Egg Drop Dead (Noodle Shop Mystery)

by Vivien Chien

When Donna Feng enlists Lana Lee and the rest of Ho-Lee Noodle House to cater a dinner party at her home for some of her family and prestigious friends, Lana is happy to accept. The summer months can be slow at Asia Village, so this will bring a much-needed boost to the budget.

The dinner party goes off without a hitch - though there is a strange moment when Donna explodes at her live-in nanny. The next day the nanny is found dead, and Donna Feng - along with some of her guests - is suspected of foul play. Before the police arrived, however, Donna found a piece of evidence at the crime scene that causes her to believe the nanny's murder was a message for her: a mysterious thumb-drive shaped like a terracotta soldier. Donna entrusts the evidence to Lana, along with the secrets it contains. Once again, it's up to Lana to catch a killer.

Then, a fire at the Feng residence puts Donna and her family in the hospital, and tensions rise for the amateur sleuth and her best friend, Megan Riley. Lana and Megan ping pong back and forth between the guests at the party, a potential hit man, or the possibility that Donna Feng has truly lost her mind.

• ISBN10: 1432881760
• ISBN13: 9781432881764
• Publish Date: 25 November 2020 (first published 1 March 2020)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 26 March 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Thorndike Press Large Print
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 413
• Language: English

Reviews

[Baroness Book Trove]

Egg Drop Dead by Vivien Chien shows that keeping secrets about your past isn't a great thing to do.

Can Lana figure out who killed the nanny?

Lana Lee and friends

Lana Lee and her friends are back with another fantastic adventure for us. I love Lana in this installment, but all I have to say is that I feel bad for Adam a bit. Lana is still a strong person that has done a lot of things that have helped her out through this trying year. Her detecting skills are definitely improving since the first book, and I love that they are since it brings in more character growth for her, even if she doesn't want to be a private investigator. Megan sadly isn't in here very much, which is kind of unfortunate since I love her as a character. I do have to say poor Adam. One can truly see how much he cares for Lana, but she is making it hard for him when she doesn't answer his messages.

The Mystery

At Donna Feng's birthday party, her nanny is found dead in her pool. Well, toward the end of the party, she was found, and of course, Donna has asked Lana to look into it. Let's just say that this whole mystery is one topsy turvy roller coaster ride for Lana to figure out. I was shocked about who killed her, but I had one part right, but I couldn't connect the two dots. Ms. Chien has crafted another excellent cozy.

Five Stars

Egg Drop Dead by Vivien Chien is another excellent book from this author. I love this series, including Lana. Her new/old character in Lydia is a hoot to read about in Lana's point of view. I do hope that Ms. Chien can do something with her at some point. I am giving this book five stars and recommending it to anyone that likes a good cozy mystery series like this one. In fair warning, though, you will be craving lots of noodles while reading this series!

Other Books in the Series

 

You will find links to my reviews of these books near the top next to the book cover of Egg Drop Dead.

Coming out March 9, 2021

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Egg Drop Dead 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]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Egg Drop Dead is the 5th Noodle Shop mystery by Vivien Chien. Due out 25th Feb 2020 from Macmillan on their St. Martin's imprint, it's 320 pages and will be available in ebook and paperback formats.

This is a well written and plotted series with appealing characters and a fun cozy vibe. With this, the fifth, book, the returning characters are more fleshed out and three dimensional and main character Lana Lee is a mix of feisty, vulnerable, and sweet. There were admittedly a few places in the story which had me smacking my forehead at her naiveté, but there weren't all that many.

Although it's the 5th book in the series, the author is quite adept at weaving the necessary backstory into the narrative and it works perfectly well as a standalone. I enjoyed finding out more about family friend Donna Feng and her family's shady past. There is nothing triggering or violent (apart from the requisite murders, which are not graphic), and the language is clean (apart from a few mild curse words) and there's no sexual content other than a few chaste kisses.

The plot and revolving characters center around a fictive Chinese shopping area called Asia Village where Lana manages her family's restaurant. The only thing which really required massive amounts of suspension of disbelief for me at this point in the series is the staggering statistical improbability of all these murders happening in the same area with the same extended families and being (mostly) unconnected. I really -love- Chinese cuisine from all areas of China, and I think even I would be wary of eating there. She's like the Asian version of Jessica Fletcher.

Well written and fun. I have enjoyed the series.

Four stars.

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