With warmth and humour, Jesse has created another masterpiece in Vera Wong.

Prepare yourself to fall head over heels in love with an old lady. Vera Wong stole my heart right from the very first pages. She’s nosy. She’s bossy. And somehow she knows just what you need. We should all be so lucky to have a Vera Wong in our life.

I loved everything about this book. The mystery aspect is well done. Jesse kept me guessing right until the end with plenty of twists and turns. I loved how the mystery is almost secondary to the characters and their developing relationships with each other. It was heartwarming to see this ragtag group brought together by Vera. All the characters were great. Jesse gives us enough information for them to feel fully formed and relatable, but holding back enough to keep us wondering whodunit.

This book is funny. As I’ve come to expect from Jesse’s writing, I laughed out loud many times. I couldn’t get enough of Vera and her antics. From her views on sunscreen, to force feeding everyone, she is both a force to be reckoned with, and an utter delight. I sincerely hope we get to see Vera again in a future book.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers is a cozy mystery with lots of humour and heart.

Thank you, Berkeley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murders by Jessie Q. Sutano, Vera Wong finds a dead body clutching a flash drive in her teahouse in SanFrancisco’s chinatown. Convinced that the cops will be incompetent, Vera takes the flash drive so she can investigate the murder herself. It’s no surprise that with the flash drive missing, the cops are unconvinced that the victim was murdered. After the cops do their investigation of the crime scene, Vera waits to see who shows up at her teahouse, because, of course, the culprit always returns to the scene of the crime. They’ll be looking for the flash drive after all. Vera really is full of unsolicited advice for her suspects, and her ability to command a room is impressive. I love the dynamic between her and the suspects, who she begins to like almost immediately. For a more detailed review as well as a list of more books like Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, visit https://www.pickingbooks.com/blog/vera-wongs-unsolicited-advice-for-murderers.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers By Jesse. Q. Sutanto: Summary
A lonely shopkeeper takes it upon herself to solve a murder in the most peculiar way in Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties.

Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady–ah, a lady of a certain age–who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. Instead, she likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her Gen-Z son is up to.

Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing–a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive. Vera doesn’t know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of . . . swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Why? Because Vera is sure, she would do a better job than the police possibly could because nobody sniffs out wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands. Moreover, Vera knows the killer will be back for the flash drive; all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is the killer.

What Vera does not expect is to form friendships with her customers and start to care for every one of them. But, as a protective mother hen, will she have to give one of her newfound chicks to the police?
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers By Jesse Q. Sutanto: Review
First, the title of my review of Jesse Q. Sutanto Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers should have been: You are going to be thrilled while you pee your pants laughing. However, SEO and the length of the actual title made it impossible. So, I leave the thought with you upfront. You are also going to care A LOT. And not just about the plot, the mystery. You will care and root for this fantastic group of characters. So let’s do this, shall we?

Oh! If you noticed, I haven’t mentioned the “there is so much I want to say but can’t because… spoilers!” This is because I’m not concerned about spoiling Sutanto’s madcap adventure. That is because there is so much to talk about other than the end of this story. A story you won’t want to end. One last thing? This review will have more quotes than usual because Jesse Q. Sutanto’s writing is everything.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers By Jesse Q. Sutanto: Characters
Vera
I have to start here because of all the mystery and intrigue encompassing the plot; the characters and charm make Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers and Jesse Q. Sutanto unique. First, of course, is Vera. This little lady packs one hell of a punch. Vera Wang is a pistol from her strict morning walk routine to her health beliefs. Oh! Yes, Vera Wong’s World Famous Tea House is neither world-famous nor run by Vera Wong. But since Vera Wong is a famous designer and she is world-renowned, why not go with it? It is only one letter from Vera Wang’s name.

But I digress. Vera believes only room-temperature water is good for the body. Cold water, you see, will freeze the fat in your arteries. And, of course, her unsolicited advice to murderers and her son alike is a riot.

Perhaps you should slip and slide into her DM. Kind regards, Mama… Vera had been particlarly pleased about using the phrase “slip and slide into her DM.”

Vera insists on keeping up to date with every trend.
Vera is the centerpiece of everything, which is just how she likes it. And as each character comes to the crime scene under pretenses, she believes she will solve this case. And before the police. Vera knows best about setting up couples and helping Julia with her baby girl. Speaking of Julia…

Julia
Julia is the tormented widow of the disease, aspiring photographer, and mamma bear to a precocious two-and-a-half-year-old child, Emma. Julia and the unceremoniously deceased had a contentious relationship, to say the least. The night before his untimely death, Marshall had left Julia. As you learn more about the contentiousness of their relationship, this doesn’t bode well for Julia. Poor Julia, who is packing up Marshall’s things to rid herself of them, when the police show up to inform her that Marshall is dead.

