweet and sour sauce on a daily basis? No." ~ 1%

Welcome to Ho-Lee Noodle House, a Chinese restaurant located in Cleveland, Ohio. Lana Lee is the manager of this family-owned restaurant and feeling stressed. Between organizing a sidewalk sale in the Asia Village, being a soundboard to ere'body and being overworked, she is beyond tired. Lana Lee does not have time to solve yet another local murder. But she's good at it.

June Yi is co-owner of Yi's Tea and Bakery. No one wants to get on her bad side. But she meets her match when she rear-ends mahjong player, Mildred Mao, in the Asia Village parking lot. Mildred can be a little sue-crazy so she demands that June Yi pay up, or else she will sue June Yi for everything she's got—including the bakery. So when Mildred is electrocuted while having a foot bath, guess who the main suspect is? Of course it is up to Lana Lee to figure out whodunit. 

"There are no Nancy Drew tendencies." ~ 16%

Being a Midwest resident, I know that Cleveland is not a small town. Yet the Asia Village is a small community of business owners and a tight circle. Everyone knows everyone and there are many connections, which makes the list of suspects long. Author Vivien Chien expertly throws clues and curveballs to throw the reader off and keep the mystery going. What began as a fender bender turned into a murder that kept Lane Lee on her amateur sleuth toes. What a whirlwind!

Even after reading Killer Kung Pao, this series has yet to wow me. But I like the main character, her police officer boyfriend, her bartender bestie and the close-knit Asian community. So now I will finally start this series from the very beginning. In case you missed it, check out last week's book review of Egg Drop Dead, the previous book in the Noodle Shop mystery series. As for the others, stay tuned!

Happy Early Pub Day, Vivien Chien! Killer Kung Pao will be available Tuesday, August 25.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Author: Vivien Chien
Published: August 2020
Pages: 304
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤

 

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