Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien

Item: Fatal Fried Rice
Rating: 5
Author: karenbaron

Posted April 13, 2022 by karenbaron in Mystery, Review, Series / 0 Comments

Fatal Fried Rice

by Vivien Chien

Series: Noodle Shop Mystery #7
Series Rating:

Published by St. Martin's Press on March 9, 2021
Genres: Cozy Culinary Mystery
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Also in this series: Death by Dumpling, Dim Sum of All Fears, Murder Lo Mein, Wonton Terror, Egg Drop Dead, Killer Kung Pao, Hot and Sour Suspects

Lana Lee returns for another delectable cozy set in a Chinese restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio in Vivien Chien's Fatal Fried Rice...

Lana Lee runs her family's Chinese restaurant in Cleveland's Asia Village like nobody's business. When it comes to actual cooking, however, she's known to be about a step up from boiling rice. So Lana decides to go to culinary school on the sly--and prove that she has what it takes in the kitchen after all. But when course instructor Margo Chan turns up dead after class, Lana suddenly finds herself on the case, frying pan in hand.

Since she was the one who discovered the body, Lana must do double duty in finding the killer and clearing her name. Now, with or without the help of her boyfriend Detective Adam Trudeau, Lana launches her own investigation into Margo's life and mysterious death. Doing so leads her on a wild goose chase to and from the culinary school--and all the way back to the Ho-Lee noodle shop, where the guilty party may be closer than Lana thinks.

Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien is about Lana Lee learning how to cook so she can learn more about the dishes that they prepare at the restaurant.

Can Lana keep this secret from her family and Adam?

Lana Lee

Lana Lee is not the world’s greatest chef. There are some dishes that Lana knows how to cook. It’s just that none of them are Chinese dishes, and she wanted to surprise the people that she loves with her newfound cooking talent by learning how to cook Chinese cuisine. I felt terrible for Lana from the very beginning to the end. Because her heart was in the right place for her to learn to cook Chinese, but nothing ever goes right for her. I adore Lana in this book, and I felt happy that she is stepping up to learn more about the restaurant that she is running for her family.

The Mystery

Of course, just with any book in this series, we have a mystery. The mystery in this one is a bit of an odd one from the start to the time that the killer gets caught. Ms. Chien got me hooked in with the red herrings this time. I didn’t think it was who did it as she wasn’t on my radar. The victim happened to be Lana’s cooking instructor, and Lana just happened to be there at the wrong time to discover the body.

Again, to prove her innocence, Lana has to find out who actually killed Margo Han and why they wanted her gone. The mystery is finding out why and it was difficult for Lana and her sidekick Kimmy Tran. I know that I was surprised by who killed poor Ms. Han.

Five Stars

My rating for Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien is five stars. Along with a massive recommendation to anyone that loves an excellent cozy culinary mystery. Ms. Chien has done a great job crafting and weaving this story together. I love these stories, and seeing how each plot point works together is always fun. Ms. Chien especially can create her own brilliant stories while still following a simple method with these cozy mysteries. I’m now off to read Hot and Sour Suspects by Vivien Chien.

Other Books in the Series

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien. If you are interested, you can check out my interview with Vivien Chien HERE.

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

About Vivien Chien

Vivien Chien was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio where she grew up in a mixed-race home, making for some very interesting cultural experiences. She found her love of books and the written word at an early age while writing short stories about her classmates in elementary school. Currently, she writes side-by-side with her toy fox terrier who refuses to sit anywhere else. When she’s not writing, Vivien enjoys frequenting local Asian restaurants, frolicking in the bookstore, and searching for her next donut.

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