January 24, 2021

Series Sunday: Fatal Fried Rice

(Noodle Shop Mystery #7) 


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 Fatal Fried Rice, the seventh book in the Noodle Shop Mystery series by Vivien Chien. Forget the noodles; fried rice is on the plate for this new cozy mystery set in a Cleveland, Ohio Chinese restaurant. Lana Lee runs the family business but the closest she gets to cooking is boiling rice, not actually frying it. She decides to go to culinary school. But when Lana Lee finds the class instructor dead, she must clear her name and find the killer.

"It's so interesting how fear seems more pressing in the early morning hours, and then with the light of day, safety and a sense of security return." ~ 68%

I love a good cozy! All I need on any given Sunday is a mystery, a hot cup of tea, sherpa-lined socks and fleece pajamas. Fatal Fried Rice was my latest guest and oh was it worth my time. The narration is relatable as if I'm chatting with a friend. When Lana Lee is going through her thought process or figuring out clues with the help of friends, I feel like I'm right there. 

What I loved most is there are no filler chapters or unnecessary details to throw readers off. Nowadays, mysteries tend to over-explain and bog pages down with needless information. I appreciate how Vivien Chien didn't try to confuse readers but stuck to the entertaining sleuth story. She inserted just enough suspects and revealed the mystery in due time. At around 84%, I still couldn't guess who the killer was so I was surprised when it unfolded down to the last pages.

"Lest you forget, we're women of action." ~ 11%

Normally series are read in chronological order. However, I am fairly new to the Noodle Shop Mystery series and jumped at the opportunity to read the new installment in advance. Reading lucky #7 only makes me want to catch up even more. And I am happy to see book #8 will be released this August. Looking forward to more of Lana Lee!

Happy Early Pub Day, Vivien Chien! Fatal Fried Rice will be available Tuesday, March 9.

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: March 2021
Pages: 320
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

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