Ill-Fated Fortune: A Magical Fortune Cookie
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – California
Minotaur Books (February 20, 2024)
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages

Synopsis

Jin grew up literally hanging onto Mom’s apron strings in their magical bakery in the quaint town of Pixie, California. Her mother’s enchanted baked goods, including puffy pineapple buns and creamy egg tarts, bring instant joy to all who consume them. Felicity has always been hesitant in the kitchen herself after many failed attempts, but a takeout meal gone wrong inspires her to craft some handmade fortune cookies.

They become so popular that Felicity runs out of generic fortunes and starts making her own personalized predictions. When one customer’s ill-fated fortune results in his murder, Felicity’s suspiciously specific fortune has the police focusing on her as the main culprit. Now Felicity must find a way to turn her luck around and get cleared from suspicion.

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Recipe

~Auspicious Almond Cookies~

Makes about 24 cookies, or 2 dozen

Ingredients:

1 ⅓ cups sifted all-purpose flour

⅝ cup white sugar

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ cup butter

1  egg

1 ½ tsp almond extract (1 tsp if less almond flavor is desired)

24 almond slices (sliced almonds)

Directions:

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together into a bowl. Cut in the butter (VERY important, don’t skip this) until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the almond extract and half of the egg. Mix well. The dough will appear to be too crumbly in the beginning, but if you mix it long enough, it will get the right consistency (that’s why you only need half an egg).
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
3. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Set them 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Press down with your thumb to flatten each cookie slightly. Place an almond slice in the middle of each cookie.
4. Combine the other half of the egg and ½ tbsp water to make a light egg wash glaze. Cover the tops of the cookies with the glaze using a basting brush. You can adjust the amount of glaze used on each cookie depending on how much almond cookie shine you want.
5. Bake in oven until the edges of the cookies are golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

Note: They taste even better the second day because the almond flavor has set in.

Review

This new series was a lot of fun to read, and the mystery left me hanging until the end because I had no idea who the killer could be, and there were not a lot of suspects to choose from! I did not suspect the killer since no motive was ever really established until it was revealed.

Felicity is coming into her own in the bakery her mother owns. They are a magical family and everything her mom bakes is infused with joy. It took Felicity a while to find her grove, but she finally does with fortune cookies. I thought it was neat that she could write fortunes specifically for a person. It takes her some time to uncover how to do it and control it.

I really liked her best friend, Kelvin, and her godmother, Alma. These are two characters that add character to the story. Kelvin is her partner in crime, and they find themselves in some sticky situations. There is even a bunny that appears, Whiskers, that might have magical abilities too. Only time will tell.

Not everything is smooth sailing for Felicity and her mom. Certain situations put them in a bit of a pickle. It causes a few hiccups for the bakery. Luckily, all works out in time.

I think this could be a good series, I look forward to reading more and depth added for the characters with more background.

We give this 4 paws up.

About the Author

Jennifer J. Chow writes cozies with heart, humor, and heritage. Her newest series is the L.A. Night Market Mysteries. The first book, Death By Bubble Tea, was nominated for both an Agatha Award (Best Contemporary Novel) and a Lefty Award (Best Humorous Mystery). It hit the SoCal Indie Bestseller List multiple times and was one Aunt Agatha’s Best of Cozies 2022, Kings River Life Staff Favorites of 2022, and one of the 2022 Bestsellers at Bel Canto Books. It’s been featured in Book Riot, BookBub, Bustle, CrimeReads, Goodreads, and Mystery Scene Magazine. The New York Times Book Review said of the novel: “Yale and Celine’s growing loyalty to each other, coupled with the warmth of Chow’s prose, adds extra depth, just like the tapioca balls nestled in a glass of bubble tea.” Jennifer currently serves as President on the board of Sisters in Crime and regularly blogs at chicksonthecase.com. She is also an active member of Crime Writers of Color and Mystery Writers of America.

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