A kidnapping needs solving by our night market food stand hero

Very quick read. Jumped right into the whole “my father has been kidnapped” tagline right out of the gate; however, this was quickly overshadowed by the obscene amount of backstory you need to even understand the context of this statement. And that is basically the style for this 273 page word prison. There was obviously a lot going on, but I didn’t feel the grip that comes with a true edge-of-your-sear thriller. Maybe my confusion stems from the fact that this novel is labeled as the third book in this series. Lots of backstory that is just never addressed like how the main character has mob connections that only ever pop up when he’s being a self-deprecating douche? Or how he could possibly get roped into this absurdity because a former classmate the author so lovingly describes as a “friendly bully” has his phone number? Or how the quiet type former criminal working at the food stand can solve this kidnapping and identify the perps with absolutely no effort? And to top it off there is about a 60 page veer into some other ridiculous abduction. It’s honestly a tangled mess of “who’s on whose side at the moment t” and after about half of the book you lose the main premise of the boom beneath the overgrown hedge of food porn and overt racism. Again, very quick read but not a very good one.

Funny, with great characters.

Unfinished. Not my style of crime novel.

a fun little thriller set in Taipei !

This is the third in the night market series and it was an enjoyable read! I’m always up for any book about Taiwan and this series is a fun one. This particular one had some immigration politics in which I found interesting but like the last three - the best part is the food and night market scene.

I didn’t know this book was a series so this is the first time I learned about the characters. It took a long time for me to jumpstart reading this because there’s too many unlikeable characters but once I accepted it, it’s easier to finish it

a fun little thriller set in Taipei !

This series keeps getting better. I tore through this one and the plot took a few twists that I never saw coming. Plus the descriptions of food were amazing!