WONTON TERROR is book four in the Noodle Shop Mystery series. This is a series that I have enjoyed in the past because of the premise of it. However, the more I read these books, there are things that I am discovering about this author and her writing style.

First off, let me start with what I liked about the book. I’ve always been a big fan of the Asian influence in this series. It’s definitely one of the most unique Cozy Mystery series out there and I do hope that more series come from this idea from other authors as well. It’s nice to see the Asian community represented in books.

But as I read this series I am quickly realizing that these stories tend to be very light in comparison to the other Cozy Mystery books I read. I don’t mean that they are slow in pacing or anything like that, but the conflict and writing style just tends to be more amateur in style. I just don’t think that they are as well-developed but that’s just my personal opinion. I’m looking forward to see Chien’s writing in the future to see how it develops and grows. But WONTON TERROR is definitely a quick and fun read that I found still enjoyable.

Lana has developed so much through each book. I love her humor. This mystery was my favorite so far!

I thoroughly enjoy Vivien Chien's #1 Noodle Shop Mysteries because she weaves in experiences, ideas, activities, and culture of Chinese Americans. I'm first generation Filipino American and when I read about Lana Lee and her world it is as though there are all sorts of hidden gems and cultural references. It is like a treasure hunt woven into the mystery. From the weekly dimsum family brunches to the Mahjong Matrons to the celebration of Lunar New Year, Vivien Chien's stories somehow include the activities and things that populate my life.

I find that once I read one of Chien's Noodle Shop mysteries I reread the earlier ones. Lana Lee is second generation Asian American, bi-racial with a tall, hearty and supportive Caucasian father and a more critical, vocal, perfectionist Chinese mother. Lana worked other jobs after college and had no intention of working for the family restaurant. She does end up helping out at the Noodle Shop and part of the small business group located in Asia Village in Cleveland. She is not the traditional Chinese American young woman - she dresses adventurously, colors her hair purple, pink, blue, etc., her close social circle is composed of her blonde roommate Megan and her boyfriend Detective Adam other non-Asian characters. Lana is not afraid of anything and she speaks her mind. She does still see the hidden undercurrents and unspoken communications of the different Asian customers and family friends.

In Wonton Terror, Lana Lee and her chef Peter have a food truck in the Night Market. While the Night Market is packed and busy one of the food trucks explodes killing an unpopular businessman. His wife is under a cloud of suspicion and Lana's mother is upset that her friend is a murder suspect. Lana's known this family since childhood and she finds herself drawn to investigate the mysterious bombing. As bodies pile up, Lana Lee is personally threatened and narrowly escapes a bombing. Lana's investigations take her to talk of domestic violence. Lana's search for the killer threatens her friendships but it never keeps her from a good meal. Another delightful mystery by Vivien Chien!

Really get a fun trip with this 4th story in the series. Lana can’t help but play Trixie Beldon, and it is fun to follow her around. This series is light overall in a great cozy mystery series. Hard to put these down. Highly recommend this book and author.

The last thing Lana and Peter expected was to be involved in a bombing at the Asian Night Market while manning their food tent. Lana once again can't back away from being involved, especially since Peter's Mom was badly injured in the accident. Not many people are in mourning for the man who fell victim to the explosion, Ronnie Chow. As usual, Lana's boyfriend, Detective Adam Trudeau asks her to stay safe and stay out of the investigation. This is another great Noodle House mystery, which built up the plot without giving too much away. So many suspects and I did not figure it out until the author was ready for the big reveal making this as excellent as all the others. I adore little Kikkoman and enjoy reading about Lana and Adam's relationship as it develops. Last but not least this story inspired me to try my had at making both wontons and spring rolls! Any book with food is a winner for me.

Lana Lee is helming her family's offering at the Night Market for the Asian community in Cleveland when the pleasant summer evening is disrupted by an explosion of one of the food trucks. One of the owners died in the explosion, and his wife, while burned, comes under suspicion for his murder. On top of running her family's noodle shop, Lana gets involved to clear her mother's friend of the charges. The mystery is well plotted but the true charm of this series lies in the family dynamics, Sibling rivalry between Lana and her sister and her mother and her aunt are vividly and amusingly depicted. A winner!

Another great story in this series. I keep looking forward to the next book as soon as I finish. Cozy mystery fans will enjoy this book.

I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest!
This was a great book !
Lana is ready to enjoy some good news.
Adam is planning a birthday getaway for the two of them.
When the owner of a food truck is killed, Lana is ready to solver another mystery.
Loved the characters + the storytelling !
It has all the ingredients that you need for a great book!
I can't wait for the next book in this series.

