Welcome back to Ho-Lee Noodle House, where you can get fantastic take-out. . .unless you get taken out first.
Lana Lee is a dutiful daughter, waiting tables at her family’s Chinese restaurant even though she’d rather be doing just about anything else. Then, just when she has a chance for a “real” job, her parents take off to Taiwan, leaving Lana in charge. Surprising everyone—including herself—she turns out to be quite capable of running the place. Unfortunately, the newlyweds who just opened the souvenir store next door to Ho-Lee have turned up dead. . .and soon Lana finds herself in the midst of an Asia Village mystery.
Between running the Ho-Lee and trying to figure out whether the rock-solid Detective Adam Trudeau is actually her boyfriend, Lana knows she shouldn’t pry into the case. But the more she learns about the dead husband, his ex-wives, and all the murky details of the couple’s past, the more Lana thinks that this so-called murder/suicide is a straight-up order of murder. . .
Release Date: Aug 28, 2018
Series: A Noodle Shop Mystery
Book: 2
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Imprint: Macmillan
Price: $7.99
Lana Lee works as a server at Ho-Lee Noodle House, the restaurant owned by her parents. Lana longs to do something else with her life, but she is needed at the restaurant, especially now that her mom and dad must travel to Taiwan to deal with a family crisis. Things get even worse for Lana when a good friend becomes a victim of a tragic, fatal incident. Detective Adam Trudeau, Lana’s sometime boyfriend, warns her not to get involved, but Lana continues to investigate to get justice for her friend.
This book is the follow-up to Chien’s “Death by Dumpling”. It’s not necessary to have read this book to enjoy this one, although there is a large number of characters to keep track of. An old-fashioned “Cast of Characters” at the beginning of the book would have been helpful. I like Lana and most of the other main characters, although Lana’s condescending sister and pushy mother are sometimes hard to take. I like the setting of the Chinese restaurant and the entire Asia Village shopping area in which it’s located.
The mystery itself is interesting and Lana does a good job of questioning witnesses and potential suspects. There are plenty of surprises in the book’s clever plot and I enjoyed this fast read and look forward to seeing what’s in store for Lana in both her working and her love life in future books.
~ Christine
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