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Dim Sum of All Fears: 03/27/19
Dim Sum of All Fears by Vivien Chien is the second of the Noodle Shop mysteries. Lana Lee has an interview for a dream job, one that will take her away from the family noodle shop. She's about to break the news when her parents spring something worse — they are flying out of the country and she's in charge of the restaurant while they are gone. So much for the interview! As someone who has been in an odd job situation for the last many years, I was once again instantly relating to Lana's situation. I can't tell you how many times conflict of family needs and possible fantastic job have come up. But this series isn't just a family drama. It's a cozy mystery series. The set up is there. With Lana's parents out of the country, someone is bound to end up dead at the shopping center. Sure enough, it's the new proprietors of the shop next door. What comes out with their deaths is that the husband had a lot of exes. And they are now vying for control of the shop. Meanwhile, long time shop owners are convinced that the space is cursed. I happened to read Dim Sum of All Fears in the middle of a binge watch of Midsommer Murders. The two share a central theme: sex and money being at the root of murder. As the side plot, there is the on-going friendship that might be a relationship with the detective from the first book. Are they dating? Does he want to date her? Or is she a means to and end in his recurring investigations at the shopping center? Their whatever it is, is distracting, but not enough so that I want to quit the series. Book three is Murder Lo Mein and it came out yesterday. I have it and will be reading it soon. Four stars Comments (0) |