Vivien Chien's latest Noodle Shop mystery is a treat! Lana Lee has secretly signed up for a Chinese Cooking Class. Lana runs the family's Chinese restaurant, she knows how to cook Western food but is always teased for her attempts to cook Chinese food. Her class takes her to a community college and it is just her luck that she ends up finding her instructor murdered. The detective in charge focuses on Lana Lee as the primary suspect.

Lana undertakes to find the real killer. This time, she is able to tell her detective boyfriend about her sleuthing. I love the camaraderie and the way that Vivien Chien incorporates Chinese and Asian culture in these stories.

Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien is the seventh in the A Noodle Shop Msytery. I have read all in the series and this story can be a stand alone.
All Lana wants to do is take a class at the local community college, in secret, to learn Chinese cooking. All for best laid plans, when upon returning to the class room after the first class, she finds the body of the instructor with a knife in her back. When it looks like she is going to be the main suspect in the detective's eyes, she starts asking questions. Unfortunately, her detective boyfriend can't help since it's out of his jurisdiction. so it's up to Lana, and her roommate to clear her name and hope she is not the next victim.
This easy to read Cozy has everything, enough plot twists, likeable characters, romance, and humor. I couldn't put it down
I was given an ARC by St. Martin's Press via NetGalley for an honest review.

This is the seventh book in the series. What is interesting is the homicide takes place outside of Adam Trudeau’s jurisdiction. The lazy detective heading the case doesn’t really want to find out who the real killer is. If only he would take his determination to pin it on Lana and redirect it to finding the real killer.

Try to surprise your family with newly acquired cooking skills was Lana’s goal. Now, she and her friends are trying to keep her from going to jail. This episode has Lana in many unsafe predicaments.

I liked the humor, the quirky characters and the plot. I’m still hooked on this series.
I was given an advanced copy of the book by Netgalley and am Not required to leave a positive review.

The seventh book in the Noodle Shop Mysteries series, Fatal Fried Rice brings Lana Lee front and centre of a murder investigation. In order to impress her family with her cooking skills, Lana takes a cooking class at the local college to learn how to cook Chinese food. Although she’s taken over her family’s Chinese restaurant she doesn’t know how to cook the simplest fried rice. But as fate would have it her cooking instructor is found dead in her classroom by Lana herself. In order to clear her name of any suspicion Lana with the help of her friends and detective boyfriend has to find out who did it.

Although this is the seventh book in the series and I haven’t read any of the previous installments, I was sucked into the book right away. Lana’s character and her relationship with her family and friends was relatable. The family dynamics of Lana’s family is very reflective of my family’s and I can completely relate to her mother’s reactions to Lana’s shenanigans.

One thing that I wish with this book was that the killer’s reveal was a bit more fleshed out and found the ending was a bit a rushed. However, I enjoyed Vivien Chien’s writing and tone makes this cozy mystery a definite read. It’s a light and fun read, everything you look for in a cozy mystery.

Fatal Fried Rice
By Vivien Chen

Fatal Fried Rice is the seventh book in the Noodle Shop Mystery series by Vivien Chien. I love this cozy culinary mystery and revising Lana Lee again in her Chinese shop in Cleveland, Ohio is just absolutely fantastic and oh so enjoyable and truly delectable. This is one of those one sitting read because you just could not put this book down once you start unless that is, you might be tempted to call a Chinese take out in the middle of this read.

In this installment, Lana signs up for a cooking class in a community college, where Lana finds herself in the middle of a murder as the prime suspect when she finds the instructor dead. As Lana finds a way to solve this murder mystery we learn of wonderful characters we meet in this installment, and another fun adventure to see how Lana finds a way out in this sticky situation.

I just really enjoyed this read a lot. Highly recommend this book and the entire series.

3.5 stars. Murder magnet Lana Lee finds her next body at a night class. She had a secret plan to learn how to cook a few Chinese dishes after getting totally fed up with her elder sister Anna May’s baiting. Her plan is unfortunately sidelined by the shocking murder of her cooking class teacher, Margo Han.
Lana quickly finds out that the detective in charge of the case has his sights set on her or the school’s janitor as his best suspects, despite other possible leads.
With Adam, and everyone else she knows, warning her to not stick her nose in, what does our fave manager of Ho Lee Noodle do? Yup, she starts asking questions and unearthing information relevant to the case.
I find that in the fantasy world of cozies, it somehow makes sense that someone totally unqualified to investigate murder does so. In this series, Lana is able to ask questions and get useful information from her contacts within the Chinese American community. So even though she’s totally idealistic, zones out and shows all her emotions on her face, she's determined and her heart’s in the right place. Lana Lee cares, and wants to see justice happen, but also wants peace for the family and friends touched by the tragedy. That, and the people she cares about, is why I keep tuning in to her adventures.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a review.