Hot take? Not a good look. However, you will notice a pattern of Vera becoming close to those she most suspects of the murder. And when Julia shows up at the tea house, just to run from the door with Emma on her hip? Vera notices.

Riki
Riki shows up, and like Calamity Jane stumbles through, first the shape of Vera Wong’s World Famous Tea House, then Vera herself. And last, why is he at the tea house? Riki knew Marshall, but he couldn’t tell this stranger. And so he becomes Riki, a reporter from Buzzfeed. And Vera is thrilled, which Riki didn’t expect. He didn’t even think she would KNOW what Buzzfeed was or how to access it. Yet, here they are.

You mean the Buzzfeed? Wow! Fabulous, wonderful job, child

As with all the characters, Riki has something to hide, and Vera will get to the bottom of it whether she cares for them or not.

Sana
The tortured artist (her relationship with her mother is… something) who knew Marshall. There is a lot to unpack with that relationship. So, I’ll leave you to find out. But like Riki, she has to see where Marshall died but can’t tell Vera. And so Sana, the podcaster, is born. And Vera isn’t fooled by either of them. Their falsities lead Vera to start her notebook: Vera Wong’s Murder Case.

Suspect 1: Riki Herwanto

-Too handsome to be real reporter

Suspect 2: Sana Singh

-Nails are bitten very badly

Suspect 3: White Lady <Julia> with child

-Runs very fast while carrying child… And why run from my shop? Very suspicious
Oliver
Marshall’s twin brother is just not that mad about Marshall’s demise. He says he has to see where his brother died. Immediately, proud because SHE drew it (what good are the police?), Vera takes Oliver to the chalk outline of Marshall’s body. But there is more to Riki than a dislike for his twin brother. He is connected to another character in this motley group. But which? How? And what does it mean?

Other Characters
Every principal and peripheral character has their own voice. And their unique relationship with Vera. Detective Gray is flummoxed by Vera showing up everywhere and in everything. Her frustration, mixed with Vera’s determination to solve the case, provides some of the best banter in Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Sutanto writes it brilliantly. Vera has schooled herself on the likes of CSI and Law and Order. So, she knows exactly what to expect when she visits the police station. Except. It isn’t like that at all.

No one is threatening her life. No one is shouting. No one is even looking her way. People just typing into computers like this is a regular office instead of a police station.

And when she finds Officer Gray, loads of food prepared for the police in hand, things take a turn. Marching off to Officer Gray’s office, there is confusion.

“Good Morning, Officer.”

“It was,” Officer Gray says meaningfully… <Gray> follows Vera as she turns a corner and keeps marching… “Um, just where is it that you’re headed, Vera?”

“You’re Office, of course”

“Right. Silly me. Except you seem to be leading the way?”

Vera sniffs. “I keep expecting you to catch up and lead, but you young people nowadays, always walking so slow… because you are always staring at your phone, all day everyday…”

Vera’s son Tilly could easily be the villain, if only because of how he treats his mother. Then there is Vera’s favorite customer. Alex’s wife is sick. So during his ten-minute visit to Vera’s teashop, a respite from caring for his wife came once a day.

Lastly, little Emma. Julia’s daughter is a heartbreaker. Readers nor Vera can keep from falling in love with her.

Jesse Q. Sutanto: Mystery
Read the summary of Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murders above. It pretty much lays out the basics as each character meets Vera and each other. They all realize the others have secrets to hide. The problem? They all start bonding and caring for each other. As the story builds, Vera won’t be the only one beginning to hate the idea that one of this newly found family could be a murderer. Each press on to keep their secrets while keeping up with developments. Some start to revisit their pasts and compensate for lost time, lost identities, and painful trauma. Others are just barely staying afloat. But Vera is determined to get to the bottom of this murder, whether anyone wants her to or not.

Absolutely fantastic read!! Vera is my spirit animal!! I don't think I have ever come across a character quite like Vera. She is quirky, lovable, and completely to the point. This story pulls you right in with Vera's personality and you just keep reading to see what she does next... And to figure out the murder of course! Highly recommend!!

