Book Review: Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien (Noodle Shop Mysteries #7)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Lana and the rest of the regulars

Cons: Pacing could be better

The Bottom Line:

Deadly cooking class

Lana is in the hot seat

Slow start but still fun

Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Murder

I’m getting back to many series I have in progress this year, but I suspect soon the bright and shiny new releases will start distracting me. Before that happens, I managed to get another book from mount to be read in. This time, it was Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien. 

This is book seven in a series set in Cleveland. Lana Lee, our main character, has taken over managerial duties for her family’s Chinese restaurant. But much to everyone’s dismay, she can’t actually cook any Chinese food. She decides to do something about it by signing up for a class at a local continuing education school. 

Lana is hoping to keep her class a secret, but that becomes much harder when she returns after class to find the instructor stabbed in the back. With the detective assigned to the case certain that Lana is responsible, she must figure out what happened. But with the victim a stranger, can Lana learn anything about her?

Honestly, that was the biggest issue I had with the book. Yes, I bought that Lana would investigate to clear herself. But it took us far too long to really start to learn anything about the victim or begin to get any suspects. Lana was frustrated as well, so at least I was in good company. As we headed into the final third, the story gained some traction, and we reach a logical conclusion. 

Fortunately, the series regulars are enough to keep us entertained. Lana has quite a fun group of family and friends, and I enjoyed checking in with the core cast again here. We don’t spend as much time in the shopping center in this book, so we don’t see some of those supporting players. And, once we started to gather suspects, they proved interesting. 

As always, this is one of the few culinary series without recipes. So you’ll have to have your favorite Chinese restaurant on speed dial to satisfy your cravings. 

While the pacing could be stronger, fans will still enjoy getting to check in with Lana in Fatal Fried Rice. 

Check out the rest of the Noodle Shop Mysteries. 

Movie Review: All Manners of Murder - Nelly Knows Mysteries

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Solid mystery with fun lead characters

Cons: Nothing major

The Bottom Line:

A lavish dinner

Murder uninvited guest

Fun second movie

“I’ll Be Good Cop.  You Seem Like You’ve Already Chosen Bad Cop.”

I was surprised when I saw that we were getting a second Nelly Knows Mysteries from Hallmark.  It’s been a year and a half since we were first introduced to these characters, and I thought they were going to be yet another one and done mystery movie.  But I’m glad we got to see more of Nelly since I enjoyed All Manners of Murder.

In case you’ve forgotten, Nelly (Pascale Hutton) is an advice columnist in a small town.  Her latest column includes a letter from someone looking to reconnect with family to deliver bad news.  Somehow, that means Nelly is roped in when the letter writer hosts a lavish dinner party to reconnect with her estranged family and then deliver the bad news.  Suspecting trouble, Nelly invites Detective Mike Hogan (Kavan Smith) along.  That turns out to be wise since someone winds up murdered before dessert can be served.  Can Nelly and Mike team up again to solve the murder.

It’s been so long since I watched the first one, I mainly only remembered that it wasn’t my favorite.  Looking back at my review, I saw that one of my issues was Nelly’s official involvement in that case.  It happens again, although, somehow, it didn’t bother me as much this time.  I’m happy to say that my other complaint, the forced humor, wasn’t an issue here.  Overall, the characters seemed calmed down and more grounded, which I appreciated.

The mystery here was good.  One aspect was obvious to me early on, but the characters caught up with me not too much further into the film, and I didn’t figure out where things were going until Nelly and Mike did.  Along the way, the suspects kept me engaged.

If you are familiar with Hallmark movies, you know what to expect acting wise.  It was a little stronger than it can often be, which is always nice.

A new character was introduced that I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of as the series goes along, but I was a little confused as to why that happened in this movie since he had such a small part.  I’m assuming they are planning for future installments, but still.

On the other hand, we learned more about Mike, which I liked.  I really do like the chemistry between Mike and Nelly and hope we get to see their relationship develop further.

Yes, I’m definitely hoping for a third movie in this franchise, although nothing appears to be on the horizon yet.  If you are a Hallmark mystery movie fan, you’ll be glad you watched All Manners of Murder.

