Wonton Terror by Vivien Chien

The Asian community is kicking off summer with the return of its popular Cleveland Night Market festivities, and Lana Lee is excited to represent the Ho-Lee Noodle House booth with her favorite chef, Peter Huang. Lana is confident that the evening marks the beginning of a great season to come. Not only is she looking forward to the warm temperatures, but her birthday is only weeks away, her handsome boyfriend, Detective Adam Trudeau, is planning a romantic get-away. Life couldn't be better.

But before she can get too accustomed to the idea of a carefree summer, an explosion involving a nearby food truck, Wonton on Wheels, kills one of the proprietors and injures several others in the nearby vicinity.

When the authorities discover that this was no accident, the family members of the dead man become the number-one suspects in a front-page murder story. Lana and her best friend, Megan Riley, fall back into detective mode. But as they uncover family secrets of abuse and angry costumers, Lana's own family drama raises its head. Will Lana be able to juggle everything the universe is throwing at her, or has she jumped from the frying pan to the fire? 


Lana Lee decides to investigate another murder, this one involving a food truck at her neighborhood's Asian Night Market. The mystery is interesting, and I'm happy to report that I guessed the wrong whodunnit suspect. More importantly, I love the way Lana interacts with her family, especially when her aunt arrives for a visit. Lana's mother and aunt do NOT get along, and there's a lot of uncomfortable dim sum Sunday gatherings. 

Lana's romance with officer Adam is a little less interesting, but I think that's par for the cozy mystery genre. 

What didn't work for me was how a very serious subject matter (domestic violence) was thrown into the story line this time around. We all know that cozy mysteries are just that - cozy and light, with a cheerful ending. But because domestic violence did become part of this story, it felt wrong to treat it in the same cozy, frivolous manner. Lana did acknowledge how lucky she was not to have abusive fathers or partners in her life, but other glossing over it made me uncomfortable. Maybe an afterword about domestic abuse and IRL hotline numbers would help make this subject a little less jarring. 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.