*Thank you @berkleypub for the #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for this digital ARC. I had not read any other books by Jesse Q Sutanto, but had always heard such raving reviews, so when I got the chance to pick up her newest release I was all in! I did this as part of a buddy read, and it has been so fun discussing Vera Wong and all her quirkiness with all the other readers.

When Vera Wong finds the body of a dead man in her tea shop, she begins her investigation before the cops even have a chance to show. She calls them, of course, but they immediately dismiss any foul play and Vera doesn't feel like they are doing their job properly. It should also be noted that Vera took a flash drive off the body before the cops showed up and withheld this information, before drawing an outline of the suspect on the floor! Once the news has broke that a dead body was found in her shop, Vera gets ready for the new customers to arrive. When four new visitors show up, she knows she has her four main suspects. As she begins her investigation, an unlikely bond begins to form between all the “suspects” as they spend more and more time together. It is so unique and fun to watch their interactions and relationships.

This book was such a joy for me to read! I laughed out loud so many times and then right after would be shocked by an unexpected twist! It kept me on my toes and wanting more, and it was one that I was sad to see come to an end! Vera is definitely one of my favorite characters I have read in a long time. She is very matter of fact, no beating around the bush or dilly dallying! She doesn’t take crap from anyone and isn’t afraid to speak exactly what is on her mind. I think we could all learn some things from Vera!

I loved this book!!! I thought Vera was simply the best and she is definitely and unforgettable character. As a tea lover myself I loved how she had a passion for tea. I also enjoyed the rest of the characters in this book that kept me laughing. What a great book with a fun mystery!

Thank you Penguin Random House International for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for the honest review.

Vera Wang’s is a lonely old lady and a shopkeeper of her teahouse. She was dressed with her usual morning gear and marches down the stairs to her teahouse, she was shocked because there, in the middle of her teahouse is a dead man. Vera is now on full murder mystery. She wants to catch who killed the man. Vera doesn’t trust the police now because she can see that they’re not doing anything, they just said that Marshall was dead because of allergy, but Vera was still pushing that it was a murder.

Julia’s husband walk out on her and now she doesn’t know how to do like paying bills, driving a car and maintaining the house. She hates Marshall for walking out on her, on them. But right now she hates herself more. The next day, 2 officers knocks on her door and told her that Marshall is dead.

I feel bad for Oliver. Since he and Marshall’s a kid, it was always Oliver’s fault when something happened to them. Now when he saw his brother’s outline on the floor where Marshall died he feels it was his fault, it always will be. Since he was a kid no ones believing him.

The plot twists that I didn’t expect. Wow! This book is amazing, as always 🍵 I love how Vera was lonely and now have a lot of friends and people who cared about her and loved her.

I enjoyed this book. The plot was well paced and the characters felt fully developed. I would recommend this book to others and am looking forward to other works by this author.

Sutanto's books are a delight! I always start them thinking that it is just over the top but she write such vivid, fun and warm characters that I'm completely won over by the end. Such was the case with Vera - at first I found her a little grating but came to really love her and her sleuthing skills. She almost reminded me a tiny bit of Ove with how I perceived her at first and then grew to love her. I loved having SF be the setting to this story and makes me wish her tea shop was a real place! Don't read this book hungry - there are so many delicious food and tea references in here that it will make you salivate! This was also wonderful on audio - thank you PRH audio for the ALC! Sutanto is definitely an auto-read author for me!

Jesse Q. Sutanto’s fascinating new cozy mystery, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers , features Vera Wong as an amateur sleuth. She’s a widow with one son who she doesn’t get to see very often. Vera lives above her dilapidated teashop in San Francisco. One morning she goes downstairs and finds a dead man in the middle of her shop with a flash drive in his outstretched hand. After calling the police, she takes the flash drive and hides it in her apron pocket. Vera is positive she can do a better job than the police can in discovering who killed the man on the floor. She feels she only needs to investigate the people who come to her shop after the murder and she will discover the killer.

Vera is lonely, inquisitive, intelligent, fiery, bold, and funny. She has very set ideas on how an older generation should be treated and lets others know if they don’t meet her expectations. The main supporting characters are Riki Herwanto, Sana Singh, Oliver Chen, Julia Chen, and Emma Chen. Their character angles lent focus, originality, and depth. The characters’ natures and backstories are shown using action, not just descriptive prose.

Told from five points of view, the novel gives readers extra insights into Vera, Julia, Riki, Sana, and Oliver. Amazingly, this did not cause pacing issues. Vera remains the focal point; ordering her suspects around as she gets to know them and their secrets. This relieves her boredom and gets her to enjoy life again. However, will she find the killer?