Book Review: Death at Tidal Creek by Caleb Wygal (Myrtle Beach Mysteries #5)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Clark, and a fun setting

Cons: A couple niggles with the plot, which is good overall

The Bottom Line:

Brewery murder

Clark gets pulled into the case

Relaxing beach vibes

Murder is Garbage

Certain books call out based on the setting. I was craving some beach time recently, so I picked up Death at Tidal Creek, the fifth Myrtle Beach Mystery from Caleb Wygal. It was the next best thing to heading to the beach. 

The main character here is widower Clark Thomas, the owner of a bookstore on the beach in the South Carolina resort community. Over the course of the series, he’s slowly pieced together clues that his wife’s death a few years before might have been murder. But the focus here again is on the latest murder in the area. 

Clark is slowing building a relationship with Andrea, who has just opened a business next door to his bookstore. So when two people are found dead near the garbage bins at Tidal Creek Brewery, near where Andrea lives, Clark takes note, especially when one of the is the president of Andrea’s HOA. But it’s only when Andrea finds herself involved in the HOA that Clark fully gets involved. It turns out the late president was up to some shady business. Is that why he was killed? 

If you are ready for summer, this book has the perfect vibes for you. While we don’t spend a lot of time at the beach, there are still scenes that make me look forward to relaxing days with warm weather. It’s getting closer. 

Clark’s life has gotten complicated recently with the introduction of a new love interested. We are dealing with a bit of a love triangle here, and I’m curious how that is going to play out. I suspect I know, but I’ll have to keep reading to see if I’m right. 

The book doesn’t feature a ton of recurring characters, and anything you need to know is included here. We get some growth in Clark, which is nice to see. And the new characters are interesting. Also, keep your eyes opened for what I’m sure is a cameo from the author. 

The mystery itself is good. I did have a big twist figured out early, but I didn’t have all the pieces until we got to the end. The climax is a bit exposition heavy as always, but my questions were all answered. 

Once again, we were left with a new clue to the murder of Clark’s wife. I’m curious to see where that will lead. In the meantime, Death at Tidal Creek was a welcome mystery in a resort town. 

Relax with more of the Myrtle Beach Mysteries.

TV Show Review: The Amazing Race - Season 38

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Locations are fun as always

Cons: The drama between teams; lack of real suspense in race

The Bottom Line:

The Big Brother theme

Gave us some rather weak teams

Locations still great

This Season Wasn't as Big as Usual, Brother

Never having watched Big Brother, I wasn’t excited when I saw that season 38 of The Amazing Race would be tied into that show since at least one member of every team would be a former contestant on Big Brother. Still, it’s The Amazing Race, so I turned in ready for another exciting season. Sadly, it wasn’t one of their better seasons. 

As always, the show started out with 13 teams of two racing from one location to another in attempts to win the leg, or at least not come in last and be eliminated. For this season, the teams were in Europe for the entire race. Well, except the final leg, when they returned to the US. 

As much as I like watching people race all over the globe, I didn’t mind that the location was limited to Europe. They still went some cool places and did some cool things, which is ultimately why I tune in. The locations were arm chair traveling at their best. 

My issue was more with the teams. Mind you, I only knew one of the contestants before the season started (and from The Challenge, not Big Brother), so I didn’t come to the season with any preconceived ideas or opinions. 

But the contestants did. Some of them competed against each other on Big Brother, and they carried that baggage to this show. Others know each other from the brotherhood of former contestants. Either way, those rivalries and backgrounds made for more drama at the beginning than I really like. Heck, I prefer my Amazing Race with no drama, thank you. 

The other issue is that it quickly became obvious that success on Big Brother doesn’t necessarily translate to success on The Amazing Race. There were a couple of front running teams, but the rest? They were struggling. And it wasn’t fun to watch. It also meant that there were few surprises in the order the teams finished each week. 

If you’ve watched other seasons of The Amazing Race, give this season a go. But if you have others to catch up on, go watch them first. 

March 15th's Sunday/Monday Post

Welcome to this week's Sunday/Monday Post.  As usual, I will be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
Mailbox Monday
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It was a quieter week at work.  With the craziest deadlines behind us, I was able to focus on what I'd normally be doing.  And I got it all done.  So now I can spend the next couple of weeks working on some other projects that come up.  It never ends, does it?  I guess that's job security.

In addition to the extra daylight at night (love it!), we also got warmer temps.  It was in the upper 80's on Friday.  That's rare this time of year, but I will take it!

Last Sunday was my birthday.  I had a couple of celebrations this week, dinner with friends Tuesday and lunch with another friend on Thursday.  Plus, I've been using all those emails you get from loyalty programs for extras, like desserts.  I need to cut back this coming week!

