by Vivien Chien
Part of Noodle Shop Mystery, book 12
First published 2025
Lana Lee serves as handler for bestselling mystery writer Charlene Chan at a packed book signing for "The Mystery of General Tso" at The Modern Scroll bookstore in Asia Village. When Charlene turns up dead in the mystery section clutching her own novel, the murder mirrors the plot of her book exactly. Detective Adam Trudeau catches the case but realizes the killer is following the book's storyline step by step. Adam asks Lana to partner with him officially for the first time in their relationship. Together they must decode Charlene's novel to anticipate the murderer's next moves. Racing against a killer who knows the story's ending, Lana and Adam work to solve the case before the obsessed fan reaches the final chapter.
Genres: fiction, mystery, crime, contemporary, detective
Vibes: clever, engaging, fast-paced, plot-driven, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, copycat-killer, found-family, partners-to-lovers
Setting: The Modern Scroll bookstore, Asia Village
Period: 21st-century
311 pages · Kindle Edition · Minotaur Books
Content warnings: murder