I have not read any of the other books in this series but it doesn't matter as this is a stand alone book. This is a cute who done it with lots of twists and turns. I really enjoyed it.

Fatal Fried Rice starts off on a happy note - Lana is taking a cooking class in secret, and excited to learn. Then it comes crashing to a halt when she discovers her instructor dead in the classroom and is promptly considered a main suspect. She's in another part of the city, outside of her boyfriend's jurisdiction, but the plaza community is still there to help her investigate.
Vivien Chien continues to write my favorite contemporary cozies. I'm enjoying Lana's character growth and the community. The pacing is great, the mystery intrigues, and I look forward to the next Noodle House mystery.

This is a new to me series. I may have enjoyed the characters more if I had read the previous books in the series. It did not blow me away but it was a basic cozy mystery. It was a quick read, and the resolution felt rushed.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

While this is the seventh book in a series, I haven’t read any of the previous 6 books, and it worked just fine as a standalone. Since I’ve definitely gotten more interested in cozy mysteries, I will probably go back and read through the rest of the series.

Even though Lana runs a family restaurant, she’s embarrassed that she can’t cook, and it’s something that her older sister teases her about. So rather than just asking the cook to help her, she decides to secretly take a cooking class that leads to disaster. When the instructor winds up dead and Lana discovers the body, she finds herself named as a suspect.

When the detective doesn’t seem to interested in finding any other suspects, Lana winds up being responsible for clearing her own name. The detective was such a jerk, and I enjoyed seeing Lana’s mother put him in his place when he behaved in a racist way.

I liked Lana’s character right away. She felt like a real person to me, with her flaws out on full display. She’s smart and loyal, but she’s also impulsive and impatient. There were times where she made choices that I could have reached through the pages and shaken her, and I couldn’t understand why she’d be so dumb! She did a lot of flailing around throughout the story, and basically just lucked out a lot. I wasn’t a big fan of Kimmy’s abrasive personality, but I adored Kikkoman, Lana’s black pug.

The writing was pretty simple, so I flew through the story, and I wasn’t surprised by the killer. I had the person identified very early on, although I couldn’t figure out the reason why. The ending and the reasoning behind the killing just felt a little rushed, and I wish it would have been a little more detailed. However, this was an enjoyable read. It’s a light and fluffy story, just like I’ve come to expect from a cozy mystery.

While this book is the seventh installment of the series, Chien does a good job of providing enough background information so readers new to the series don't feel like they're missing key elements/relationships from past installments.

As someone who has read the other books in the series, it never gets old reading about Lana Lee (the main character of the story) and the other cast of characters. Lana is one of my favorite characters from any book because she is unapologetically herself, insecurities and all. While Lana's multigenerational family is not as present in the story as in other installments, the appearances they do make are memorable. Her best friend/roommate (Megan), detective boyfriend (Adam), and friend (Kimmy) play supportive roles in the story as Lana investigates the death of her cooking teacher.

One of the reasons why I continue to come back to this series is for its descriptions as it pertains to setting. I enjoyed reading about Lana's exploits around Cleveland (the main setting of the story) whether she's at Asia Village (where her family's restaurant was located) or at another location related to her investigation. It does feel like I'm transported there when reading this book.

The mystery itself kept me engaged and had a number of interesting subplots that made the story that much more interesting. This mystery differed from others in the series because the victim was not someone who Lana was directly connected to in some way. For that reason, I feel like this added an extra layer of intrigue since Lana had to get creative when it came to investigating the crime.

Overall, another great installment to the series!

Fatal Fried Rice is the 7th Noodle Shop mystery by Vivien Chien. Due out 9th March 2021 from Macmillan on their St. Martin's Press imprint, it's 320 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a very cozy series featuring a sweet heroine who is a manager of her family's Chinese restaurant. Main character Lana Lee is plucky and loyal but she's not too saccharine sweet or perfect. Despite working at her family's Chinese noodle restaurant, she's never learned to cook and she gets drawn into yet another murder mystery when she discovers her cooking school instructor literally stabbed in the back.

