I adore this series. Book 5 has Lana and crew expanding their restaurant business into catering. Their first big event is a birthday party for Donna Feng. In typical Lana Lee fashion, it's not a party until someone ends up dead! Once again, Lana is on the case to find out whodunnit all while navigating a rocky visit from her aunt, her budding romance with handsome detective Adam, and a surprise visit from her good for nothing ex, Warren. These are well written, funny and engaging!

Lana Lee meets Crazy Rich Asians with a dash of homicide and egg drop soup. The Ho-Lee House of Noodles has added catering to its offerings and Lana and the crew get a look at how the other half live and how the other half's nanny dies. Oh and having lots of money just means that your "friends" aren't necessarily mean to you but boy are they gossipy. This time she vows to not get involved but when Donna Feng, owner of the Asian Village and the host for their first catering gig, Lana can't say no. Oddly enough her boyfriend, Detective Adam Trudeau, is not the least bit surprised that she and her roommate Megan are "investigating" and is actually supportive. Of course this could be because it isn't his case and he doesn't know anyone in the Westlake Police Department. I am really enjoying how the characters are in sync with each other and that Lana's investigating is being taken more seriously by her completely professional detective boyfriend. There are several suspects and Lana and Megan work their way through the list sure that this is not a mob style problem even if Donna swears up and down that her nanny's death was a warning to her. Lana even gets to work with a honest to goodness P.I. on this one ..and that is as far as I go with regards to spoilers. The only thing that would make this book any better would be to have some recipes waiting for me at the end of the story since I tend to get hungry reading about dim sum Sundays and all the wonderful menu items that Peter makes, or even one of Megan's Zodiac cocktails would be a yummy addition. As always, you don't have to read a previous Lana Lee book to get the awesome flavor of the storyline but as with most Chinese food, a little later you will be wanting more.

The gorgeous cover is what attracted me to this story. It's been months since I read a cozy mystery I liked so I was looking forward to this one. This is the fifth book in the series but I don't believe you had to read the other stories to follow along with this one. All the information you needed to be up to speed was given here without spoiling any of the other books.

In this story Lana is catering for Donna's Feng's party when the new nanny ends up dead in the pool. Lana gets involved when one of the prime suspects asks for her help. And of course she just can't stay out of trouble!

The backstory with Donna Feng was very interesting and held my attention from the start. And I thought the action was well balanced. Sometimes these stories can get so caught up with the ongoings of the town and lose track but that didn't happen here.

Egg Drop Dead continued to solidify that this is currently my absolute favorite foodie cozy series (and there are so, so many of them). It turns out in this one that the Feng family drama is not over yet, and once again Lana Lee is drawn into the investigation in order to help Donna Feng. She gets to see some of the seedier sides of the wealthy crowd that Donna runs with, and helping her along as always are her roommate and her detective boyfriend (who doesn't play the disappointed, put upon man every time Lana gets involved, but instead tries to support her as best he can within the realm of professionalism, and encourages her to keep safe). Thank goodness that cozy series can run for a long time because I'm not done with this one.

Vivien Chien is has a really great series going! While Lana is the main character who gets into plenty of messy situations, there are also several well-developed subplots about some of the minor characters. I have found this to be the case in several books in this series. I enjoyed the story focus on Donna Feng in Egg Drop Dead and I’m looking forward to seeing what trouble Lana and the crew find themselves in next time!

Thanks go to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

cozy-mystery, Cleveland, family-dynamics, friendship, Chinese-customs, humor, amateur-sleuth, private-investigators

Who held the nanny under the water in the pool until she drowned? The easy call is the inebriated employer who made a scene at the party, but Lana doesn't believe that of her friend. Lana had only just made changes to the family noodle shop business in Cleveland by expanding into catering, which was why she was present when the body was found. Good thing that one of her friends is a private investigator and that her new boyfriend is a police detective. Let the sleuthing begin! Great read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of EGG DROP DEAD (Book 5 of the Noodle Shop Mysteries) by Vivien Chien in exchange for an honest review. Lana Lee is settling into her responsibilities as the manager of her family business, Ho-Lee Noodle House. Lana’s pretty good at figuring out how to increase business during the slow season. This time, Lana has added catering to the business’s offerings. Their first catering client is Donna Feng, a wealthy matron with the social clout and connections to springboard Lana’s new business venture. The party goes well until the hostess’s children make a scene; Donna Feng then drunkenly and publicly berates the nanny for failing to properly supervise the children. When the nanny is found dead at the close of the party, Donna Feng becomes the prime suspect. Donna Feng recruits Lana to her cause, and Lana secretly begins to investigate. Rumors abound concerning Donna Feng’s uncharacteristic behavior since her husband’s demise, so Lana seriously considers whether her new friend may be a murderer.

I enjoyed this book and really like the series. I recommend this book and series to fans of cozy mysteries featuring restaurants, catering, and adult children of immigrants.

Lana Lee is back and on the case of a family friend, Donna, who may have murdered her nanny. Before Lana can solve the murder, she has to find the truth about Donna's mysterious past. On top of that, Warren the man who broke her heart shows up to try and get her back!

I enjoyed the latest book. Lana and her roommate Megan, work together more and additional characters are added to the sleuthing team. To solve the murder, Lana teams up with Lydia, a private investigator who is tough and kind. The Lee family is as fun as ever. The only thing I wish is that Lana would trust Adam more and stop rushing into danger by herself. The scenes between Warren and Lana were priceless!

I look forward to the next book!