The story brilliantly captured the characters and the cultural lifestyles and traditions of the group. The plot has some twists and turns, but this story is about more than solving a mystery. Threads include found family, family relationships, loneliness, boredom, jealousy, personal boundaries, and regret, as well as generational differences and expectations.

Diverse characterization and great world-building details made this a fast and enjoyable read. I kept wondering what Vera would uncover next and how that would affect the story line. There are multiple believable suspects with motives to kill the man found in Vera’s shop. The joy of food, tea, and friendship are interwoven with the investigation into alibis and motives.

If you’re looking for an entertaining, heartwarming, lighthearted, and funny cozy mystery with a mature protagonist, I highly recommend this novel. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author. I would love to see a series featuring Vera.

Berkley Publishing Group and Jesse Q. Sutanto provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for March 14, 2023. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

I adore this book. Vera Wong is a women of routine. She's owned Vera Wang's World Famous Tea Shop for years, though she has very few customers. She does the same thing every day and she takes pride in it, but she is lonely since her husband's passing and her son rarely returns her calls or text messages.

Her daily routine is disrupted one day when she enters her tea shop and finds a dead body. In an effort to help the police, she draws the outline of the body, and (while wearing gloves) she does a bit of investigating on her own. It doesn't take her long to determine the man was murdered, but when the police don't take her seriously, she takes matters into her own hands.

This story is hilarious, but heartwarming. Vera brings suspects together and forges a family out of incredibly unfortunate circumstances.

The only qualm I had with the book is that ages seemed a little bit off Vera is meant to be 60 years old and she seemed so much older! There is a two-year old character who also seems so much more mature than any toddler I've known, but each child is different!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a murder mystery with a laugh.

I loved Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto! LOVED it!

Vera Wong is a lonely older woman who lives above her struggling teahouse in San Francisco's Chinatown. One morning, she finds a dead man clutching a flash drive in her teahouse. Vera takes the flash drive, thinking she can investigate better than the police " because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands." So when multiple suspects show up, Vera forms relationships with them while trying to figure out who the killer is.

This book surprised me in the best way! I had read Sutanto's Dial A for Aunties books and knew to expect a fun read with lots of humor, but this one also struck an emotional chord with me. Found family, emotional healing, loneliness, aging, and starting over are all touched on within the murder mystery.

The character development of this diverse group is excellent. I came to care about everyone, yes, even knowing they were all murder suspects. Vera, though, was a scene-stealing standout. Meddling, stubborn, wise, wonderful, maternal, and loving, Vera has a talent for reading people and knowing exactly what they need. Her sleuthing techniques involve tampering with the crime scene, withholding evidence, plying her suspects with tea and home-cooked feasts to pump them for information, then intervening to fix their lives. She was vividly written and completely endearing.

Suntanto has an engaging writing style, and in my opinion, this is her best book yet! I highly recommend this, even if cozy mysteries aren't usually your jam. It is a charming, bingeable, feel-good book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for the opportunity to review this ARC!

#VeraWongsUnsolicitedAdviceforMurderers:⁣
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Thank you @prhaudio for the gifted copy!⁣
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Jesse Q. Sutanto is always an author I will rave about. She grips me from the start, makes me the have the ugliest belly laughs, and somehow gets me to have a tear or two fall down my cheek. Vera Wong is my favorite character she’s ever created. An elderly person befriends younger generation and I’m in love? Of course. ⁣
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This does give you a fun cozy vibe because Vera is a tea shop owner, not the police. But, she definitely tells them how to do their job because clearly they don’t know how! She knows most will return to the scene of the crime, so she befriends her four suspects, and really finds a new family.⁣
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The audio was so good! Eunice Wong knocked it out of the park. Honestly, this could have been a full cast with the multiple POVs, but Eunice did it all. I was amazed and truly loved the audio.⁣
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There’s so much goodness about this book that I just want to tell you to read it. This is one I’ll be purchasing for my shelf and is easily a 5 star read.⁣
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Thank you again @berkleypub and @prhaudio for my copies. Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice⁣
for Murderers is out 3/14!⁣
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QOTD: What did you do this weekend? ⁣
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#MilesOfPages #PRHAudioPartner #BerkleyPartner #JesseQSutanto #CozyMystery

I couldn't stop laughing while reading this book. Vera is such a character and you're going to love her! I highly recommend listening to the audiobook as Eunice Wong as the narrator was phenomenal! I listened to the first 3/4 of the book and read the final bit this morning while watching skiing.

