Welcome to Serendipity Springs and the first five books in the Mah Jongg Mystery series! Mah jongg can generate killer competition. But murder? The answer is yes when it comes to four retired Central Florida friends, who find themselves solving baffling homicides in between the games they love. Whether you know how to mah jongg or not, join these intrepid seniors as they take turns leading their own private investigations. It turns out the mental agility they use to strategize each play is the perfect tool for tracking down murderers.
Sydney Bonner overhears a fellow mah jongg player arguing on the phone with her husband and realizes the couple’s “perfect marriage” isn’t all it appears to be. When the husband is found dead a few days later, the widow prevails upon Sydney and her three friends—Marianne, Kat and Micki—to find out who really killed him. Though none of these four take-charge retirees has any training as detectives, the women agree to launch a secret investigation. As they dig under the happy veneer of their community’s social life, they find more than enough suspects, from shady ladies to resentful golf buddies, to keep them looking over their shoulders. Could the murderer be lurking among the talent in a chaotic production put on by Sydney’s husband, who will do anything to keep busy in retirement? Could the sheriff, who may have more than a professional interest in chanteuse Kat, end up pinning the crime on the women instead? Each discovery during their investigations keeps them running as they close in on the killer—but the killer may also be closing in on them.
The oracle and the game! Do you have questions about your love life, career, health or future happiness? Well, now you can find the answers using this classic Chinese oracle from the Chou dynasty. Based on the best-selling Book-in-a-Box kits, Mah Jongg Book shows how to use the deck to give accurate answers to all your daily dilemmas and there are twelve sample readings to help you get started. Plus, there are instructions for playing the game of Mah Jongg. The original oracle from which the game evolved may be thousands of years old, but the advice it gives is as relevant today as it was to the Chinese seekers of wisdom all those years ago.
Join Fern and a colorful cast of characters in her debut memoir titled Mah Jongg Mondays. Fern, married and a mother of three sons takes us into her modern middle-class suburban Long Island world where one day she gets the "Big Idea" to learn the Chinese tile game called mah jongg. Weekly games provide the setting for deep-seeded relationships to form around the mah jongg table. These Monday gatherings become a source of support and strength for Fern as her husband is diagnosed with cancer. Fear, insecurity and potential heart-wrenching loss become challenges she must overcome. The author weaves the themes of destiny, faith, friendship, time and love throughout the story. Fern takes us on her journey around the mah jongg table, eastward to the seaport town of Greenport and through her husband's battle with cancer as she relies on faith, friendship and her personal relationship with God. Read this heartwarming story about the wonderful things that can happen when five women are destined to come together to play an old Chinese game, sitting around a table with 152 tiles, dice and a mah jongg card. Love always; love all ways, for time has no guarantee.
The third in a tasty series, Murder Lo Mein by Vivien Chien is a delight! Everyone agrees that the food at Ho-Lee Noodle House is delicious—unless it happens to be deadly. Lana Lee’s stake in her family’s Chinese restaurant is higher than ever now that she’s been made manager. So when she enters Ho-Lee into Cleveland’s Best Noodle Contest, Lana makes it her business to win—at all costs. But when a local food critic receives a threatening note in a fortune cookie and is later found dead, face-down in a bowl of lo mein, all bets are off. . . Now, along with her sweet-and-sour boyfriend Detective Adam Trudeau, Lana decides to take matters into her own hands and dig into the lives of everyone involved in the contest. But when she receives an ill-fated fortune, Lana realizes that in order to save the reputation of her restaurant, she needs to save herself first. . . “Thoroughly entertaining...fun and delicious.”—RT Book Reviews
Mah-Jongg? Yep. In hip Hollywood, that kitsch old game is fast becoming the next "new" obsession -- and that calls for a party! Madeline Bean and her charming partner Wesley Westcott are determined to throw a gonzo Chinese New Year banquet. But among the hot mah-jongg tiles, the steamy dim sum, and the frosty Singapore slings, no one expects to find one of the players ice-cold dead! Meanwhile, in one of the historic celebrity mansions that Wesley is restoring as a sideline, a well-aimed crowbar uncovers a stash of precious objects -- including an antique mah-jongg set. As Madeline pieces together how these two events are connected, she must separate the yin from the yang to uncover a killer. It doesn't take a fortune cookie to spell it out. There is always a price to pay...whether gambling at mah-jongg -- or murder.
The Red Dragon & The West Wind is the perfect introduction to this ancient game of strategy and subterfuge, covering all aspects of the two most common varieties, American and Chinese, along with an overview of other global approaches. The book begins with the history and origin and moves on to the rules of play and ways to win and avoid essential errors as well as the etiquette to follow. With everything from clear instructions on dealing, building, and distributing tiles to a look at the history and future of the game, this is the essential book for anyone who wants to have fun–and win–while playing mah–jongg.
Whether you're an American Mah Jongg newbie or an intermediate player looking to gain an edge over your opponents, American Mah Jongg for Everyone is the perfect book to help you start practicing your game! Experienced international Mah Jongg instructors Gregg Swain and Toby Salk walk you through the basics of American Mah Jongg--introducing readers to the tiles, rituals, history, rules and winning strategies of the game. Using the humor, warmth and professional tips they share with their own students, this narrative-style instruction book offers an accessible way to learn this popular game. Topics include: Recognizing Mah Jongg tiles in different types of sets Building the walls and dealing the tiles Organizing your tiles and planning your play Understanding table rules and etiquette Winning strategies for various types of hands National Mah Jongg tournament director Gladys Grad contributes a foreword that explains why so many people love the game. Grad also has written a chapter that outlines the rules of Siamese Mah Jongg, a fun two-person game she created that you can't find in any other Mah Jongg book! This book comes with everything you need to get started playing, including: A timeless sample Mah Jongg scoring card A paper set to cut out and use while learning Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions Over 80 color illustrations Helpful practice exercises and quizzes that reinforce the lessons Access to a website that provides up to date information about the game A glossary of terms that every Mah Jongg player needs to know From the many different types of tiles and how to recognize them, personal stories about the game and historical trivia, American Mah Jongg for Everyone has something for anyone interested in this fascinating game.
