Death By Dumpling (Noodle Shop Mystery, #1)

by Vivien Chien

Lana Lee never thought she'd be stuck working at the family restaurant in her late twenties, but here she is, wiping down tables sticky with the remnants of General Tso's chicken. But after a messy breakup and a dead-end job, she figured working at the Ho-Lee Noodle House wouldn't be too bad, right? The charming shopping plaza, Asia Village, is where Lana spent most of her childhood and although she'd rather avoid it for that specific reason; she agrees to work full-time at the restaurant until a better prospect of employment comes along.

Things seem to be going smoothly enough until one of the property managers of the shopping plaza, Thomas Feng, is found dead in his office. Unfortunately, for Lana and the restaurant's head chef, the death looks like murder, and the murder weapon looks like dumplings from none other than the Ho-Lee Noodle House. While the dumplings look innocent enough, it's what's on the inside that counts, which is pork and shrimp, a deadly combination for Thomas, who everyone knows suffers from a severe shellfish allergy. The police immediately suspect Lana's family, and now, with her parents' restaurant at stake, she sees no other option but to figure out what really happened to Thomas, and why.

• ISBN10: 1432866850
• ISBN13: 9781432866853
• Publish Date: 28 August 2019 (first published 1 May 2018)
• Publish Status: Withdrawn
• Out of Print: 16 April 2021
• Imprint: Thorndike Press Large Print
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 390
• Language: English

Reviews

[Baroness Book Trove]

Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien is a fantastic first book to this great series. Ms. Chien did an outstanding job.

Can Lana figure out who killed Mr. Feng?

Lana Lee

Lana Lee is our sleuth and only point of view character. She is an excellent sleuth, and I am amazed to read about a 27-year-old sleuth as that is the same age as me. Lana is still living with her roommate and best friend Megan but is sadly working at her parent's restaurant because she needs a job. She is also still dealing with a recent breakup, but she is getting over it. Lana is a strong character, and I loved reading from her point of view. The way she goes about solving the mystery was pretty great.

The Mystery

Thomas Feng was the property manager of Asia Village in Fairview Park, Ohio, and he died from an allergic reaction to shrimp dumplings. Lana and their cook, Peter, are the police's prime suspects. So, of course, Lana decides to clear their names by solving the mystery of who would kill Mr. Feng. Wow was there a lot of red herrings and a lot of different clues. I missed the culprit by a lot until Lana remembered something, and then it clicked in mine as well. Be careful of those red herrings; they are everywhere!

5 Stars

Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien was a great book and kept me guessing the entire time. I swear all those suspects were good. Ms. Chien did a fantastic job, and I can't wait to read more from her. She has a great first book in her hands for this series. I am giving this book five stars and recommending it to everyone that loves to read cozy mysteries. I am still happy to see a sleuth that is the same age as me, as it makes it even cooler to read for me.

Other Books in the Series

 

Coming out March 9, 2021

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien. Look for my interview with her sometime Wednesday!

Until the next time,



Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Death By Dumpling is the first book in the Noodle Shop mysteries by Vivien Chien. Due out 27th March, 2018 from St. Martin's Press, it's 352 pages and available in ebook and paperback formats.
I'm a huge fan of cozies and this one is lovely.

I was surprised that this is apparently a first book release for this author; she has a confident and comfortable voice. I enjoyed the plotting and characterizations very much. It doesn't often happen that an a series finds its way right out of the starting gate. This one delivers.

The length is a little longer than most cozies at over 350 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 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 in the book. Definitely safe-for-lunch reading at work.

It was a delight to read and I'll definitely be back for a second helping (the second book, Dim Sum of All Fears is due out in August 2018). Only downside, I've been craving noodles. I've gotten takeaway sesame pho three times from my favorite Vietnamese restaurant after work in the last week!

Five stars, delightfully fun light cozy mystery.

Disclosure: I received an electronic-ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.

[Mystereity Reviews]

What a charming book! This will definitely appeal to any cozy mystery reader, but I can see it being a hit with younger readers (and by younger, I mean younger than my creaky middle aged bones! Young people in their 20s or perhaps even teenagers (there's no bad language or sexual situations) would really like this.) With a sprinkle of romance, a bit of intrigue, adorable characters, a cute setting and a captivating mystery, what more can you ask for in a cozy? The Asian venue was a fresh and unique setting for the mystery. This isn't your average everyday cozy!

I loved Lana and her roommate Megan, they made a great team and their enthusiasm caught me up and rolled me right along with them. The cute Asia Village plaza with its Chinese shops sounds like such a great place to visit and browse for a day. Is this a real thing? Is there an Asia Village I can visit somewhere? Hmmm. And the plot! All the twists and turns and red herrings kept me guessing and I was completely turned around upside down by the time I got to the exciting ending. Can't wait to read more from Lana and the gang!