Name: Death by Dumpling
Rating: 3.483333333333333 (30 reviews)
ISBN: 9781432866853

Vivien Chien

"Thorndike Press Large Print Peer Picks."

Death by Dumpling

The launch of a scrumptious new cozy series. After a brutal breakup, Lana Lee is back at her family's Chinese restaurant, the Ho-Lee Noodle House. When the restaurant's property manager, Mr. Feng, turns up dead after eating shrimp dumplings from the restaurant, it's up to Lana to find out who is behind Feng's killer order. Original.

A Noodle Shop Mystery

Sajiya Chaudhary

I have not read many Asian centric books apart from Pachinko, which I didn’t finish because the subject matter was heavy, despite it being a beautiful book. I wanted to read this series for multiple reasons:

1. I love murder mysteries - the cozy ones, where the violence is bare minimum, and the story centers on characters, conflicts, whys and whos, not how. This is my comfort genre, and one I go back to when I want to feel better. A murder mystery can make you laugh with all the idiosyncracies and eccentricities. Every other murder mystery author has a different writing style - Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, P.D. James, Anthony Horowitz, Arthur Conan Doyle, Donna Leon, all these have written such unique mysteries they can’t ideally be compared. So, that brings me to my second reason…
2. I wanted to understand a new perspective. Explore the world of asian community through an asian author. And the cover helped as well, apart from the blurb on goodreads, which brings me to my third reason…
3. Food! The cover and title both lured me in reading this super fun book. The main protagonist is a relatable 27 year old Lana Lee, she quit her job and now works as a server in her parents Ho-Lee Noodle House. 
The book is written in first person narrative which makes it easier for me to relate to Lana. The story moves fast because while diving into the mystery, the author has given enough insights into the characters, and I wanted to know more about them, so I read 4 more books of this series in a weekend. 
That should give you an idea of how much I liked Chien's writing, humor, and characters. 

ps: I am also here for the love story between Adam and Lana, a big sucker for cute love stories, and this one definitely is.

Sarah Sammis

I love that Chien avoids so many of the cozy tropes while setting up her world and her characters. For instance, Lana as the protagonist and one of the last people to see Mr. Feng alive could be a prime suspect, the detective in charge isn't set up as the antagonist who is going to do everything in his power to prove that she did it. There is no violent ex-boyfriend for Lana. Her parents aren't bugging her to find a husband. Lana has a good, healthy relationship with her family.



http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...

Isabela H 

I don't read a lot of a mysteries so I didn't come in with very high expectations. Let me just say, I would absolutely love watching a tv show following Lana's attempts to solve a murder. As mysteries go, I had a lot of fun meeting all the characters and watching them all interact. I will say though, for a solid middle third of the book, I lost all interest in all the information we were collecting about the various murder suspects. Can't wait to see how Lana inserts herself into more murder mysteries XD

KADY BURNS

I picked up this book because of the cover art. It was pretty good cozy mystery. I didn't call the ending at all, which is a nice change of pace from other books I have been reading lately.

Amanda J 

Pretty good start to cozy mystery. I really like the MC, Lana. I feel like her reactions were very similar to how I would react in the situation. The secondary characters were solid. I liked the setting of the restaurant. 
I didn't guess the villian until when the Lana did. So they story felt on pace.
The burgeoning romance is there, but I felt it was tell than show. Hopefully that changes in the future ones.

Natalie

Laoise Giblin

Jillian McParland

Milea Webb

Welcome to the Ho-Lee Noodle House, where the Chinese food is to die for. . . The last place Lana Lee thought she would ever end up is back at her family’s restaurant. But after a brutal break-up and a dramatic workplace walk-out, she figures that helping wait tables is her best option for putting her life back together. Even if that means having to put up with her mother, who is dead-set on finding her a husband. Lana’s love life soon becomes yesterday’s news once the restaurant’s property manager, Mr. Feng, turns up dead—after a delivery of shrimp dumplings from Ho-Lee. But how could this have happened when everyone on staff knew about Mr. Feng’s severe, life-threatening shellfish allergy? Now, with the whole restaurant under suspicion for murder and the local media in a feeding frenzy—to say nothing of the gorgeous police detective who keeps turning up for take-out—it’s up to Lana to find out who is behind Feng’s killer order. . . before her own number is up. “Vivien Chien serves up a delicious mystery with a side order of soy sauce and sass. A tasty start to a new mystery series!” —Kylie Logan, bestselling author of Gone with the Twins "Deathby Dumpling is a fun and sassy debut with unique flavor, local flair, and heart.” —Amanda Flower, Agatha Award--winning author of Lethal Licorice

Death by Dumpling

Reviews

Highlights