The background story is well interwoven in the book, and it works as a standalone without needing to have read the previous books. (I can heartily recommend them as well, if you're looking for a new light cozy series to binge read).

It's a little longer than most cozies at over 300 pages but the plotting is tight and it doesn't drag. Lately I've gotten my fill of southern catering homestyle bookmobile cat loving bakery shop ladies; this young woman with a great best friend, brightly colored changeable hair, and good relationship with her parents and her boyfriend is such a breath of fresh air. There's a lot of warmth and humor here. The book is relatively clean, with only a sprinkling of 'hell' and 'damn' and nothing more objectionable than implied consensual overnight stays from her boyfriend (a police detective) in the book. Definitely safe for reading at work or on the bus.

I joke around about the death count in her immediate vicinity - she always finds out whodunit, but at this point I would imagine the sheer statistical impossibility would make her a real life typhoid Mary. (Oh, it's okay Lana, you don't have to come to the wedding! Just send a card *nervous laughter*).

Four stars, delightfully fun light cozy mystery.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Fun addition to a cozy mystery series set in Cleveland. Story features Lana Lee a young woman who runs her families noodle house and stumbles over dead bodies.

Lana finally decides to learn to cook Chinese food and pow- she finds her instructor murdered with a knife in the back! Margo Han was a quiet private person but she must have annoyed someone. Lana, who never met a murder she didn't want to solve, plunges in, along with her room mate Megan and, later, her friend Kimmy. Her boyfriend Adam, who is a detective, is a head shaker in this one as the murder is outside his jurisdiction. As always, Cleveland plays a role in the story as do the Mahgjong ladies who breakfast every day at Lana's family restaurant. Fans of the series will wish for more of Lana's family (Anna May is only small player this time) as the concentration of the story is mostly outside Asia Village. No spoilers from me because I was surprised at the villain. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good cozy read that will be fine as a standalone. I'm eagerly awaiting the next one.

Fatal Fried Rice is the 7th in the Noodle Shop mystery series by Vivien Chien but the first that I have read.  I found it easy to get up-to-speed on the entire cast of characters and how they fit into the storyline. This book gives the reader a glimpse into a multigenerational Asian-American family-run restaurant with a delightful cast of characters.  Lana Lee, who manages the family restaurant, decides to take an Asian cooking class at the local community college where she then finds a body and ends up embroiled in a murder investigation.
 
Although some reviewers seemed to find Lana Lee’s lack of Asian cooking prowess unbelievable, I found the storyline realistic and eminently believable.  If Lana Lee had no interest in cooking and never expected to work in the family business, why would she have paid attention to the finer points of preparing Asian cuisine?
 
The description of the Asia Village with its cobblestone floors, skylight, paper lanterns, koi pond and footbridge created an almost magical image in my mind. I found the interactions of the multigenerational family and their cultural community relatable and engaging. I found the characters delightful, especially the Mahjong Matrons who came into the restaurant daily.  (I must be honest and say that I found Kimmie to be totally annoying and hope that she tones it down in the future. That character was like nails on a chalkboard for me.). All in all, a very entertaining read. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.

Fatal Fried Rice is the 7th book in The Noodle Shop cozy mystery series. Lana Lee manages her family’s Chinese restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio. She signs up for a Chinese cooking class (yes, she can’t cook!) and the instructor is murdered after the first class. Lana finds the body and after it becomes obviously that the detective is targeting Lana, she sets out to find the real killer. A cast of mostly likable characters help her along the way and add to the flavor of the book. Her relationship with her family, especially her sister, did annoyed me. But, overall it was an enjoyable cozy and although it was the first book in the series I’ve read, I had no trouble following the cast of characters. The mystery itself had a decent twist.
3.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Fatal Fried Rice is the latest installment of the Noodle Shop Mysteries by Vivien Chien. Lana finds herself tangled in another murder investigation when she discovers the body of her new cooking teacher after the first day of class. She must solve the case to clear her name when it becomes obvious that the unfriendly lead detective considers her the prime suspect.