Vera owns a tea shop in San Francisco's Chinatown and when a dead body is found she takes it upon herself to want to solve the murder. I mean she's watched enough Law & Order and CSI, how hard can it be? As she narrows down her list of suspects she starts to form friendships with them and in Vera fashion meddles just enough...

I loved this found family and how much Vera really realized she was lonely and can't help but love her. Just like Jesse's other books this has such great charm in her characters and maybe a little outlandish but they are just so fun to read!

Check this out when it publishes on March 14th - I highly recommend the audiobook!

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
By Jesse Q. Sutanto
Berkley
March 2023

Review by Cynthia Chow

Never one to not take advantage of a marketing tool – or the ignorance of White People – Vera Wong Zhuzu operates her beloved but struggling Vera Wang’s World-Famous Teahouse in San Francisco’s Chinatown. That her teahouse is neither world renown nor she herself the iconic designer Vera Wang doesn’t bother Vera in the least, especially now that she is in a one-sided rivalry with the coffeehouse across the street. Vera has her daily routines, which involve texting her adult son at 4:31 am to remind him to wake up and eat breakfast, texting him at 5:01 pm encouraging him to eat a healthy early dinner, and constantly updating on the status of available single women liking his TikToks. What is not in her usual schedule is finding a body in the middle of her teahouse, although that doesn’t stop her from helping herself to some of the evidence in order to conduct her own investigation.

It’s quite obvious that Vera is supremely confident in her ability to give advice (that many seem to ignore) and also conduct her own “amateur” investigation. Vera begins making her Murder List of suspects and motives, and topping the lists include the array of visitors who arrived not long after the discovery of Marshall Chen’s body. The young businessman’s browbeaten wife Julia feels like a failure as a mother and a wife, while his twin brother Oliver has always been designated as the lesser sibling who always takes the blame. The appearance by a young woman claiming to be a podcaster and another young man rather hesitating stating that he is a reporter has Vera adding them to her suspect list, but she also drags them into her growing circle of accomplices as she continues to investigate. Vera is determined to pursue her own detecting despite police declaring Marshall’s death the result of a fatal bird allergy, and nothing can stop Vera when she believes that she is in the right. If that means tampering with evidence and perhaps staging her own crime scene, so be it.

In her author’s note Jesse Q. Sutanto writes that plans for the third Aunties mystery book were derailed by Vera Wong, who refused to be set aside as a character demanding her own series. It’s easy to see why, as while Vera seems to be an unlikely and perhaps unlikable heroine, she quickly enchants both readers and her growing found family. Softening her bulldozer tendencies are chapters alternately narrated by Julia Chen, aspiring artist Sana Singh, insecure Riki Herwanto, and Oliver Chen, all of whom are slowly drawn into the overwhelming presence of the bossy but well-meaning woman. Their initial reluctance to follow Vera mirrors that of the reader, yet quickly all will be charmed by Vera’s genuine protectiveness of her friends and her own need for love. The moment when Vera is brought low and questions all of her decisions completely cements her place in readers’ hearts, as her hard exterior is seen as the fragile façade it truly is. As with the two previous Aunties books, Asian cuisine and traditions are presented with tantalizing details that also highlight just how important they are to those raised with them. Fans of M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin will find this new series especially appealing, but all cozy and foodie book readers are advised to dive into this unexpected and extremely entertaining mystery.

This book was so much fun! The mystery kept me reading, I loved how it shifted points of view and how this helped further the intrigue and changing my guesses about what happened. And the book had all the humor and heart that I've come to expect from a Jesse Q. Sutanto book. I definitely recommend it if you like cozy mysteries!

Thanks to Berkley Pub, Netgalley, and Macmillan Audio for the gifted eARC and ALC for review!

It’s no secret that I love Sutanto’s quirky characters, but she’s really outdone herself with Vera Wong! This novel is simultaneously hilarious and heartfelt. It’s the story of several lost people who are involved in a murder investigation. The mystery was solid and I loved the found family theme. If A Man Called Ove and Dial A for Aunties had a baby, it would be this book. Go read it when it comes out on Tuesday!

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Rating: 5 stars
Pub Date: 3/14

Vera Wong, an elderly woman who owns a tea shop in San Francisco’s Chinatown, wakes up one morning to find a dead man on the floor of her tea shop. She’s watched enough crime shows to know what’s supposed to happen next, but when the police don’t behave like they do on TV, she realizes she must solve this crime herself. When people she’s never seen before start showing up at the tea shop, she knows one must be the killer. Through her investigation, she forms friendships with each of them and wonders what will happen when she proves one is a killer.

