Misfortune Cookie: A Noodle Shop Mystery (A Noodle Shop Mystery, 9)

It is a 9 book series set in the Asia Village . As a Canadian love it is so close . Discover and enjoy

As a long time fan of the Noodle Shop mystery series (I have all of them!), I pre-ordered this book and even used luggage space to bring the book with me on a recent trip, so I could finish it. Although some fans miss Lana Lee, manager of her family’s Ho-Lee Noodle House in Asia Village, normal cast of characters in the Village and who visit the restaurant, I was excited to go on the trip to Irvine, California with Lana to attend a food convention. Her sister Anna May tagged along. It was like going on a new adventure with friends.Their successful Aunt Grace offered a place for them to stay and even brought Lana to work to meet her co-workers. The take your niece to work was a fun way to meet new characters and get some clues on solving Aunt Grace's friend's death from falling from a building.This book explored in more depth Lana and Anna's relationship and parallels to Aunt Grace and her sister. I enjoyed the insights and development of the characters.I loved how the first chapter ended with humor and a foreshadowing that this was going to a fun, humorous adventure together.I am eagerly looking forward to book #10 in the series.

Enjoyed the storyline but not as much fun without the rest of the family. Mahjong ladies, Meghan and Adam add lots to all the books along with their Sunday lunches.

MISFORTUNE COOKIE by Vivien ChienThe Ninth Noodle Shop MysteryAfter coming too close to a killer for comfort Noodle House Manager Lana Lee has agreed to stop her sleuthing. To remove herself even more, Lana is headed to California. Her mother has paid for her to attend a restaurant convention and her sister, Anna May has decided to come along. The sisters also get to hang out with their Aunt Grace and stay at one of her rental properties. Grace is happy to show off her nieces at a work cocktail party, but a crash and screams pierce the night. A woman has fallen off the roof to her death. The woman happens to be Grace's good friend and the woman Lana saw involved in a confrontation at the convention. Much to Anna May's dismay Lana Lee is once again involved in murder.It's fun to see characters out of their usual environs, and I don't blame Lana and Anna May for leaving the December cold of Cleveland behind them to enjoy sunny California. It was also nice to see Lana more as a business professional...kind of...and getting to see Anna May cook, showcasing a skill we don't usually see from her. While I miss the Mahjong Mavens and the other regulars, MISFORTUNE COOKIE was a golden opportunity to explore the relationship between the sisters. I love how Lana and Anna May's relationship mirrors that of Grace and Mrs. Lee. Indeed, sisters make up the heart of the ninth Noodle Shop Mystery. Differences, similarities, bickering, and the complex relationship sisters share all play a part in this mystery.I really enjoyed the complex mystery found in MISFORTUNE COOKIE and how Lana brings her investigatory skills to a new place, going so far as stopping at CVS to get a notebook! While I may be missing the Mahjong Matrons there are a lot of volatile characters in their place. That fortune cookie woman is a piece of work and it was fascinating to watch the characters interact, from suspicious co-workers to the "better than thou" husband, and more. And as for volatile, the final confrontation scene was a dramatic, pulse pounding thrill!Fortune cookies, bubble tea, and sisters, MISFORTUNE COOKIE brings Cleveland to California in an exciting murder mystery.

Vivien Chien's Noodle Shop Mysteries are always such a treat. But I particularly savored her latest, Misfortune Cookie. Because restaurant manager-slash-sleuth Lana Lee flees snowy Cleveland for California! Lana is attending a restaurant convention, and her big sis Anna May is tagging along in the wake of her breakup with a married man. Both are staying with their gracious and glamorous Aunt Grace. But all is not blue skies and bon appetits. Aunt Grace's bestie gets into a kerfuffle with a fortune cookie vendor only to plummet to her death. And for once, Lana is staying out of it. After all, she promised her detective boyfriend Adam that she'd stick to potstickers. Yet Aunt Grace is distraught and beseeches her niece to find justice for her friend. What's a semi-retired, amateur PI to do? Snoop in the deceased's home office, of course. Even if it means outsmarting a smarmy widower and dealing with law student Anna May's million objections.Speaking of Anna May, I didn't expect to like her so much. She's usually relegated to the background in these novels, passing judgment while Lana and her roommate Megan have the fun of solving the murders. But being the other woman humanizes her, making her seem like less of a killjoy and more like a genuinely concerned sister. Plus, she's smart and sassy like Lana, and her legal expertise brings a fresh perspective. Sure, she and Lana still snipe at each other. But they also get closer, adding depth to the story.So, can the sisters save the day? And what will Adam have to say? Most importantly, will fortune cookies ever have real fortunes instead of stuff like "Keep calm and eat more fortune cookies."?!Only that contentious cookie vendor knows for sure. And something tells me she's not telling.