Misfortune Cookie

Lana Lee, manager of her family’s restaurant, the Ho-Lee Noodle House, is headed to sunny Irvine, California to attend a restaurant convention with her sister, Anna May, along for the ride. Aunt Grace has asked them to stay in her posh rental, and as the trip begins, it seems to be just what they both needed. But things go south when they attend a swanky cocktail party, when a close journalist friend of Grace’s mysteriously plunges from the rooftop of the hotel. The police rule the death a gruesome accident, but Grace refuses to accept that explanation and begs Lana for her help uncovering the truth. Lana, Anna May, and Grace will need to find the killer in time…or they could be the next ones to go over the edge.

Lana Lee is back in the ninth installment in the Noodle Shop Mystery series. (Although, each novel can be read as a standalone novel and in whatever order you want.)  I am a huge fan of this author, so I’ve already read the previous eight mysteries. As always, Lana finds herself in the thick of things whether she wants to be or not (more on that in a bit). It was also nice to have a change of scenery by moving the mystery from Cleveland to California, but I have to admit—I missed her usual Cleveland mystery crew: best friend and roommate, Megan; Kimmy Tran, fellow Asia Village business owner and secondary best friend (sorry, Megan, but it’s true); and Adam Trudeau, the series requisite detective/police connection and Lana’s boyfriend. 

Lana’s relationship with her sister gets more focus in this book, and Anna May does end up with a better understanding of why Lana feels the need to get involved in cases like this, but she’s still a bit of a Debbie Downer. (Give me Kimmy brazenly inserting herself into every one of Lana’s interrogations any day.) It’s always more fun for me to read about Lana solving a mystery with the enthusiastic (sometimes too much—Kimmy) support of her friends, rather than Anna May trailing after her, scolding, for more than half the book. (I did love how quickly Aunt Grace went all-in on the sleuthing, though. In the previous books, Grace was always portrayed as sophisticated and professional, so it was nice to see her humanized more by her connection to the victim; and her eagerness to help Lana reminded me of Megan, so that was nice.) For the majority of the series, Lana has been mostly apologetic to friends and loved ones over her repeated involvement in murder investigations and the dangers associated with them, despite the fact she’s actually good at it, so it was nice to read Lana finally stand up for herself and fully embrace this side of her. (Not sure how Adam will feel about that, though…and yes, I cannot wait to read that scene.)

The mystery itself was well-done. It had enough red herrings to keep you guessing and everything wrapped up with a satisfying resolution. I guessed the real killer before the reveal (which was most likely due to my familiarity with the series), but the story and characters were engaging enough to keep me reading. I would have preferred a little more time with the victim, Nora, before the murder—having her murdered before we even get a scene between her and Grace resulted in more telling than showing in establishing Grace’s close friendship with her—but it didn’t detract too much from my enjoyment of the story. 

If you’re looking for a great mystery read with a smart, funny and determined amateur sleuth, I highly recommend you pick up Misfortune Cookie!