Can Vera be my best friend? I just adore her, with her strict routine and meddlesome ways. She’s stubborn, hysterical, and deeply traditional, and she stole my heart from the very first page.

This cozy mystery is full of heart and charm and is completely binge-able! Sutanto tends to fill her books with loveable, quirky characters, and this one is no different. It’s no small feat to make someone fall in love with characters who might turn out to be killers, but Sutanto makes it look easy.

Each person that Vera is investigating is well developed and comes with their own set of problems that she is happy to help them solve. Whether this involves pushing them to pursue their passions, taking care of their children, or even playing matchmaker at one point, Vera proves that there’s nothing she can’t do. I laughed my way through this book while feeling a little heartbroken for Vera when she realized how lonely she was before meeting her new friends.

The sense of found family, charming characters, and vivid descriptions of Vera’s food and tea are all wrapped up in a carefully crafted whodunnit mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. I adored this book and never wanted it to end! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Berkley for my copy to read and review. Check out this charming mystery on 3/14.

A murder at Vera Wang's World Famous Tea Shop.
A geriatric super sleuth, Vera Wong.
A cast of easy-to-love characters.

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murders is equal parts crazy and wonderful. From the moment the reader is introduced to Vera, you're pulled into her orbit, her meddlesome ways and her amateur detective work. It's over tea that she gathers together the suspects, befriends them and puts to work her match-making skills.

Vera is spry and full spirit, and I can only hope at her age I am having this much fun. This novel of full of laughs, found family and an absolute joy to read.

Thank you Berkley Publishing for the advance reader copy.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murders by Jesse Q. Sutanto is a cozy-ish murder mystery with Vera Wong, a tea shop owner, as the amateur sleuth. But that's just the story on the surface. Underneath the mystery lies relevant cultural issues that impact immigrants to the US and their first-generation children raised here, which gives the story an unexpected poignancy and relevance that stayed with me long after I finished the book.

My Reading Experience:
I loved how this story took me through my full range of emotions, from laughing out loud over the things Vera says and does to shedding tears when events led Vera to an unexpected point in the story. Underneath the murder mystery is a story about family born and family found, love in all its forms, and just being relevant in a world where it's easy to feel irrelevant.

The murder mystery was fun and creative and kept me guessing. When a man turns up dead in Vera Wong's tea shop, she decides she can be much more effective at solving the murderer than the police, primarily when they don't act as she expected based on the television shows she watches. I love how she went about trying to solve the murder and how many twists and turns it took. The final reveal wasn't a shocker because I caught some actual clues along the way, but I was completely fine with that. The fun is witnessing Vera figure it out rather than yourself.

I loved the cultural diversity in this story too. Vera Wong is Chinese, has raised a son in the US, and runs a tea shop in San Francisco's Chinatown. She often laments how GenZers of Chinese background neglect to honor the cultural aspects of their heritage. I already knew most of the cultural nuances, but seeing it in action and the plight of parents to get their children to uphold the traditions is eye-opening. This struggle goes on in households across America with the many different cultures that now call this country home. The story gave me a few things to think about.

Characters:
Vera Wong Zhu Zhu is not the only character in the story, but she is the central character and the one that makes her presence most known. She loves tea and mixing different blends that will relax you, make you more alert, or address your other needs. She is very knowledgeable about tea and what makes the perfect brew for anyone in her shop. She is also sly in a funny head-shaking way as she "innocently" impedes the police's investigation because she can do it better than them. Her character development is superb, and how her inner pain, which she often masks with her unsolicited advice and humor, is revealed broke my heart for her. You can't help but love Vera Wong and all of her complexities.

Narration & Pacing:
The narration is 3rd person limited, is tightly focused on Vera, and keeps a fast pace from start to finish. The investigation took a bit too long, which lost my attention for a small portion. Still, otherwise, the pages flipped quickly as I devoured the story.

Setting:
The setting is San Francisco's Chinatown, mainly in Vera Wang's Famous Tea Shop. She chose to call it Vera Wang's instead of Vera Wong's because of the instant recognition Vera Wang's fame would bring.
The setting is perfect for all the story sets out to accomplish – the mystery and the cultural components.

Read if you like:
Complex mysteries solved by amateur sleuths.
Humor and Poignancy
Cultural diversity in books