Noodle Shop #9
Misfortune Cookie by Vivian Chien is the ninth book in the Noodle Shop Mystery series. Doughnut enthusiast and seeker of justice, Lanna Lee, is off to sunny California with her big sister Anna May to visit their Aunt Grace. But it isn’t all fun and games: Lanna has to attend a restaurant convention to hopefully learn some new things and better their family restaurant. The Lee sisters overall goals are to learn, relax, and enjoy themselves. To ensure this, Anna May starts the trip off sternly reminding Lanna to keep to her promise of trying to stay out of trouble. To her credit, Lanna does want to keep said promise. Misfortune Cookie gives readers a very accurate depiction of two very different siblings getting along, while also giving each other lots of sass. The sisters have very different personalities and are both rather stubborn, but over all they love and care for one another, which is why Lanna is so determined to keep her promise, not only to keep safe but to keep her family from worrying.
However, if Lanna kept her promise, there wouldn’t be much of a story now, would there? It ends up being Aunt Grace that has Lanna breaking her promise. When attending her aunt’s cocktail party, one of Grace’s close friends dies tragically. From the moment it happens, Lanna is sure there is something more going on. Aunt Grace agrees and all but begs Lanna to look into it, as she has quite the reputation for finding answers when even the police end up stumped. Also, because it’s their aunt asking, Anna May is not only forgiving about Lanna getting involved, she even volunteers to help, as long as nothing gets them in any real legal trouble, that is. One thing is agreed upon between the Lee sisters above all else: don’t tell mom. This is definitely easier for Lanna than it is for Anna May. Unlike in previous books, Lanna is out of her element in California. She has to utilize the skills she has learned through her other investigations but without the help of familiar territory or the resource of her detective boyfriend, Adam. However, even on her own, with Aunt Grace and Anna May to bounce ideas off of, Lanna doesn’t slow down at all. She knows what steps to take, what the police will most likely be doing, who they should talk to, and some rather unconventional ways to get access to clues and possible suspects. The police of California have no idea what they were in for with Lanna and her detective skills.
Long time readers of Vivien Chien’s work will be delighted by this newest addition to the Noodle Shop Mystery series. New readers don’t need to worry about being lost, however, if Misfortune Cookie is your first Vivien Chien novel. She gives ample description of the characters and setting so that no one is lost as to where Lanna currently is in life. Lanna is a very determined individual and will always go the extra mile for those she loves. Sure, her determination gets her into some sticky situations, but she always finds a way through. She keeps a level head even when her best laid plans go awry, or if she comes face to face with a killer. Her individuality, confidence, and determined attitude is what draws me back to the Noodle Shop series time and again. She is a very strong person with many admirable qualities, as well as a very relatable doughnut addiction. I really look forward to seeing what adventure awaits Lanna next, and how her relationship evolves with her family as she continues to embrace her love of solving mysteries. — Carla Schantz
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Carla Schantz is a Courthouse Clerk Supervisor and has a bachelor’s degree in English as well as a master’s in legal studies. Books have been a passion of hers since she was young, and she is a firm believer in the purse book so that she is never without a book at any time.