Thanksgiving dinner must be my favorite meal of the year. I get to eat turkey (sometimes with bread as stuffing; other times, with sticky rice inside) and indulge in pumpkin pie. Plus, Ba actually rests from running his busy dim sum restaurant, and we get to share a meal.

Of course, it’s been quieter ever since my mom passed, but I still enjoy spending family time together. And this year, we’ll be sure to invite Celine, my cousin visiting from Hong Kong. I bet she’ll take plenty of Instagram-worthy pictures before we actually get to the eating part, but that’s okay.

Wait a minute, what? Ba just told me we’re not having our usual intimate dinner. We’ll actually be eating with a group of local Asian American restaurant owners. And Nik Ho, my annoying night market food stall neighbor, will be there.

Thanksgiving dinner isn’t even going to be held at our dim sum eatery, which has the ideal partitioned space for banquets. Instead, it’ll be hosted at Nik’s mother’s restaurant, which serves Taiwanese cuisine in, oddly, a 1950s diner atmosphere. And we aren’t eating turkey either but hot pot.

Guess I do like dipping meats and veggies in bubbling broth. Hmm . . . I hope nobody gets splashed by the boiling soup.

*

Update: Little did I know there was greater trouble brewing. Yes, all of us attendees are now in hot water with the police because someone at dinner has just met a shocking and deadly end!

Hot Pot Murder, A L.A. Night Market Mystery Book #2
Genre: Cozy
Release: June 2023
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

Trouble is brewing for cousins Yale and Celine Yee after a hot pot dinner gets overheated and ends in murder in this second novel of the L.A. Night Market series by Jennifer J. Chow.

Yale and Celine Yee’s food stall business is going so well that they’ve been invited to join an exclusive dinner with the local restaurant owners association. The members gather together for a relaxing hot pot feast…until Jeffery Vue, president of the group, receives a literal shock to his system and dies.

Everyone at the meal is a suspect, but the authorities are homing in on family friend Ai Ho, owner of the restaurant where Jeffery was killed—and Yale’s dad is a close second on their list. Yale and Celine step up to the plate and investigate the dinner attendees: the association’s ambitious VP, a familiar frenemy, a ramen king, a snacks shopkeeper, and a second-generation restaurateur. It’s up to the detecting duo to figure out what really happened before their friends and family have to close their businesses for good.

About the author
Jennifer J. Chow writes cozies filled with hope and heritage. She is an Agatha, Anthony, and Lefty Award-nominated author; her most recent series are the Sassy Cat Mysteries and L.A. Night Market Mysteries. Her latest book, Death by Bubble Tea, was reviewed by the New York Times, featured in Woman’s World, and hit the SoCal Indie Bestseller List. She currently serves as President on the board of Sisters in Crime and blogs at chicksonthecase.com. Jennifer is an active member of Crime Writers of Color and Mystery Writers of America. Find her online at JenniferJChow.com.

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