Cousins Yale and Celine are very different- Yale is focused on the food business and Celine is an influencer- but they band together when the president of the local restaurant association is murdered. And when Celine's parents (Sonny and Cher!) arrive from Hong Kong demanding that she come home. In many ways this is standard cozy fare (the mystery is good) but it's also a nice story about family (Yale's struggling with the death of her mom) and food. So much food! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I missed the first book but this was fine as a standalone and now I'm looking forward to the next one.

The first book in this series, Death by Bubble Tea, was a real standout – an unusual setting, a foodie backdrop, and two cousins getting to know each other, one plain, one fancy. Yale Yee lives in LA near her family restaurant, Wing Fat, which her father runs; she runs their night market stand, selling bubble tea and other delicacies. Her cousin Celine arrived from Hong Kong in the last book. She’s everything Yale is not: into her appearance, into her social media profile (she’s a food-stagrammer), and leisured – family money ensures she can spend much of her time at her favorite hobby, shopping. The two are now roommates and their relationship has assumed almost a partnership status. The two women complement each other without being cardboard caricatures.

As the book opens, Yale’s father has arranged a hot pot thanksgiving feast at his restaurant, including everyone in their small restaurant association. Like any small organization, it’s rife with politics, and when the president is electrocuted at the dinner, it’s all hands-on deck (mostly Yale’s and Celine’s) to solve the crime.

Much of the establishing backstory was set up in the first book, and this already feels like a comfortable series entry. One thing Yale is still working through is the death of her mother; she blames herself and is reluctant to even enter her childhood home. The restaurant is bad enough, though her night market stall has restored some of her joy in cooking.

Two threads are extremely strong in this novel – the importance of family, and food. While Yale and Celine investigate, their investigations take them to many, many delicious sounding restaurants. This also allows the author to delineate the various members of the restaurant association, people who also work alongside Yale at the night market, and who she thinks of as her community. We as readers might think of them also as “suspects.”

Celine is raising the profile of their stall through relentless Instagram posts and the creation of a selfie photo backdrop next to the night market stall. (The market seems to be based on the 626 Market in LA – it includes entertainment, games, and tons of food. It’s a wonderful and vivid setting for the books.) The characters of Yale and Celine play into their detective skills as well, making them a good team, and they do indeed help solve the case.

There’s family drama as well, as Celine’s fancy parents descend from Hong Kong, wanting to take Celine back home with them and wanting to reconnect with Yale’s father, Sing, as well as Yale herself who doesn’t know her hilariously named aunt and uncle, Sunny and Cher, all that well. They mostly make Celine uncomfortable as she doesn’t want to go back to Hong Kong, and Yale is surprised to find that she would like her cousin to stay.

This gently paced and well assembled mystery has nice character development, an unusual setting, and a nice sense of story. Jennifer Chow is aware of the elements required to tell a good and entertaining tale, and I anticipate this being a long and successful series.

This series is quickly becoming one of my cozy favorites, and I am so happy that I am able to read along as it releases and I can grow with the characters. Just like last time I really loved Yale and Celine both are just amazing. I do love that they have grown closer and even though they are so different from each other, they still support each other.

I was right in my last review and Nik had a bigger role but Chow has made him more likable. I was also partially wrong as I thought he would be Yale's love interest but it turns out this wasn't the case. The case was interesting in this one as we got a closer look at Yale's restaurant community and the recurring people who no doubt will make more appearances in upcoming books. I did guess the killer pretty early but I didn't mind as I was having fun being along for the ride.

There was also a subplot that had to do with Celine and her parents which I found interesting. It gave more insight into Celine and her family dynamic. I do love Celine and I hope once the series is more established the author will think about doing a novella/ side story with Celine as the main character, and I think it would be interesting.

Overall, a fun second book to a series that is becoming my favorite.

*Review will be posted June 2nd*

I don't know what it is about this series, but I love it. This series has been my first introduction to cozy mysteries. With the murder and crimes unseen and the normal rhythm of life with small clues along the way built into the storyline, I can see why people like cozy mysteries now. I also loved that this book took us sightseeing in Los Angeles. One of my favorite movies is Valentine's Day (the rom com with all the famous actors and musicians jammed into different love scenes in it), and I finally got to learn a little about where the bridge/river scenes are located in that movie because of this book. I loved this read. Also, I'm giving hot pot another try soon because of this read.

A Delicious and Intriguing Cozy Mystery

I had read frequent reviews and raves about Jennifer J. Chow’s first book in this series: “Death By Bubble Tea” and that it had been nominated for an award, but had yet to purchase it. When I saw that her second book was available for reading and reviewing on Net Galley, I requested it immediately. I was overjoyed to be selected to download it, and I started to read it.
I soon read details mentioned about the first book, so I determined that this book is more of a continuation of the first one rather than a stand-alone. I would recommend readers buy and read the first book prior to reading this one to avoid spoilers.
I was intrigued by the LA Night Market theme of this cozy series, because I have lived in LA, so I delighted in reading about so many familiar locations. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading about all the fictitious restaurants and incredible foods that are described. I only wish there were more recipes at the end. We are offered two recipes, which I will try to make.
I was quickly engaged in the lives of the two protagonists, Yale Yee and her social media influencer cousin Celine, and liked how the author beautifully described the characters, foods and locations. I laughed many times at some of the antics, and marveled at how much these two girls could eat…it was almost as if that’s all they did…so that’s what I did too…with my eyes as I read. I learned a lot about their Asian culture, which is refreshing.
I was surprised when the murderer was revealed, as I had not guessed correctly. It was most satisfying, and I liked how everything was wrapped up nicely at the end.
I highly recommend this book and also the first one. I hope there will be a third installment in this series.
Thank you, Net Galley and Berkley, for the opportunity to review this book.

A fun, charming cozy mystery. Set in the world of the LA Night Market and the local Asian restaurants, I loved all the descriptions of the foods. It made me want to try some of everything. I liked the two main characters, Yale and her cousin Celine. Both characters were nice, always willing to help out the other local restaurant owners. There was also an interesting subplot about Celine's parents wanting her to return to Hong Kong that I liked but felt like it was resolved too quickly. I loved the sense of community present and wish I had strong ties like that. The mystery was interesting with multiple suspects. This is book 2 in the LA Night Market series, but can be read as a standalone. I found this to be a quick, fun read that I finished in one day.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

cozy-mystery, contemporary, Asian-Americans, food, crime, thriller, recipes, restaurant, amateur-sleuth, family, friends, friendship, thanksgiving, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, small-business, marketing, multicultural, multigenerational, influencer, cultural-differences, cultural-exploration, relationships, grieving, suspense, verbal-humor, relatives*****

Yale Yee and her father operate a food stall named Wing Fat family Dim Sum restaurant. Her cousin Celine from Hong Kong shares Yale's apartment and is a well-known social influencer. At what started out as a family Thanksgiving celebration the president of the restaurant association is electrocuted, but the local detective says that it's no accident. Let the sleuthing begin! Good story!
I requested and received an EARC copy from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley. Thank you!

Yale Yee and her cousin Celine run an Asian food stall at an LA night market. Celine is a foodstagrammer and is always looking for photo ops so they attend an Asian restaurant owner’s meeting with Yale’s dad. An unexpected death at the meeting has Yale and Celine investigating when they learn that it was murder. Then Celine’s wealthy parents arrive from Hong Kong, concerned about the murder and a recent arson fire, demanding that she return with them. Even though this is the second in the series, it can be read as a stand alone. The characters were likable and the descriptions of different kinds of Asian food made me want to visit the restaurants described in the novel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.