Death by Dumpling is a delicious addition to my Series-ous Reading menu

Happy April 1st,folks and it's not a joke when I say that the latest cozy mystery that I finished for my Series-ous Reading project was a tasty treat.

Vivien Chien's debut novel, Death by Dumpling, is set in Ohio, where twenty-something Lana Lee finds herself working at the family restaurant after the loss of her job and break-up with her less than faithful boyfriend. She intends this stint at Ho-Lee Noodle House to be a temporary gig at best,especially since her mom is insistent on Lana finding a new love as soon as possible.

When Lana brings a lunch order to Thomas Feng, the owner of the shopping plaza known as Asia Village where her family's restaurant has been since the beginning, she never expected that his regular order of dumplings would be his last meal. As it happens, Mr. Feng has a serious shrimp allergy and somehow, his usual pork dumplings were switched with that particular seafood stuffed version.

Right away, Lana is under suspicion but more so is Peter, Ho-Lee Noodle's daytime chef who normally delivers the take-out orders.While she can't believe that her childhood friend would ever do something like that, Lana is hearing talk that Peter was seen arguing with Mr. Feng in public. Also, Kimmy Tran,the daughter of the local video store owners, is fast to point out that no matter how nice Mr. Feng seemed, he did have some enemies at the plaza.

With Peter taking time off from work after being questioned by the police and rumors about Ho-Lee Noodle's part in this untimely death spreading ,Lana wants to find out the truth and with the help of her roommate Megan, starts to do a little investigating of her own. She has serious doubts about the official police investigation, especially handsome lead detective Adam Trudeau,not to mention that she knows the community much better and can make more in depth inquiries that can clear Peter's name a lot sooner:

As Lana searches for answers, she runs into even more questions as well as revelations about the past of some of her family's friends and neighbors such as Mr. An, whose failing business now appears to be successful, Ian Sung, the younger partner of Mr. Feng who is taking a huge interest in the plaza and in Lana as well and the widow Feng, Donna, who has a few secrets of her own kept from even her loved ones.

Despite being warned away from the case, Lana is determined to help her friend out of trouble, not to mention getting herself out of the funk that the current course of her life has put her in. Can she solve the mystery before the next poisonous dish is on her plate?

One of the key elements of any cozy mystery is a sense of place and people, which Chien brings to vivid life on the page. The retail realm of Asia Village is very much like a small town, where everyone knows your name,so to speak, and folks are happy to help each other out yet can't resist a bit of juicy gossip(The Mahjong Matrons are a great source for that and I hope they're more prominent in future entries).

Lana's home and work life are well established,along with her family interactions such as the rivalry between her and older sister Anna May, who is busy with law school but helps out at Ho-Lee Noodle's from time to time. The best bond in the book is between Lana and Megan, two good friends who support each,along with adorable pug Kikko(short for Kikkoman), in good times and bad. Plus, any friend who is eager to grab a flashlight for some Nancy Drew sleuthing time is a keeper, in my opinion!

Unlike most food related cozies, this story isn't reliant on cooking and recipe sharing and that's just fine. Lana does appreciate a good meal and many of the creative drinks at the astrology themed bar that Megan works at but it's not necessary for her to be a foodie. The behind the scenes restaurant details are relatable insider elements that suit the story well and add a richness to the inner dynamics of her family and their backstory:

All in all, Death by Dumpling whetted my appetite for more Noodle Shop Mystery novels and I've already started the second book, Dim Sum of all Fears, mainly due to my having picked up the newest entry that was released last week entitled Murder Lo Mein.

Another NSM title is set for this summer, Wonton Terror, and it's such fun to get in on the ground floor of a great new series like this. Don't get me wrong, the more longer running cozy mystery series that I have been reading(one of which is this month's selection that I'll get to in a moment) are wonderful books that I truly enjoy.

 However,to see the start of a new series with a new generation focused on crime solving is creative forward thinking that promises to keep this genre from getting seen as stale.

Also, I like retail and service industry themed stories(like Leslie Budewitz's Food Lovers Village books) which can be great settings for all kinds of engaging situations and they do very well in the cozy mystery category. I might highlight one of the Noodle Shop Mysteries again for this project but I'm having too much fun to hold off on another helping here:

For my next Series-ous Reading pick, I go back to Ashland for a slice of Ellie Alexander's Fudge & Jury, the fifth book in her Bakeshop Mystery series. There's plenty of chocolatey goodness to go around as Jules and her mother prepare for a major chocolate festival that unexpectedly adds a murder to the mix and doesn't that cake on the cover look delicious?

This is going to be quite the busy reading month for me,as I'm taking part in the Spring Into Horror readathon at Seasons of Reading ,plus catching up with my library books and near the end of the month, my birthday will arrive and that means more books for me!

So not complaining, I swear but the possibility of being overbooked is all too real and yet, this certainly is one of the better problems to have in life. One thing is for certain; even with my need to stay sugar free, my birthday cake will be a chocolate delight as lovely as the one on the F&J cover(only a sugar free version, of course):