#death by dumpling

[readtilyoudie]

You know in the movies where someone says “You can’t fire me, I quit!” … maybe don’t do that in real life. Unless you don’t mind working as a server in your parents’ Chinese restaurant for the rest of your life.

Death by Dumpling (A Noodle Shop Mystery, #1) by Vivien Chien

[freckles-and-books]

@bibliophilicwitch Tomes and Tea 4/11/21:

Stayed up ‘till 4 am to finish Things in Jars. So now I’m moving onto Death by Dumpling today. I’m hoping it is a fun and quick-paced mystery.

[sometimesreading]

Bookoween: Caramel Apples

Listening to Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien, and was surprised by apples & almond milk caramel from my mom!

[baldursgatekeeper]

I just finished Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien and absolutely loved it. It’s an own voices cozy mystery set in an Asian shopping plaza in Cleveland, Ohio with a cast of almost entirely Asian-American characters. It was a breath of fresh air as the cozy mystery genre can sometimes be formulaic and lacking in diversity. Chien has talked about how she didn’t start her writing career intending to write specifically Asian-American fiction, but has been blown away by how much the representation has meant to her readers.

She has a bright and funny writing style and the characters were well-rounded and had depth and dimension, which is another thing that can be lacking in certain cozies, where authors can tend to rely on broad and superficial personality stereotypes. One of my favourite things in books that I always look out for is descriptions of food, and being set in a Chinese restaurant and written by someone who obviously knew what they were talking about, the descriptions in this book were extremely good and kept making me hungry. All in all, 10/10 would recommend. It’s the first in a series and I’ll definitely be picking up the rest.

[book-warehouse-broadway]

2019′s Top 10 Bestselling Mysteries

Death by Dumpling - Vivien Chien

Ordinary Grace - Wiliam Kent Krueger

A Murder in Time - Julie McElwain

A Better Man - Louise Penny

The Cuckoo’s Calling - Robert Galbraith

Still Life - Louise Penny

Past Tense - Lee Child

Girl Waits With Gun - Amy Stewart

Long Call - Ann Cleeves (not pictured)

Vancouver Noir - Sam Wiebe, ed.

[ninja-muse]

Micro-Review

I was tagged by @the-head-in-the-clouds. Thank you!

This round’s prompt: currently reading!

Join in even if you haven’t been tagged

Answer as elaborately as you want

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Title and author: Death by Dumpling by Vivian Chien

Total pages: 328

Page you’re on: 148

Thoughts so far: I might have a new cozy series, yay!

In more detail: This is hitting all my cozy buttons, from the smart heroine with the logical reasons to go sleuthing to the interesting setting and cast to the good descriptions of the day job. Major bonus points for being the first Asian rep I’ve seen in a cozy, the first Asian cozy writer, and it not feeling like it’s pandering to white people with a Chinese People 101. (There are moments, sure, but it’s not heavy-handed.)

Bit disappointed that Lana doesn’t always sound like a young woman when she speaks, and also slightly disappointed there’s a matchmaking mom even though it’s #ownvoices, but neither of those things are close to deal breakers.

I give this two thumbs up and want someone to buy me Chinese food.

Try your best to guess how it will end: Ian Sung did it. And she hooks up with the cop, because of course she does.

Tell us how you really feel—with a gif!

Tagging @lizziethereader @baldursgatekeeper @srwhitehead @asexualbookbird @awonderlandofwords and anyone else who wants to do it!

[sometimesreading]

Started the Death by Dumpling audiobook today bc I remembered @anassarhenisch recommending the series

I’m about halfway through and enjoying it immensely (so thank you)

[book-warehouse-broadway]

Happy Lunar New Year!