While it seems to be getting a little more difficult to find ways to contrive murders that Lana is connected to and therefore must investigate, this story was as enjoyable as all the others in the series. It includes all the characters we know and love, and Lana continues to be relatable to anyone in their late 20s trying to adult while feeling woefully unprepared. This is a fun series!

There is something about this series, maybe it is the Mahjong Matrons, maybe it is the relationships within the Lee family, maybe it is how friends come together, I don’t know, but this series works for me.

Lana Lee, manager of her family’s Chinese restaurant, Ho-Lee Noodle House, in Asia Village doesn’t want to admit that she can’t cook. She has never needed to since she had no intention of running the business in the first place. But things haven’t worked out on that front and now she finds herself in desperate need of cooking lessons. The local adult learning center is offering a course and with any luck, she can learn and no one will be the wiser. Since this is the seventh book in the series, faithful readers know that luck doesn’t always favor Lana so on the first night of the class after everyone has gone home, Lana needs to return to the classroom to pick up a forgotten shopping list, there she finds instruction, Margo Chan, dead on the floor.

Lana is the prime suspect since she found the body, so to save her name and find the killer, all the while trying to not let her family know that she was taking a cooking class, Lana sets off with her best friends to track down a killer without becoming the next victim.

Seven books in and I am not bored with Lana Lee, Ho-Lee Noodle Shop, the matrons – definitely not the matrons, Asia Village, or Det. Adam Trudeau who always seems to be a bit late to the party. There is enough humor, twists, and good food to keep me eager for what these friends will be up to next.

I'm not usually one for cozy mysteries, but Fatal Fried Rice makes me understand the appeal.

I jumped in head first into the seventh book in the series, but it felt as though it could be a stand alone book, other than the allusions to the previous murders Lana has been a part of. She seems to be a highly unlucky Chinese American woman working at her family's restaurant, who happens to witness (so far) seven different murders and then feels compelled to help uncover the murderer each time. This seems to be the running gag with her boyfriend, Adam, the detective. He continues to try to get her to stop half-heartedly, but also acts proud when she manages to solve it.

I enjoyed that this book was set predominantly in Chinese American owned shops in Ohio. I definitely don't read much from this perspective, but I felt comforted with the midwestern themes.

There came a point in time where I knew what had happened and who the murderer was. I think that's some of the appeal of a cozy mystery, that it's a little predictable. The people involved are just normal people, could be anyone living in the Midwest. Chien tackles the feeling of being inadequate, secrecy, busybodiness, and more. Feelings that we all have, that lead us to act in strange ways when we feel like we need to protect ourselves or people we care about.

Overall I enjoyed this book. My biggest complaint with it was that sometimes the lengths Lana went to solve the mystery just came across as dumb and bad decision making, so I could never fully get into it. This is perhaps my issue with the genre, however, and not actually an issue with the book itself.

Fatal Fried Rice, Author: Vivien Chien
Love the title, Fatal Fried Rice, a whimsical cozy murder mystery. It’s # 7 of The Noodle Shop Mystery Series. I thought I had started the book at a disadvantage since I hadn't read the previous books in the series. However, Vivien Chien, the author, has considerately provided the carry over information needed without dragging the beginning out.

The main character, Lana Lee, is delightful in her youthful attitude. She’s an oriental woman who manages her family’s Chinese restaurant but can't cook Chinese food. She secretly takes a class in Chinese cooking to her older sister, Anna May. As the only oriental student in the class, Lana is understandably mistaken for the instructor. I smiled through page after page of little surprises.

Part of the fun in this murder is the first person viewpoint. The narrator, Lana, thinks in her quirky, sort of innocent, manner. “And something about that gave me a yucky feeling.” Now, that’s just cute. If she had said, “And something about that gave me a grim feeling”, the feeling I got would have changed the atmosphere of the book. It’s established as a cozy mystery and not a generic murder mystery. I can read “Fatal Fried Rice” at bedtime and sleep with a smile on my face. In fact, I did just that.

Lana Lee is the main character. We see through her eyes and feel with her heart. Throughout this book, Lana brings to life the people, the restaurants, the homes, everything with colorful details that might be overlooked by others. Her two side-kicks, Megan and Kimmy, fill in with further insights. Fatal Fried Rice never gets boring. I’m opinion.
going to read the other books in this series.

I give it Five Stars, no hesitation, and recommend it for cozy mystery readers and those looking for light humor in their murders.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, or the author for providing me with a no charge ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.