Fortune Cookie

Fortune Cookie

By: Josi S. Kilpack

A letter from San Francisco.  A burned body. An estranged sister.  And lot’s of secrets.  Mix them all together for two minutes and you have a recipe for a murder mystery you won’t want to miss! 

Summary

Sadie is busy putting the final touches to her wedding, which is only three weeks away, when she gets a letter in the mail from San Francisco.  The only person she knows there is her estranged sister, Wendy, who didn’t even come to their father’s funeral.  Sadie is hesitant about letting Wendy back into her life… until she realizes Wendy isn’t around to hurt her anymore.  Plus there’s a mystery that needs solving, and new food to be eaten.  Sadie soon uncovers twisted truths about her sister’s past, and meets people who definitely have a motive for murder. 

The Depth of a Relationship

I think more than anything Fortune Cookie explores the relationships. 

Ji and his family:  Ji does things out of duty and not so much because he loves what he does.  He works hard to honor his father-in-law and to provide a comfortable living for his daughters.  He married Lin Yang out of duty, never growing to love her.  Sadie helps Ji begin to see the reality of his miserable his life, and that it will continue to be miserable if he continues to do everything he does out of duty.

Ji and Sadie: Meeting a nephew you never knew you had.  That’s a surprise, especially when you find out your nephew lived a completely different life than you, and much of it because of the bad parenting of your sister (his mother).  Ji doesn’t have to accept Sadie into his life, and Sadie knows that.  In fact several times it appears as if Ji is pushing Sadie away.  This relationship hangs by a thread throughout the book, and Sadie must fight for it to stay together.

Pete and Sadie:  Revisiting San Francisco brings back a lot of hard memories for Pete.  It was a favorite vacation spot for him and his late wife, Pat.  Sadie and Pete not only have to work together to solve this mystery, but also to keep their relationship alive and well.  Pete must come to terms with Pat never coming back, and instead, having Sadie by his side for the rest of his life. 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I love how these mystery books are more about relationships than they are about the mysteries.

A Personal Investment

There has been one other book in the Sadie Hoffmiller series where one of Sadie’s family members has been deeply involved in a case.  This caused Sadie to put everything she had into solving the mystery.  Fortune Cookie has the same personal investment involved.  This time the family member is the one who is dead, not the one being accused.  Because of this Sadie puts more of an effort into solving the mystery.

Personal Review

This book is one of the best books in the series, not because it’s a page turner, but because of what Sadie learns about herself and her relationships with those around her living and dead.  I love Sadie’s strength and love she has for others.  Before I thought Sadie was a little selfish in her relationship with Pete.  Fortune Cookie brought the unselfish side out in Sadie.