Four books in, and this series is still going strong! Lana continues to be a very believable and sympathetic main character, and despite the fact that the mysteries all occur within a very small community, the author manages to find a new compelling tale to tell for each new installment. Aside from the mystery, which was entertaining on its own, I also enjoyed seeing more of Lana's family dynamics during a visit from her Aunt Grace, the sister with whom Lana's mother doesn't see eye-to-eye. It's really the world of these stories that keeps me coming back, and I love learning more about the characters and their lives. I can't wait for books five and six in 2020!

Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught!

Title: Wonton Terror

Author: Vivien Chien

Series: A Noodle Shop Mystery series book 4

Chapters: 30 Plus Epilogue

Pages: 294

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks


Wonton Terror is the fourth book in the A Noodle Shop Mystery series by Vivien Chien and Lana Lee is doing her best to stay out of the solving murder business and focus on running her family's Chinese restaurant and planning a weekend away. When she finds herself a witness to another murder. And to top it all off her aunt her mother's sister is in town. And those two fight more than Lana and her sister.
Though I'm not one to enjoy food cozies I love this setting and I love the people especially Lana's grandmother. Though the family fights between them they still love each other. Like previous books in the series, this one is a pretty fast read. However, I kind of wish I hadn't actually guessed who the murder was, but even though I did it was still a fun read.
I look forward to the next book in the series as well as any other books the author writes.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Wonton Terror (A Noodle Shop Mystery Book 4) by Vivien Chien

I LOVED book 3 in the series. I gave it - 5 stars.
I gave book 4 in the series – 2 stars.
I wonder what happen?

**SPOILERS**

REVIEW:
I’m 36% into the book and I already figured out who the killer is.

I’m already 50% into this book and nothing special is happening. Lana just goes around asking questions, jumps to conclusions and writes in her secret notebook. Her dad still calls her Goober. Peter still says Dude. And she’s still letting us know she didn’t want to run her family restaurant, but here she is.
It’s the same thing. It’s mundane. I am sadden, I haven’t laughed one bit in this book. No parts are funny.

Conclusion:
I was VERY disappointed in this book. It was not at all funny and all Lana did was go around asking questions. The book seemed more of an outline, then a true book. And who she thought was the killer was not the killer, but she was adamant she knew who the killer was.
Lana was stupid in this book. I was so ashamed of her. When she went to talk to Gene, all he did was pick up and put down a huge wrench (he was in the process of fixing a vehicle, he did own an auto repair shop) and she told Megan “I think he just threatened me.” Stupid. Or when she was talking to Calvin and said” We have to face the possibly that your uncle gene was involved in your father’s murder.” She had no proof, yet, told Calvin his uncle killed his dad. Again Stupid.

And when she finally figured out who the real killer was, it didn’t make any sense. Something about propane tanks and the safety of them. I was like “Really?!” Just that one little thing and she figured it all out, she didn’t put any thought about the slander she did on other people’s character. She didn’t even apologize or acknowledge it. At the very end she said it was good to be her. SMFH.
I will not be reading another book in this series.

The only thing I liked in the book was the briefly mentioned grandmother and Mr. Zhang dating. I wished we got more of that, but we didn’t. We got Lana blaming everyone but the killer.

2 stars.
Again I wonder what happen…

A Big Thank You goes out to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Paperbacks for providing me with an advanced digital read. The opinions expressed on this review are my own.

I love this series. So much that even when I get an advanced copy on netgalley I still purchase the actual book to have. This is another great installment and I look forward to more.

Wonton Terror A Noodle Shop Mystery by Vivien Chien is the fourth offering in the series. Following Lana Lee who manages her families noodle shop this book took forever for me to read. I started reading this book August 27th and finished September 28th. The review contains some minor spoilers. I cannot help it.

Wonton Terror started as a typical cozy. Though it is food themed that it is unlike most food themed cozies the protagonist is not a cook, baker, or chef. There are no recipes to read or parts where Lana cooks. Nope, she just works at the restaurant. Ok. I can handle that.

However, the constant infighting from Lana’s family became a real downer. The Lee families' behavior is dramatic. Lana’s sister being terrible. Then her aunt and mother fighting. A fourth or more of this book was the Lee family fighting. Or being terrible to one another. The characters act selfish and rude. I cannot imagine a family being that terrible and being able to run a business together. Nope. It’s a stretch. Overall, the fighting made this book drag on. If only Lana’s sister were rude, it would be ok. But Lana’s mother and sisters fighting was over the top.

The tone of the book is inconsistent. It hints early on domestic violence will be part of the murder motive. The author does not address domestic violence seriously as she should have. Domestic violence is the motive for the murder and a weak one. The motive is not revenge. Or to save the abuse victim during an attack. This is sloppy premeditated murder with a weak motive.

