Felicity Jin
returns in the second book in the heart-warming and deliciously mysterious
Magical Fortune Cookie series from Lilian Jackson Braun Award-nominee Jennifer
J. Chow.
Jin Bakery has been asked to cater the Lum-Wu outdoor wedding at Pixie Park.
The day of the ceremony, Felicity is finishing the “cake” of tiered egg tarts
as the wedding party arrives for the ceremony. When one of the groomsmen, Miles
Wu, doesn’t arrive, Felicity’s best friend and local florist Kelvin generously
steps in for him and the wedding goes smoothly—until cake cutting time.
That’s when Felicity finds Miles’ dead body beneath the table with her egg
tarts display, stabbed by Kelvin’s gardening shears. With the detective’s sights
on Kelvin, Felicity starts sleuthing away to prove his innocence, revealing
dark secrets about all the wedding's attendants. They each had something to
hide—and a reason to quiet Miles forever. To make matters worse, Felicity’s
powers of prediction are on the fritz thanks to the emotional turmoil of a
surprise visit from her estranged father.
When the groom gets poisoned at the send-off party and winds up in a coma, the
stakes are even higher, not to mention Felicity’s feelings for Kelvin are
beginning to feel more than friendly. Will Felicity’s magic return in time to
catch the true culprit and rescue her budding relationship with Kelvin?
Jennifer’s protagonist, Felicity Jin, is twenty-eight and a third-generation Asian American living in Pixie, CA. Her family, consisting of her mother and herself, owns a bakery, which is handed down via the family’s females. There’s special magic imbued in the baked goods and sometimes that magic helps Felicity and her best friend and florist Kelvin Love, solve mysteries.
Please welcome Jennifer Chow back to WWK. E. B. Davis
You’ve been keeping busy, Jennifer. Where did the idea for this series come from? Doing more baking or making magic at home? I always loved baking, even as a kid. I was the first in my family to try my hand at making cookies. But I fell in love with the delicious magic of fortune cookies on a school field trip to San Francisco’s Chinatown—guess the idea has been percolating in me ever since!
The novel is mostly set in Pixie, CA, which is close to Fresno. Did you create Pixie? Is it based on another town? I did create Pixie. It’s a word play on Pixley, which is close to Fresno. And I wanted to call my place “pixie” because it’s got a small-town vibe.
I’m having trouble using the word “Asian” because it seems to be too broad. Can we ask about the Chinese culture specifically without it being politically incorrect? Sure, that’s probably more accurate. Felicity is third-generation Chinese American.
Felicity is catering the wedding cake. But the cake is really a tiered arrangement of Hong Kong style egg tarts. Are the tarts popular? Yes, they’re quite popular. Originally, they’re a spin-off from British egg tarts, but they’re well-loved in dim sum eateries.
Do people actually get full body scans for bespoke wedding cake toppers? You know, since the advent of 3D printing, it’s been a thing for couples to get detailed, unique toppers. That was a fun research rabbit hole to fall into!
The bride and groom are a mix of tradition (the tea ceremony as part of the wedding) mixed with unconventional (the groom had a best woman, and the bride had a best man), which surprised me. You mentioned that Felicity is a third-generation Chinese American. Are the bride and groom a few generations away from the old country, too? They’re second-generation and beyond. But it’s definitely a contemporary trend to have whomever you want to be part of your wedding party.
Each Jin baker has a specialty. Felicity’s mom’s specialty are pineapple buns. But Felicity makes egg tarts and fortune cookies. Which is her specialty? Felicity’s recipe is fortune cookies. Her mom, Angela, makes pineapple buns and also egg tarts (which was Felicity’s late grandmother’s specialty and magically passed down to Angela).
We learn that the Jin Bakery is grouped among two other shops. Jin Bakery’s products are infused with magical joy. Felicity’s godmother, Alma Paz owns Paz Illuminations, which has “wish candles.” Felicity’s best friend Kelvin Love owns the other shop, Love Blooms. He’s a florist and provides flowers for the wedding. Does he have magic in his flowers and arrangements? Only the magical artistry of flower design, but stay tuned…
Felicity’s father appears as a wedding guest. Although she hasn’t seen him most of her life, she recognizes him and wants to forgive his abandonment, but his story doesn’t quite add up. Why is Kelvin so suspicious? First off, Kelvin will always be protective of Felicity. Second, who shows up out of the blue after decades of no contact for a good reason?
Felicity was told that the family’s recipes were handed down verbally. But it turns out that there is a recipe book. Why didn’t Felicity know that? Why didn’t her mother explain what happened? The book was deemed lost, and Angela didn’t want to let Felicity know that. Plus, it would open up painful memories from Angela’s past.
Detective Rylan Sun was the detective in the first book, Ill-Fated Fortune, when a murder took place at the Jin Bakery. When she moves to Pixie, Felicity’s mom brings her oranges. What is the significance of oranges as a home welcoming gift? Oranges are considered delicious gifts bringing brightness and luck. Plus, the Chinese word for mandarin oranges is similar sounding to their last name, so the Jins use oranges as sort of an edible calling card for their family.
At first, I thought when Felicity called Kelvin’s father Mr. Love, she was being disrespectful since Kelvin’s father is a doctor/surgeon. But there was a reason she did so, isn’t there? Kelvin’s dad doesn’t stand on formality. Plus, he’s always preferred “Mr.” as a title since he doesn’t want to be misrepresented as a professional romance expert.
What is dàn tà? That’s the Mandarin word for egg tarts.
What is Foo? Foo Lions? Foo can be a surname, and it’s part of the name of a local restaurant near Pixie. Foo lions are the stone guardian statues in front of businesses (or palaces). They can be erroneously called “lion dogs” or “Foo dogs,” but they’re not actually canines.
After the murder, the bride and groom don’t immediately go on their honeymoon. The entire wedding party stays at the local bed and breakfast. Why didn’t they return to their homes? The wedding party stays to give support to the bride and groom. Plus, the Pixie police are interested in keeping them around for questioning for as long as possible…
Felicity seems to be honing her magical powers. When someone eats one of her magical fortunes in her presence, she can see colors. What do the colors reveal? The colors indicate different areas in a person’s life that Felicity can make predictions for…
What’s next for Felicity and Kelvin? They’re off to partner up in another mystery—with even more magic throw in! The third book in the Magical Fortune Cookie series is slated to come out in 2026
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