In the fourth in Vivien Chien's Noodle Shop delicious mystery series, Ho-Lee Noodle House is ready to take the Cleveland night market by storm—until a brand-new food venue literally explodes onto the scene.
Lana Lee is all smiles when the first evening of Cleveland’s Asian Night Market kicks off the summer. The weekly festival is always good for business, packed with locals and tourists, and this year, some stiff new food-truck competition. Wonton on Wheels, run by old friends of Lana’s parents, promises to have customers lining up for their delicately wrapped delights—until the truck blows up at evening’s end.
Lana’s boyfriend, Detective Adam Trudeau, had been planning a birthday getaway for the two of them but, lo and behold, Lana must assume the role of amateur sleuth yet again. With one proprietor of Wonton on Wheels dead, it’s beginning to look more like murder and less like an unfortunate accident. And as they begin to unwrap layers of disturbing secrets, Lana’s own family erupts into new drama. Will Lana be able to solve this crime—or has she jumped from the wok right into the fire? [summary via Amazon]
Wonton Terror is the fourth book in the Noodle Shop Mysteries, and my first step into the Ho-Lee Noodle House. If the earlier books are anything like Wonton Terror then this is one series I should have been reading from the start!!
The mystery centres around a night market, where a local vendor's food truck explodes. When one of the owner's dies in the accident, Lana decides to find the killer, and help her mom's friend find some peace.
Wonton Terror is an absolute breath of fresh air! This is the first cozy mystery series I've encountered that features an Asian-American amateur sleuth, and I loved every second of it. Lana Lee is feisty in a dog-with-a-bone kind of way and she's determined to get to the bottom of the mystery - even if it means she's late to Dim Sum with her family!!
I found the mystery very compelling. Vivien Chien lays the clues out for the reader to pick up and follow, and as a seasoned mystery reader I was able to solve the mystery before Lana. However, this didn't diminish how much I enjoyed Wonton Terror at all. With the bickering between Lana's mom and her Aunt Grace, and Lana's own troubled relationship between with her sister, I was drawn in by the family drama and I loved every second of it.
As mentioned above, Wonton Terror is my first adventure with the Noodle Shop Mysteries. I jumped right in with the fourth book and I didn't feel lost at all. Vivien Chien gives enough background information so that the reader can jump right in without feeling confused. However, no spoilers were given to previous mysteries, and I will definitely be going back to read the earlier mysteries. I need to know what kind of trouble Lana has caused before!
If you're looking for a more diverse kind of cozy mystery, I thoroughly recommend the Noodle Shop Mysteries. You will be hooked from the first page!
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