Hot Pot Murder (LA Night Market, #2)

by Jennifer J. Chow

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Hot Pot Murder is the second LA Night Market shopfront foodie cozy mystery by Jennifer J. Chow. Released 6th June 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 284 pages and is available in mass market paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is an interesting "buddy" investigation where the two main protagonists couldn't be more different. They're cousins, shy bookish Yale and her flashy outgoing influencer cousin Celine, who got into hijinks together on a visit from Hong Kong in book one. It's not long until murder intrudes again, and the cousins decide to play amateur sleuth (again). The story is engaging and told well, but the pacing is occasionally odd and uneven. That being said, the story is fun, and the denouement, reveal, and resolution are satisfying and well crafted. The cousins seem to be finding their footing and developing into a good team.

Being a cozy, it's blissfully free of graphic violence, bad language, or sexual content. There were a couple bits of clunky dialogue, but they're happily few and far between. The author has included some recipes in the back of the book which are simple and authentic.

Four stars, with good characters and a well crafted story. A good choice for public library acquisition, as well as for fans of shopfront food cozies. It would make a good choice for a mini binge/buddy read
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.