I think that's about all the news around here.  And since Saturday (today) is the game day my friends host, let's get to it.

Pun of the Week:

We've got another punny holiday coming up on Saturday.  Third Saturday in March – Needle-less to say, Quilting Day is always sew much fun.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: Sugar and Vice - A Hannah Swenson Mystery

Tuesday - Book Review: Vanished in the Crowd by Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles

Wednesday - TV Show Review: The Brady Bunch - Season Two

Thursday - Book Review: Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz

Friday - Friday Post featuring Fatal Fried Rice

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - TV Show Review: The Amazing Race - Season 38

Tuesday - Book Review: Death at Tidal Creek by Caleb Wygal

Wednesday - Movie Review: Nelly Knows Mystery - All Manners of Murder

Thursday - Book Review: Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien

Friday - Friday Post featuring Broken Trust

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

Of course, I got books for my birthday.

The first book I got was The Pirate's Secret by LynDee Walker and Bruce Robert Coffin.  It's the third in a treasure hunt series.  I enjoyed the first, but the second not as much.  I want to give the series another try before I decide on it one way or another.

My other gift was The Glass Thief, the sixth Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery from Gigi Pandian.  I need to read book five still, but I really want to get caught up on this series this year, especially since Gigi just announced she's be writing more with these characters, the first of those new books coming out next year.  Anyway, I will hopefully get to this book this summer.

This last book was a birthday gift from the author.  Only, she didn't intend it as such.  The ebook version of Campfires & Corpses by Nikki Weber went on sale this week for...free!  I've had my eye on this book for a while, so I snagged it.  Maybe this will be the summer I get to the camping themed cozies I've gotten over the years.  Anyway, this book looks like it is still free as of me typing this Saturday morning.  

What I'm Currently Reading:

I'm hoping to get Frozen Stiff Drink by James J. Cudney finished before I head to game day.  But we'll see if I make it.  This is book six in a series, and I am determined to finish the series even though the writing is weak, making the entire book less fun to read.

Up next will be The Maze in the Heart of the Castle by Dorothy Gilman.  She's one of my favorite authors, so I'm sure I will love it, although it's a bit different since this is more of a coming of age story than a mystery/adventure.  At least I think it is.  It will be interesting to see what I think of it and how it unfolds.  But it has a connection to her book The Tightrope Walker, which I read last fall, so it made me want to read it.

That's it for me.  Hope you have a great week!

March 14th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Wild Cards – I was not expecting something so intense.  Yes, I was taking that a bit more like a horror film than a typical episode.  As the Scream fan I am, I loved the nod to the franchise.  I didn’t zero in on the killer until the end, but I completely should have.  A very well-done episode.  And I noticed that most of the regulars weren’t in it.  With only a little reference to the ongoing story.

RJ Decker – A bit in poor taste, at least for me.  But I did enjoy the mystery of the episode overall.  I’m enjoying getting to know the characters a bit more.  I might stick around for more of this one.

Survivor – Well, Q protected his number 1.  Always like seeing someone dictating how the game should go being blindsided.  And it looks like it was unanimous.  The tribes really got switched up.  It will be interesting to see who wins next week.  I’m still surprised that we had a switch this soon.  Seems early to me.  But I’d love to see them switch again.  Oh, and I loved the guy complaining about things then admitting that he voted for the switch as well.

Happy’s Place – I was one week away from being there for the episode that Joanna Garcia Swisher was in.  Darn!  (Not that I am sorry I got to see last week’s episode taped.)  I loved that they had a couple of different times they did a wink and a nod to her.  And her impression at the end was so hysterically funny.  I guess we are going to do more with the speakeasy upstairs.  And I am curious to see what they are going to do with that relationship.

Friday the 13th's Friday Post

Welcome to Friday the 13th!  I'm celebrating with a Friday Post, where I will be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

For the first three, my teaser will be coming from Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien.

This is book seven in her Noodle Shop Mysteries.  Yes, I still have some catching up to do since the thirteenth comes out later this year.  Anyway, here's now this book begins:

"If you tell anyone about this, I'm gonna have to kill you," I said, staring my best friend squarely in the eye.

