Title: Fortune Cookie

Author: John R. Johnson

Description: A crime thriller that starts with a murder and spirals into a tangled web of stolen secrets, international crime, and corporate espionage. Detective Valerie Richard, already dealing with personal drama, has to solve the case before more people end up dead.

Genre: Crime thriller

Book Review

Fortune Cookie by John R. Johnson is a crime thriller that starts with a murder and spirals into a tangled web of stolen secrets, international crime, and corporate espionage. Detective Valerie Richard, already dealing with personal drama, has to solve the case before more people end up dead.

There are some solid things to note about this book. The cover is simple but clever, with a fortune cookie warning readers about the chaos they are about to read. Valerie is also a well-developed character, with her own flaws, and her constant questioning helps keep track of the mystery. The investigation itself has some interesting twists that you may not be able to see right away.

That said, the book gets bogged down with overly long descriptions, especially about side characters who don’t really matter in the long run. There’s also a lot of focus on Valerie’s personal struggles, sometimes more than the actual mystery which made the book less interesting. And the repeated comments about her appearance by other people on her police team were unnecessary and odd.

Overall, it’s an interesting read with a strong lead character and a pretty solid mystery, but the slow pacing and unnecessary details drag it down a bit. I can’t say I would read it again if I had the choice, but if you like detective stories with international intrigue, you might enjoy this book. I’d give Fortune Cookie a 3 out of 5 star rating.