Wonton Terror’s murder victim never laid a hand on the killer. The killer was not a relative of the person the victim abused. This was not a heroic murder the abuse victim was not in imminent danger when the murder happened. The character who killed the victim had no real reason too. There were other options. The murder and killer made no sense. If the killer were the abuse victim or one of their children, I get it. Or even the abuse victims parent. That is not the case here. I felt like the author read Fried Green Tomatoes and took inspiration from that.

As, a survivor of domestic violence I felt like the writer had no clue. None. The motive was laughable yet offensive. Am I offended? No. Do I think it is offensive to use a serious issue as a plot device and then not take it seriously? Yes. There should have been accurate and informative information on domestic violence. Chein did not do her research.

I liked the book when I started reading but as the book dragged on; I dreaded reading it. That’s why it took a month to complete the book. I read some reviews before I wrote this. Some remarked other books in the Noodle Shop Mysteries are good and Wonton Terror was not. I cannot confirm this as this is the first book I read in the series. Because of the lackadaisical tone given to domestic violence, I will not be reading the other books.

I rated this book 2 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. I do not recommend it. I read an Advanced Readers Copy courtesy of NetGalley.

This series just keeps getting better and better. I truly enjoyed this addition to the series and it was a very quick read for me. The mystery is good, but the characters are what drives this series. They are down to earth and likable. I can't wait for the next one!

Another fun and tasty whodunnit by Vivien Chien! I love the descriptions of China Village and the characters as detailed and interesting as any Chinese Americans I have met in person (although none were murderers)!! Full of twists and turns, this well planned mystery will keep you guessing until the end.
It would be great to have some Chinese recipes included!

This was such a fun cozy read. Lana is the manager at her parent's Asian restaurant. Her roommate, Megan, helps her investigate and they bounce ideas off each other. Her boyfriend, Adam, is a detective. Her dog is named Kikkoman, which I thought was so adorable! I enjoyed the family dynamics. Although the story dealt with domestic abuse, the author handled it very well. I enjoyed this story from beginning to end. This is a new to me series and even though I started off with book #4, I didn't feel lost. But I just bought books 1-3, because I definitely want to read this series from the beginning. If you are looking for a new cozy series, I highly recommend this one. I can't wait to read the rest. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Vivien Chien's Noodle Shop Mysteries have become one of my go to cozy series. Fun characters, fairly good mystery, and yummy food descriptions; these are perfect if you are in the mood for a light read.
Wonton Terror is the latest instalment and is another solid novel in the series. I'm glad we are seeing a bit more of Lana and Adam's relationships and would like to see more of that in the next book. I also really enjoy when Lana and Megan team up to do some sleuthing so that was fun. I'll be checking out the next book in February 2020!

Wonton Terror by Vivien Chien is the fourth novel in A Noodle Shop Mystery series. Each book in this series can be read on its own. I like this unique cozy mystery series that has readers enjoying Asian food and culture in Ohio. Lana Lee is rocking purple hair while busy managing the family restaurant, working at the Asian Night Market, attending mandatory family dinners and spending time with her boyfriend. With her Aunt Grace in town, her mother is tense (putting is mildly). Grace Richardson is a free spirit who writes for a travel magazine. The two sisters have conflicting opinions. I felt bad for Adam who got dragged into some of the family dinners and drama. The family eats at different Asian restaurants around town. The food descriptions had me craving my favorite Chinese dishes. I thought the story progressed at steady pace with interesting characters and revelations. The mystery touches upon the sensitive topic of domestic abuse. I did not have a hard time pinpointing the guilty party, but others might find it challenging (depends upon your amateur sleuth status). I hope Lana’s grandmother gets some help in understanding English soon (por thing). Lana needs to be cued in that there is an app for that. The Lee family has their issues, but they love each other. Wonton Terror is a lighthearted cozy mystery with nummy noodles, kin commotion, a big boom, vacation vacillation, and murder mayhem.

This novel was a lot of fun. It's a great premise for a cozy series - a family restaurant, a young and funky main character, a detective boyfriend, quirky city residents, and an interesting family. I haven't read the earlier books in the series and I didn't have any issues picking up the storyline. I do plan to go back and read the others.

Main character Lana starts to investigate when an Asian food truck explodes at a summer night market festival, and she soon finds that people all over town are hiding secrets. The mysterious boy from her past, who happens to be the son of the truck owners, is acting very weird and his drunk uncle isn't making the situation any easier. Lana isn't sure whether the explosion was personal or related to business, but soon finds herself in danger as well.

Lana and her family make for an interesting cast of characters. The restaurant is interesting, and the town busybodies having breakfast there every morning provide for lots of gossip and revealed secrets. I very much enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more books in the series.