June saw the continuation of May's food mystery theme. I've got a bunch more that fall within this subgenre to read, so look for those in a future post.
The Kielbasa Killer (Kielbasa Queen No.1) by Geri Krotow I'm half Polish; did you honestly believe I would pass on a series called the Kielbasa Queen and a title like Kielbasa Killer? Although she has several series in print, this was a new author to me. In this first Kielbasa Queen murder mystery, we meet Lydia Wienewski, who lives in a very Polish community near Buffalo, NY. The story is set in 1982, a time I remember well (I was 17 in 1982, and grew up in a very Polish community in northern NJ; see why I had to read this book?). Lydia has recently returned home from attending baking school out of state, and her father has recently suffered a stroke, so she's deferred her plans to open her own bakery and is running the family butcher shop. Kudos to Ms. Krotow--except for one fact, she nailed what it's like to live in a Polish family in a Polish town. She even got the cross-cultural marriages correct: in that part of the country, and in my own family, several Poles married Italians, just like Lydia's Italian grandmother married her Polish grandfather. The one mistake: Poles do not eat meat on Holy Saturday, and the author has Lydia and her family eat lasagna that night; she specifically does not say meatless lasagna. It's a Polish thing: we don't eat meat Good Friday or Holy Saturday, and we don't eat meat Christmas Eve. Other than that, I could have sworn I was reading about my family and neighborhood in New Jersey. As to the mystery, it's not the hardest to solve. Minor typos: Chapter 1, it would be a cinch to do it, not a clutch to do it. Minor inconsistencies: Chapter 5: she's just found a dead body and for some reason, she thinks her family are the main suspects (there's no way in heck they are, despite the location of the dead body upon discovery, but again this is used as a weak ploy to get our amateur detective investigating), and all she can do is barely resist the urge to swivel in a vinyl chair? We get it, Ms. Krotow, you've got all the details right, you don't have to hit us over the head with actions like this that would make no sense to someone really panicking over fear of an imminent arrest. I also disliked her assumption that the reason she was being told she shouldn't investigate the murder was because she was a woman when it's because she's a civilian; again, another weak plot point in my eyes. But despite these and a few other little things, I enjoyed the book. It's so evocative of a time and place I know well, and remember fondly, that it was taking a time machine back with Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher. Recommended (Net Galley)
Misfortune Cookie (Noodle Shop Mystery No. 9) by Vivien Chien I really enjoyed the one and only other Lana Lee mystery that I read. One thing mystery writers have trouble with as series go one is finding ways to have their amateur detective get involved (the Cabot Cove effect). In this entry, the author solves that problem by having Lana sent by her mother to attend a restaurant convention in California. Since her auntie lives there, Lana's sister comes with her and the two hope to have a mini reunion with their aunt. They are attending a convention party when someone dies. It looks like suicide, but did Lana really see a shadowy figure up on the roof? The previous book I read was laugh out loud funny, and I think that was because Lana's roommate was a big part of that mystery, while her sister, while present and an important part of a subplot, was not prominent. I enjoyed the sister dynamic, and while the mystery was pretty easy to figure out, it was still enjoyable. A well written summer escape. Recommended (Net Galley)
