never date a bassist

It’s Lana Lee’s thirtieth birthday, and nothing is happening. She woke up, she went to work, and no one even seemed to notice that it was anything but another ordinary day. Her roommate didn’t say anything, her boyfriend didn’t do anything, her coworkers didn’t seem to notice. Even her family didn’t acknowledge her. Lana spent the day working at her family’s restaurant, Ho-Lee Noodle House, feeling forgotten.

It wasn’t until that evening, when her roommate got her back to the restaurant for her surprise party that Lana realized just how loved she is. Family and friends, coworkers and favorite customers, roommate Megan and boyfriend Adam, and enough food to feed the masses. Megan had even invited some friends of theirs from college, and one of them had brought along Lana’s ex-boyfriend, Devon Jones, a bassist for a local band.

Their breakup had been ugly, and Lana’s boyfriend, a police detective, was especially unhappy that he was there. There were some words between them, and Devon had gone outside for a cigarette. The real trouble started, however, when he didn’t come back in. Peter, the chef at Ho-Lee Noodle House, found him in the dumpster as he was cleaning up for the night. Someone had hit him on the head and left him there.

Because Adam had been seen arguing with the man, suspicion fell on him, so he was suspended from the police department until the investigation was complete. But anyone who knows Lana and her friends knows that they won’t be sidelined from a murder investigation. The only problem with that is that Lana has to consider the possibility that a police officer, may have been behind it. Maybe even Adam.

And Then There Were Bun is book 13 in Vivien Chien’s popular and cleverly titled Noodle Shop Mystery series. She blends a cast of charming characters with smart plots, adding in red herrings and an adorable dog named Kikko to strike a balance between solving crime and living life. I love her loyalty to her family and their restaurant, and to the Asian Village community where the restaurant is. And Lana is genuinely smart and good at putting the pieces of the puzzle together to find the answers she’s looking for.

I really enjoyed And Then There Were Bun. I’ve been a longtime reader of this series, and I think Chien’s writing just keeps getting better. Lana gets better with each investigation, and there is a sense of warmth and community in the characters that surround her. I love spending time at Ho-Lee Noodle House, even if it does make me hungry for more (for more mysteries, but also for the food. It all sounds delicious. And those doughnuts? Yes, please!)

Egalleys for And Then There Were Bun were provided by Minotaur Books through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.