Hot & Sour Suspects by Vivien Chien

I've finally arrived at the last of the current-published novels in the Noodle Shop Mystery series.  It was a great debate whether or not I wanted to read the last one now or save it till I really needed a comfort book.  But my desire to know what is happening with the characters far overweighed my desire to wait it out.

About Hot & Sour Suspects:

At the Ho-Lee Noodle House, murder is on the menu.

When Lana Lee’s best friend, Megan Riley, asks her to help host a speed dating contest at Ho-Lee Noodle House, she doesn’t see the harm in lending a hand. The night goes better than anticipated, and both Lana and Megan are beyond thrilled with the results. But before they can break out the champagne, Rina Su, fellow Asia Village shop owner and speed dating participant, calls to inform Lana that the date she’s just matched with has been murdered. Under suspicion of foul play, Rina enlists Lana’s help in finding out what really happened that night.

Without hesitation, Lana begins to dig into the man in question. To her dismay, she quickly finds that Rina’s date has a rather unsavory past. There’s a long line of slighted women, angry neighbors, and perturbed co-workers—all of whom seem to have a motive.

As Lana continues to spiral down the treacherous path of scorned lovers and mistreated acquaintances, she can’t help but dwell on how quickly an innocent evening filled with hope and positivity could turn so sour. When the media gets in on the case, Lana must rush to find the killer before more dates turn deadly.

My Thoughts:

After reading Hot & Sour Suspects, I realized the book ended on a maybe-end-of-the-series note.  Thankfully, a bit of googling told me that Lana and friends will be back sometime in 2023 which made me quite happy.

Book 8 was another great continuation of the series, with twists and turns as Lana finds herself once again in the middle of another mystery.  Once again, there's questions with what is going on with her family as well as the main mystery, so I'm definitely glad the series will be continuing.  While this mystery wrapped up, and theoretically so could the series have, there are a lot of unanswered questions about the main characters' lives.

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