Lana Lee and Megan are back once again to try and figure out who else could have killed Millie Mao. For Lana, that is hard to figure out, seeing that she needs to whittle herself through the long list of people. She is excellent at doing this with a typical case. This case is anything but ordinary for her to figure out. Lana is doing her best with all the clues that various people gave her. She is also trying to clear June's name from any wrongdoings.

The Mystery

Millie Mao is the victim, and under normal circumstances, the way she died could have been accidental. At the Asian Village, nothing is normal, especially when Lana is near the crime scene. Not only does Lana have her hands tied with trying to shift through the clues, but so does Adam. I have to admit that I guessed right the first time but talked myself out of it because I couldn't figure out the motive and thought it was stupid that the person I thought did it would do it. Then I thought I was right with another one, but the reason was weak. I applaud Ms. Chien for stumping me once again!

5 Stars

Killer Kung Pao by Vivien Chien is a great book that is entertaining and puzzling at the same time. Ms. Chien does a great job of making me feel bad for Lana regarding this new character in the village who doesn't like Lana. I am giving this five stars and recommending it to anyone that loves cozy culinary mysteries.

Other Books in the Series

You will find links to my reviews of these books near the top next to the book cover of Killer Kung Pao.

Coming out March 9, 2021

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Killer Kung Pao by Vivien Chien. Please stop by and check out my interview with Vivien Chien and enter the giveaway, HERE.

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove

annieb123

Written on Aug 25, 2020

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Killer Kung Pao is the 6th Noodle Shop mystery by Vivien Chien. Released 25th Aug 2020 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's Press imprint, it's 304 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a cozy series featuring a sweet heroine who is a manager of her family's Chinese restaurant. The main character is plucky and loyal but she's not too saccharine sweet or perfect. When faced with nasty racist meanness and attitude, she's not above a few sarcastic digs in her own defense. At the end of the day, she's a genuinely likeable protagonist and I've really enjoyed this series thus far.

The background story is well interwoven in the book, and it works as a standalone without needing to have read the previous books. (I can heartily recommend them as well, if you're looking for a new light cozy series to binge read)

It's a little longer than most cozies at over 300 pages but the plotting is tight and it doesn't drag. The clues are well interspersed in the narrative and the book follows the 'rules' for amateur detective fiction. Lately I've gotten my fill of southern catering homestyle bookmobile cat loving bakery shop ladies; this young woman with a great best friend, brightly colored changeable hair, and good relationship with her parents is such a breath of fresh air. There's a lot of warmth and humor here. The book is relatively clean, with only a sprinkling of 'hell' and 'damn' and nothing more objectionable than implied consensual overnight stays from her boyfriend (a police detective) in the book. Definitely safe-for-lunch reading at work.

It was a delight to read and I'll keep up with the series. Only downside, I've been craving noodles. I've gotten takeaway three times from my favorite Vietnamese restaurant after work in the last week! (They love me there).

Four stars, delightfully fun light cozy mystery.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.