by Vivien Chien
Part of Noodle Shop Mystery
First published 2019
Lana Lee has just become manager of Ho-Lee Noodle House, her family's Chinese restaurant in Cleveland. She enters the business into Cleveland's Best Noodle Contest, determined to win and prove herself in her new role. The competition takes a deadly turn when a local food critic finds a threatening message inside his fortune cookie. Soon after, someone discovers the critic dead, his face submerged in a bowl of lo mein noodles. The murder threatens to destroy the restaurant's reputation and Lana's future. Working alongside her boyfriend Detective Adam Trudeau, Lana investigates the other contest participants and their motives. She digs into their backgrounds, searching for clues about who wanted the critic dead. When Lana receives her own ominous fortune cookie message, she realizes the killer has targeted her next. She must solve the case quickly to protect both her family's business and her own life.
Genres: american-fiction, mystery, crime, contemporary, adult-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, engaging, fast-paced, lighthearted-mystery, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, found-family, romantic-subplot, workplace-setting
Setting: Cleveland, Ho-Lee Noodle House
Period: 21st-century, contemporary
304 pages · Mass Market Paperback · St. Martin's Paperbacks
Content warnings: death, murder