Book Review: Death by Bubble Tea by Jennifer J. Chow (L.A. Night Market Mysteries #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Good characters and mystery

Cons: Characters’ actions seemed questionable a few times

The Bottom Line:

Death at night market

Cousins solving mystery

It’s a fun debut

Deadly Drink in the Dark

I’ve been wanting to read one of Jennifer J. Chow’s books for a while, so when I saw she had a new culinary cozy series coming, I put Death by Bubble Tea on my reading schedule.  It’s a fun debut.

Yale Yee is less than enthused about playing tour guide for her cousin, Celine.  The two haven’t seen each other in twenty years, and their last visit didn’t go well.  Even worse, Yale’s dad suggests that the two of them work together at a new night market in Yale’s Los Angeles neighborhood.  The two get off to a rocky start that first night, but they soon find a rhythm, and the first night is a success.

That is until Yale stumbles upon a dead body on her way back to her apartment.  The young woman is lying next to one of the distinctive glasses that Celine bought for their drinks.  Naturally, this means the police start looking closely at Yale and Celine.  Can Yale figure out what really happened?

The first book in a new series has a tricky balancing act.  It needs to introduce us to the characters and setting without slowing down the beginning of the story too much.  I felt this book did that pretty well, especially since some of the things from the beginning of the book came back into play later in the story.  The pace did lag a little in the middle, but things came together for a logical and suspenseful climax.

Since I live in the greater Los Angeles area, I really enjoyed the LA setting.  Even though I’m not familiar with the area where the majority of the action took place, I still enjoyed the references to places I know.

I did struggle a bit with some of the characters’ actions.  I felt like they were driven by the needs of the story a few times instead of being logical extensions of their personalities.  And this isn’t just Yale’s actions to solve the crime, but some of the things the supporting players did, too.

Having said that, I really did enjoy the cast.  There are some fun characters here, and I look forward to getting to know them better as the series progresses.  One thing that really drew me in was the characters’ relationships.  I could tell how much they cared for each other, which made it a joy to spend time with them.

One thing I found interesting was Yale’s lack of interest in much of modern technology.  It really made her stand out from most characters I read about, but it really did seem authentic as I got to know her.

There are two recipes at the end of the book as well, so you can enjoy them while you read.

Death by Bubble Tea is a good debut.  I’ll be checking the schedule so I can visit the L.A. Night Market again when the second book comes out.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.