I received an ARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review of the book.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so much fun! I really liked Kana and the side characters are really well developed.
The twists and turns were a lot of fun to dig into.
This is the fifth in the series but works just fine as a stand alone!

I loved the backstory that went along with this book. Lots of twists and turns made it hard to put down! Very enjoyable read! Can't wait for the next one!

The Noodle Shop mystery series by Vivien Chien is one of my FAVORITE cozy mystery series to date! I love Lana (she's a phenomenal sleuth) and the rest of her family. It takes a lot for me to feel a connection with cozy characters because many are lacking the detail that I need for the connection to cement with me. That's not the case here though and every time I read another book in the series I feel like I'm revisiting old friends!

Cozy mystery lovers, you don't want to miss this series! It's a culinary cozy series surround my favorite type of food and the mystery is always EXCELLENT!

Fifth in the series Lana Lee once again involved in a murder investigation.Love all the characters add in the Chinese food this is a warm wonderful series I recommend it all the time entertaining great characters and stories #netgalley#st.martinsbooks

This book had a great mystery that called back to the very first book in the series in a really skillful way.


I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

I was pleased to receive an early copy of this novel from NetGalley. The hallmark of a good series - especially a mystery one - is when the protagonist can continue to grow over the course of many books. Lana Lee's journey continues in this fifth series entry, and she's becoming more confident in her crime-solving abilities. Rather than pretend that all the bad stuff happening is bizarre and weird, and a noodle shop employee couldn't possibly keep solving these crazy mysteries, the series is up front about the fact that there are a lot of terrible people in the world. (Okay, there is some suspension of disbelief involved, but I love how refreshing and real the series is.) In solving the murder of nanny Alice Kam, Lana gets to team up with a private investigator. I've actually known Vivien Chien since before she got her contract for this series, and I remember her talking about her series starring Lydia Shepard, so it was so cool to see Lydia get her chance to be in a book. Vivien has a nice foreword that explains how the characters connect, and I'm hoping to see more of Lydia as the series continues. These mysteries are always so fun because the reader is given all the clues and can help to solve the crime along with Lana - and now Lydia too.

This is a fun little mystery series that keeps on getting better with each book. Lana is not a cookie-cutter protagonist, and her family, mysteries, and descriptions of Chinese cuisine draw the reader into the story. These aren't standalones, as the characters develop in each succeeding book, and I am looking forward to reading the next in the series!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars

This is the fifth book of the Noodle Shop mystery series and the first that I have read. Lana was catering the party of a family friend, Donna, when things turn to chaos. The nanny was found dead in the pool! Lana turns to her detective skills to figure out what exactly happened and Donna actually had something to do with the murder.

This was a quick read and entertaining mystery. I didn't feel like I missed too much by not reading the prequels. I appreciated the representation in this book and plot twists. After reading this, I now want to read the previous 4 books to gain more of the backstory and character development. Overall, a good mystery.

Be sure to check it out on pub day: February 25, 2020!

Lana Lee finds herself once again investigating a murder. This is the fifth installment of the Noodle Shop mystery series. After catering Donna Feng's party, a body is found in the pool. It turns out the nanny was murdered during the party and Donna is now a suspect. Donna asks Lana to help solve the mystery since she's helped her in the past. I think the best part about this story was Adam becoming more laid back and Lydia the P.I. Both brought something new to the series and I really enjoyed it. I kind of hope that Lana decides to become a P.I. and work with Lydia more. This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series.

"Egg Drop Dead" is the 5th book in the Noodle Shop Mystery Series by Vivien Chien. It's the 2nd one I've read, and I enjoyed this one as much as I did the other.

Lana Lee is the manager of her family's noodle restaurant. It's not exactly where she saw herself when she was younger, but she's making the most of it by trying to branch out into new business ventures. Her first catering event goes way off track when hostess Donna Feng screams at the nanny in the middle of the party and things get even worse when the nanny is found dead in the pool at the end of the night. Police immediately bring the hostess in for questioning, but Lana's family is friends with Donna and they don't believe she'd kill the nanny - even after the outburst during the event. It doesn't help that Donna is hiding a huge secret from everyone which could exonerate her but she won't even tell the police. Lana knows the secret and is the only person Donna trusts to try to find the killer.

This book was different from many cozy mysteries in that it featured the amateur sleuth working with a private investigator. It was interesting to see how the two women worked together and to learn how much Lana learned from the PI.

The Lee family still gathers for their weekly meals and still disagree with each other about almost everything, but their love for each other is evident. Any cozy fan will love this series, and book 5 doesn't disappoint.

Chien cannot write this series fast enough for me. I read this book in one sitting. Each new installment just gets better and better. Lana takes more risks with each mystery as well, she is asked by Donna Feng to look Into the death of her nanny. Even Lana isnt convinced of Donnas innocence. She unearths many clues and keeps mulling them over, until finally the pieces click together Lana does a really stupid thing at the very end, but escapes once again. Bring on the next adventure!

Lana Lee is the manager of her family's Asian restaurant. She's asked to cater a party for a wealthy woman, whose nanny is murdered at the event. Ms. Feng asks for Lana's help in proving her innocence. Is Donna Feng guilty of anything but trying to conceal her shady past? Who would want to kill poor Alice, who by all accounts was a compassionate caregiver? Lana aims to find out, relying on the gossipy Mahjong Matrons who frequent the restaurant. I was new to this series, but with a likable protagonist and a well-plotted mystery, I want to read more by this author. Thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for this ARC.