And just what is the main character's secret?  I'm not telling (here).  Meanwhile, on page 56, we find this exchange:

A few minutes later, Megan poked her head out the door, waved, and jogged to the car.
She hopped into the passenger seat. "Kikko was going bonkers as I was heading out, so I left her with a bone. I think she knows something is up."
I chuckled. "Most likely. She was doing laps around the apartment this morning. I'm feeling kind of jittery myself."

I enjoyed this book.  I'll be reviewing it on Thursday, so I hope you'll come back and read what I thought.  (And my teaser just might spoil that secret from the opening sentence.  You just never know.)

Meanwhile, let's turn our attention the Book Blogger Hop for the week.  The question is:

Are there genres you read that you feel a little shy about?

I can't think of any.  Then again, I usually stick to mystery with the occasional middle grade book.  And I've reviewed every book I've read for years.

Book Review: Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz (Orphan X #11)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Evan in another interesting story

Cons: Darkness felt like it went too far

The Bottom Line:

Helping a woman

But trying to show restraint

Felt overly dark

Evan Must Control Himself

While I started out loving the series, I’ve struggled a bit with the recent books in the Orphan X series. Still, I went into Antihero, the most recent, hoping for another good thrill ride. While it was overly dark, I did enjoy it overall. 

If you haven’t met him yet, Evan Smoak is Orphan X. As a teen, he was pulled from foster care and trained to be a highly skilled assassin. He left the now defunct program and uses his skills to help those facing overwhelming odds against great evil. 

His latest call for help comes from a witness. A woman was taken off a New York City subway by four young men. When Evan manages to find the woman, she’s been horribly violated. Evan immediately goes after the men who did this to her, but she makes him promise not to kill them. Will he be able to keep his promise?

To be clear, these books are thrillers, and they are filled with the things I try to avoid in my reading choices. Usually, they are balanced well with the things I enjoy, but in this case, I felt like we got more details than we needed about the victimized woman’s time in captivity. I think there is a form of this story that cut down those few scenes without ruining the story. 

Then again, as Evan struggled with his promise and how to go about getting justice without killing the criminals, I was a bit disturbed about how much of a struggle it was for me not to want to see Evan kill them. Maybe it was those scenes I didn’t like that helped me understand that struggle. 

Over the course of the series, Evan’s central struggle is learning to be human again after his training drove all that from him. We get plenty of chances to see that, and it is always welcome. I feel like he made more progress in earlier books. In fact, one subplot ended where I thought those characters already were. Still I enjoyed that aspect again here overall. 

There are other series regulars, and they help bring those other sides of Evan out. And they help add some humor to lighten the book. It was nice to see a couple who haven’t been around recently pop up again. 

And the mission itself? It kept me engaged and kept the pages turning as I read. 

Those who enjoy thrillers more than I do will devour Antihero. Those who are more sensitive, like me, will want to proceed with caution. 

Here are the rest of the Orphan X thrillers.

TV Show Review: The Brady Bunch - Season 2

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Charming and wholesome stories that will make you smile if not laugh

Cons: Dated and unrealistic, but that’s part of the charm. 

The Bottom Line:

Bradys – second dose

Still dated but still charming

And still fun today

“Well, We Managed to Survive Another Crisis.”

While I was never a super fan of The Brady Bunch, I watched the show enough over the years that I’ve seen many of the episodes. And, while the show is definitely a groovy time capsule, there is still something fun and charming about it, especially in season two. 

Just in case you’ve missed this particular bit of pop culture, this sitcom tells the story of the Brady family, which is formed when Mike (Robert Reed) married Carol (Florence Henderson). Of course, they each have their own three kids they are brining into the marriage. Mike’s three kids are Greg (Barry Williams), Peter (Christopher Knight), and Bobby (Mike Lookinland), while Carol has three daughters, Marcia (Maureen McCormick), Jan (Eve Plumb), and Cindy (Susan Olsen). Rounding out the bunch is their housekeeper, Alice (Ann B. Davis). 

Over the course of this season Greg and Marcia are left in charge for the first time.  Marcia also has a big sleepover.  Greg makes a home movie about the first Thanksgiving.  Jan makes up a boyfriend and buys a wig in separate efforts to stand out from Marcia.  Jan’s practical jokes and Cindy’s tattle tailing get out of hand.  Peter breaks Carol’s favorite vase, and everyone else confesses to the deed.  Bobby takes up the drums.  The family tries to save a local park…but Mike’s firm is designing the new building that is supposed to be put there.  And Carol decides to try her hand at writing a story, using the family as inspiration.

