Death by bubble tea

In this first in a new series, we meet Yale Yee, daughter of a restaurant owner, who prefers to live in the world of books, unencumbered by technology. Things change quickly when Yale is laid off from her bookstore job in the Eastwood Village area of Los Angeles; when her cousin Celine arrives from Hong Kong; and when her father sends both of them to staff the family food stand at the inaugural night market in Eastwood Village. The cousins couldn't be more different: Celine is an Instagram influencer, or "foodstagrammer," logging everything she eats. Celine styles the signature bubble tea Yale has devised with gold flakes and serves it in a light bulb--shaped cup to make it more Instagrammable. Their first customer--a violet-eyed woman in a ninja costume--is found dead after the market closes. When the police confirm she died from something she ate or drank and threaten to close down the market, the Yee cousins go into action to save the restaurant and the market. These sleuthing cousins will appeal to fans of food-themed mysteries. Includes recipes.

Chow inaugurates her L.A. Night Market Mysteries (after the Winston Wong and Sassy Cat/Mimi Lee series), which turns two cousins into unlikely sleuths. Yale Yee is still mourning her mother's death. She quit her family's dim sum restaurant and found solace in a sisters-owned bookstore—except now she's been laid off. Enter wealthy, glamorous, media-influencer cousin Celine, who's just arrived from Hong Kong. After not seeing each other in 20 years, their airport reunion proves short and clumsy. Still, neither can say no when Yale's father pairs them to run a food stall at the new Eastwood Village Night Market. Tech-averse Yale has her reservations, but Celine's foodstagramming expertise makes for a busy evening that ends in . . . yep, murder. Might their grapefruit boba have been fatal? Sheh might be a relative newbie to audiobooks, but her ample anime/animation/video game credits have prepared her well for crisp delivery and exacting pacing. While the supporting cast isn't always distinguishable, Sheh keeps the cousins firmly in the spotlight. She's also notably affecting as churlish nemesis Nikola Ho. Sheh ensures Chow's latest stays light and tasty (recipes included!). Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.