Then there’s my personal favorite from the season. Cindy is scared after seeing a vanishing act at a magic show just as Peter starts working on a magic act. 

And that episode perfectly captures why this show is still so popular today. Oh, you can point out how unrealistic it is, and you’d be right. And, every situation is resolved in 24 minutes? Must be nice. But that’s also the draw. We want to live in a world where family cares for each other. There are some truly sweet moments. It’s a perfect escape from the real world. And that’s okay. 

As a sitcom, I’m not sure how often I laugh out loud, but it is still charming, keeping me smiling. Since this was filmed on a sound stage with one camera instead of multiple cameras in front of a live audience, we get a fake laugh track. 

Thanks to an effort to cut costs, all of the kids but Greg miss an episode this season. A couple of times it’s obvious, but occasionally, you only notice if you are truly paying close attention. 

The acting is fine here. It’s not going to win any awards, but it is good enough to pull you into the story each week. Notable guest stars are Don Drysdale and Deacon Jones, both sports legends of the day.

In the first season, I found the episodes dragged a bit. Here, that wasn’t the case. Sometimes, that’s thanks to a B story that winds up tying into the main storyline. Other times, the writers find that extra plot point that keeps the story interesting. 

And, as I stated earlier, this show is definitely dated. These episodes aired in 1970 and 1971. Between the styles, the decor, and the groovy language, you definitely notice. But, somehow, that is still part of the charm. 

I get this show might not be for everyone or every mood. But if you are looking for a light escape from your cares, you will find yourself enjoying season two of The Brady Bunch. 

Book Review: Vanished in the Crowd by Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles (Molly Murphy #22)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Molly and the rest of the regulars, historical setting

Cons: Theme becomes lecture, uneven plot

The Bottom Line:

Tons of tourists

But can Molly find just one?

Uneven entry

The Theme Never Vanished - And That’s a Problem

I’ve been a fan of the Molly Murphy series since the beginning. But the recent entries have been a bit uneven. Sadly, Vanished in the Crowd is one of the weaker ones. 

When we first met Molly, she was an immigrant on the run coming through Ellis Island in 1901. Over the previous 21 books, we’ve watched her make her own living as a detective and fall in love with Daniel Sullivan. The two are now married, raising their own two children and a young teen they’ve adopted along the way. While Molly officially gave up being a detective when she married, that hasn’t stopped her from getting involved in some rather mysterious situations in the years since. 

In this book, we join Molly in September of 1909. New York City is bursting at the seams as an estimated two million visitors are in town for a celebration or the three hundredth anniversary of Henry Hudson’s discovery of the Hudson River. Some of those visitors are staying with Molly’s dear neighbors Sid and Gus. However, one of those women never arrives. No one seems to know where she is; even her husband doesn’t know. So Molly agreed to try to find her. But in a large city overflowing with people, where can she even start?

There was a good mystery here. Well, a potentially good mystery, anyway. I was caught up in the events early on and was interested in seeing how Molly would succeed and what she’d uncover along the way. But, the end was a bit weaker than I hoped since I figured out things before Molly did. 

Then there’s my usual complaint about Molly’s husband. Each book, he seems to make progress toward accepting how good a detective she is. Then we regress back to his old attitude for the start of the next book. I get it – his attitude is realistic for the time. But I am so tired of seeing this “character development” happen over and over again. It’s time to move on to something else. 

Which brings us to the theme. We are talking about women’s rights in general and the right to vote in particular. Now, hear me carefully. The status women had in society in 1909 was bad. We needed the changes we’ve had in society since then. And, as part of a mystery, I don’t mind that. But we got more than that here. We had characters talking about how it wasn’t right followed by Molly thinking about it in the first-person narration. Then we’d have another scene talking about it. It felt like much more of a lecture than part of a mystery. 

Which is a shame because I still find the characters charming. Yes, even Daniel can be charming. I want to enjoy my time with them. 

And I always enjoy the bits of history we get in these books. 

Having said all of this, I will definitely be picking up the next in the series as soon as possible. And other fans will be joining me. 

I do enjoy my time with Molly even if the stories could be stronger. Long time fans will feel the same when they set down Vanished in the Crowd. 

Enjoy more of Molly’s NYC with the rest of the Molly Murphy Mysteries. 

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.